Tonight was the advanced midnight screening of Lovely Molly at The Bloor Cinema. I have been to enough midnight screenings to know that I was in for something strange - something a little too strange for the average "let's catch a movie after dinner" crowd. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a proud member of the midnight screening club as I openly embrace the weird, the uncanny, and the cult film. But I have to admit, I was a little taken aback by this one.
In short, Lovely Molly is about a newlywed couple, Tim and Molly. Of course everything seems normal at first, but when they move back into Molly's childhood home, strange events begin happening to her, and only her. As the film progresses, the intensity of her experiences also progress, which leads to an unrelenting final twenty minutes.
This is a film nearly impossible to judge on simplified terms. On a technical level, it is pitch perfect, but this film goes much deeper than that. As Molly's personal struggles and history are revealed, the audience has more and more questions instead of answers. I am not sure if this is a movie you "like" or "dislike" - but it is a film that challenges you every step of the way. It is more of an experience, rather than a movie you watch for sheer enjoyment. For that, I commend director Eduardo Sanchez. This film challenges your beliefs and your expectations. There is nothing quite like it.
Quite frankly, Lovely Molly is a crash course in how to make a scary movie. Sanchez did it 12 years ago with The Blair Witch Project and he did it again. He chooses atmosphere over gore, and sound over sight. Moments linger just long enough to make you unsettled, but never overstay their welcome. The golden rule in comedy is that a joke is only funny three times. The same can be said about horror - a scare is only scary three times before it falls flat. Sanchez is a director who understands this, consistently finding new ways to send a shiver up one's spine. A good scare is all about timing and pacing, both of which Sanchez has down to a tee.
Sanchez employs tropes of the "found footage" genre, but doesn't overdo them. He uses it to enhance the story, as opposed to using it as a gimmick or cheap scare. It is used to create a sense of time, and furthermore, a sense of impending doom. You know when the climax is going to happen, but you don't know how it is going to happen. This is a masterful technique when creating suspense.
Sound plays a huge part in this film. There are unnerving whispers, voices, snarls, and creaks throughout. What is scarier than something you see? Something you don't see, but hear. Sanchez relies heavily on this idea, and as usual, it works. Most notably, though, is the overwhelming, high-pitched ringing noise that occurs every time Molly enters her old bedroom. It is almost too much to bear, but it is effective as the representation of Molly's increasingly unstable emotional state.
Speaking of Molly, she is a complex and difficult character to portray. However, actress Gretchen Lodge did it seamlessly. She went in at full force, and never looked back. With her performance alone, Lodge created a past, a present, and a future for Molly. The supporting cast was also superb, all acting with immense pathos for Molly, and creating underlying stories beyond the script.This is what I especially appreciated about this movie. The characters are fully formed individuals, which is often what is lacking in most horror films.
All of this sounds like a positive review, which it is. That being said, I have to say that this isn't your old run-of-the-mill horror flick. I love horror movies, but this wasn't exactly an enjoyable time. I haven't left a theater feeling so disturbed in a long while. Everything about this film - the story, the back story, the images, the atmosphere - will give you the heebie-jeebies, for lack of a better term. This film is deeply visceral, packing a punch like no other. It goes after your deepest fears, real and not real, and I haven't quite yet decided which is scarier.
