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Lovely Molly (2011)
Image Entertainment
Blu-ray Disc Released: 8/21/2012
All Ratings out of
Movie:
Video:
1/2
Audio:
Extras:
1/2
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 8/12/2012
I don't know if there's a name for what we're about to discuss, but we're going to call it "The Tobe Hooper Syndrome". In 1974, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released and two things happened -- it became a hit and it changed the face of horror movies. But, after that, Tobe Hooper was never able to make another movie which lived up to the reputation of TCM. (We're going to ignore the usual Poltergeist debate for now.) This isn't a sophomore slump -- this is spending a career trying to reclaim that initial success. Eduardo Sanchez appears to be experiencing "The Tobe Hooper Syndrome". He was part of the filmmaking duo (along with Daniel Myrick) which brought us The Blair Witch Project in 1999. That movie became a hit and changed the face of horror movies. (Although, I hated it.) However, since that time, Sanchez had directed four movies, all of which went straight to video. This includes his latest outing Lovely Molly.
Newlyweds Molly (Gretchen Lodge) and Tim (Johnny Lewis) move into Molly's childhood home, a large secluded house. Tim is a truck-driver, so he's on the road a lot, leaving Molly home alone. Molly spends her days working as a custodian in a local mall with her sister, Hannah (Alexandra Holden). We learn that Molly was abused by her late father, and she becomes convinced that he is haunting the house. She uses her video camera to try and get evidence, as doors rattles and strange voices can be heard. As these events increase, Molly's behavior become erratic and her appearance suffers. She tells Tim and Pastor Bobby (Field Blauvelt), but they can't help her. Molly's inward turmoil turns outwards, as her inner demons lead her to violence.
Lovely Molly is one of those movies whose story makes sense and actually sounds good when you see it on paper. Due to financial issues, a young couple move into the house where the woman was raised. This is also the house where she experienced traumatic abuse and living there causes her to have a nervous breakdown. Is what she's seeing real? This isn't necessarily an original idea, but it sounds like it could make for a good psychological thriller.
Unfortunately, Sanchez (along with Co-Writer Jamie Nash) has no interest in making a linear, coherent movie. Instead, we get a lot of implications. Fox example, we're never exactly told that Molly was abused, but that one is easy to guess. As for the rest of the story, putting the pieces together is a lot more difficult. There's a lot of stuff about horses, and a horse-head logo, which is shown once in the film, but is featured prominently on the Blu-ray Disc cover art. Molly is drawn to something in a closet, but it remains vague. A screwdriver appears to figure prominently in the story, but you have to watch the extras to learn why (see more below). Molly begins to spy on the neighbors, and this leads to no good, but Tim also gets involved in this in a manner which isn't explained.
So, to say that Lovely Molly is a frustrating movie would be an understatement. While we know that there is a story lurking somewhere behind the scenes, all that we get are multiple scenes showing Molly sitting at a table smoking or sitting on the end of a bed or wandering the woods. The "hauntings" merely consist of whisperings and doors which open and close. (Sanchez mentions in the audio commentary that many of the sounds were added as an after-thought which leads one to wonder what the hell was happening in this movie before-hand.) The hand-held video footage (something which you think would do everything to stay away from) doesn't really gel with the rest of the film, not only visually, but with the narrative as well. At first, we feel somewhat sorry for Molly, but as the film progresses, her behavior becomes so odd that it's difficult to feel anything for her.
In the end, it wouldn't be fair to say that Lovely Molly is a mess, but it certainly feels like half a movie. I'm constantly on the lookout for the next great supernatural horror movie and this one had potential. But, Sanchez went a little to arthouse here and left too many questions for the audience. (And judging by some comments from the audio commentary, he may not know the answers to those questions.)
Lovely Molly can't seem to keep her clothes on on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Image Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 15 Mbps. At first glance, the image is sharp and clear, as it shows only trace amount of grain. But, further inspection shows a great deal of shimmering effects on the image. The background is often littered with blooming circles which move with the characters. The colors are good and the image is never overly dark or bright. However, the image is somewhat flat and doesn't have the depth we've come to expect from Blu-ray. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The surround sound effects are nicely done, and we can hear the subtle ghostly effects coming from the rear speakers. Likewise, we get detailed stereo effects which let us know when things are happening off-screen. The subwoofer effects drive home the rattling doors.
The Lovely Molly Blu-ray Disc contains several extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director/Co-Writer Eduardo Sanchez and Co-Writer Jamie Nash. Here we learn that one of the more interesting, yet baffling images in the movie was added due to audience demands after a test screening. You may remember that The Blair Witch Project got a huge boost from a viral video campaign (one of the first) which featured fake documentaries which were used to depict the fake documentary. Apparently the same thing was done with Lovely Molly, as the Blu-ray Disc features four short featurettes which tell us more of the story behind the movie (all of which were available on the film's website). "Path to Madness" (7 minutes) gives us a history of Molly's family. "Haunted Past" (7 minutes) looks at the history of Molly's house, which had been rumored to be haunted. The historic history of the house is continued in "Demonic Forces" (7 minutes). "Is It Real?" (7 minutes) is an interview with a former resident of the house, who shares his story and show's house a "ghost-hunting team" was called to the set. These documentaries were "made" after the events of the movie, and they explore what could have caused Molly's behavior. This sort of thing baffles me, as the pieces, especially "Path to Madness" contain information which would have been really useful while watching the movie. If a more complete story existed, why not put it in the film? The final extra is a TRAILER for the film.
Review Copyright 2012 by Mike Long