Feature – USA / UK Première
Showing @ Cineworld 12, Thu 21 Jun @ 20.50 & Cineworld 11, Sun 24 Jun @ 15.05
Eduardo Sánchez / USA / 2011 / 99 min
There is no denying the importance or relevance of The Blair Witch Project to the horror genre. As a significant game-changer of recent horror history, it has spurred on a long line of home footage creations, which focus on the raw, irrational fear of all things paranormal. Returning to the big screen, director Eduardo Sánchez’s new film, Lovely Molly, is a curious found-footage hybrid, in which the “lovely” newlywed Molly (Gretchen Lodge) returns to her childhood home only to be confronted with the past she tried to forget.
Just as in Blair Witch, Sánchez builds tension well, as Molly’s grasp on reality slowly slips away and her addictive personality sees her attacking those around her. Sánchez toys with an interesting but tired premise as the audience is left to decipher whether or not Molly is suffering from a poltergeist invasion or a mental breakdown. Sadly, the film falls flat as many of its pay-offs are, for the most part, unimpressive. With too many unanswered questions and baffling narrative decisions, Lovely Molly builds on a successful enough premise, but its execution is far too clumsy.