Lovely Molly (2011) Not-So-Happy Homecoming

A few years ago, I went back to the house in which I grew up.  It had literally been 20 years since I set foot in there, and the people who live there now were kind enough to let me come in and take some pictures - they knew my family anyway, so that made it easier.  If there were ghosts in that house on the lake, they were friendly and welcoming.

Let's just say that the homecoming Molly receives in Lovely Molly isn't exactly friendly and welcoming.

Directed by one of the co-creators of The Blair Witch Project, Eduardo Sanchéz (who also shares writing duties with Jamie Nash), Lovely Molly is one of those quietly terrifying films that stick with you after you've watched it, as you try to decipher the code left by the filmmakers.  Not everything is clear-cut, and yet the answers are there, depending on how you see them.  While the movie isn't perfect, the underlying story and the incredible acting help make it one to at least check out.

Newlyweds Molly (Gretchen Lodge) and Tim (Johnny Lewis, shortly before his death) move into Molly's childhood home, not far from her more grounded sister Hannah (Alexandra Holden).  It's a spooky old place, and former heroin addict Molly has a rough go of staying there alone while Tim out on the road as a truck driver. One night, Molly hears crying coming from a lonely closet.  We never see what she sees, but from there, it's all downhill for poor Molly.  Her behavior becomes increasingly strange.  She gets back on the "horse," so to speak.  She swears to her sister that their father is still alive and once again assaulting her, although no one ever sees him.  Film evidence shows nothing and Molly retreats into a drug-addled, fugue state that sees her wandering at night, having problems at work, and making lewd advances on the local pastor.  Oh, and something about a deer.  You'll see.  Things spiral out of control until the odd, subjective ending.

The film is undeniably creepy, with many of the scares coming during night scenes and when Molly is alone.  Is Molly being haunted by her evil father from beyond the grave?  You will have to decide as the end credits roll.  There are multiple interpretations, and a good deal of them make perfect sense.  The acting is tremendous, with Lodge as the focal point.  With little film experience, she masterfully conveys happiness, familiarity, rage, fear, and something quite spooky all within the runtime.  Holden is great as her sister, and Lewis shows just how much talent was wasted with his sad, short life.  The answers to the film are not all there, but it still stands as a pretty decent outing - despite one sort-of "what-the" scene.  I won't spoil it, but I did say "what the?" out loud during it.

So you want to visit your childhood home?  Just make sure it doesn't involve creepy sounds and horse imagery...unless you lived on a ranch.  Even still...

Here, enjoy the trailer:

Grave Encounters 2 (2012) Going Off The Rails

When I saw the original Grave Encounters, I had low expectations.  I hoped I would like it, but I wasn't going to be shocked if I didn't.  Turns out I did like it.  It both paid homage to and made fun of the slew of paranormal investigation shows all over our televisions.  Now when I learned of a sequel, I set the bar a little higher.  It might be another round of some fun found-footage shenanigans.  Did it exceed expectations again?

The answer comes in two halves:  First half (maybe two-thirds) of the movie was creative and intriguing metafiction.  After that, though, it was like the train ran right off the rails.

To recap the first film as briefly as I can, and in case you don't want to click over to my review of it, a team of paranormal investigators enter an old asylum to film an episode of their show, Grave Encounters.  As the viewer, we watch the final hours of the team as they fall to the terrifying power of an evil location.  Jump forward a year (nine years in the film series), and we have a new film written by original creators The Vicious Brothers and directed by John Poliquin.  We have a whole new group of cannon fodder film production people ready to be the next to wander smartly into an abandoned asylum.

Yeah, that graffiti should be a HUGE red flag, there, buddy.

After film student Alex Wright (not the old WCW wrestler) posts a scathing review of the original Grave Encounters, he begins receiving e-mails and videos from someone known only as "deathawaits6."  Much to the concern of his friends, he becomes obsessed with the original hospital (the name of which is bleeped out).  So much so, that he eventually uncovers evidence that the original cast did indeed disappear and makes meticulous plans to make the ultimate documentary.  Alex convinces the others to head to the location and meet "deathawaits6," who promises to provide all the information they need.  As with the first film, and as you may well have guessed, things don't go very well once they're inside.  The film students are menaced in frightening, hyperactive ways along with a new twist on the first movie's "the place won't let us leave" atmosphere.  When the kids end up in an underground hallway - the same one set at the end of the first film - Grave Encounters 2 becomes like a speeding car hitting a patch of ice on a wintry highway.  The rest of the film - which I promise I won't spoil in case you'd like to watch it - careens off in a whole different direction that frankly didn't catch my fancy.

I really like metafiction - stories about stories - and the first part of Grave Encounters 2 was a clever example of the self-aware quality of the difficult genre.  Even the little things, such as video bloggers in the beginning completely trashing the first movie, were quite funny and gave the audience a little nod-and-wink.  When the pace and the story took off in the strange direction it did, I felt somewhat disappointed.  It was like they added elements that weren't really needed - elements that actually would have worked much better if left to our imagination, in my little opinion.

If the film had maintained the air of just-out-of-sight mystery along with frequent kinetic thrills, I would have liked it even more.  Definitely not the worst I've ever seen, but I really hoped for more.

Until next time, my dear readers, have a look at the trailer and try to not to get curious if some anonymous person sends you videos, inviting you to check their "awesome" asylum...

The Woman In Black (2012) I Shall Refrain From Harry Potter Jokes

Let's get this out of the way right now:  Daniel Radcliffe played Harry Potter.

Thanks to his growing up in those eight fine films, it will always be hard for him to not be seen as the teen wizard.  But let's get another thing straight right away...

Daniel Radcliffe is an excellent actor.

Despite great performances from a solid cast, 2012's remake of The Woman In Black is basically a one-man show, featuring Radcliffe delivering a convincing turn as troubled young lawyer Arthur Kipps.  Written by Jane Goldman and directed by James Watkins, The Woman In Black is not only a film from Hammer Film Productions, it marks a return to the gothic, bump-in-the-night spooky visual tale of which Hammer was once the relentless factory.  A good, popcorn-at-midnight flick with plenty of mood settings and jump-scares, The Woman In Black isn't the greatest haunted house film ever made, but it's definitely not a bad entry into a genre I would like to see make a bigger comeback.

Based on Susan Hill's 1983 novel, the 2012 film version features Radcliffe as the aforementioned sad sack Kipps, who is a widower with a young son (played by Misha Handley, Radcliffe's real-life godson) and a decidedly less-than-stellar assignment:  rifle through the paperwork to sell an old mansion.  The mansion happens to have the appealing name of Eel Marsh House, and is the center of a local legend in the small town where it sits.  The superstitious townsfolk aren't exactly welcoming to Kipps and maybe they have a point.  The children of the town have been dying with frightening frequency in the most gruesome of ways.  They believe the ghost residing in Eel Marsh House is at fault, and Kipps is only smacking the hornets' nest.

Kipps struggles with the mystery as well as the harrowing experiences he has at Eel Marsh House, including visions of a dark apparition that also seems to appear just before children commit suicide.  He delves into the story with the help of the only person in town who treats him with any kindness, a local businessman named Sam (Cirián Hinds), who also lost a child to the ghostly woman.  Kipps finds out what motivates the ghost and it becomes a race against time and the elements to try and satisfy the dead.

See, no spoilers and no Harry Potter references.

The Woman In Black is a solid thriller with beautiful atmosphere for gothic horror fans and sudden frights for fans of "boo!" sort of moments.  The photography and direction make everything look great, and the acting - especially from Radcliffe and Hinds - is excellent.  The ending might leave you saying, "Oh, really?" but that's really just a minor thing compared to the quality leading up to that.  It's definitely a good one to turn on late at night when you're really feeling like an atmospheric, tense little viewing.  Good, midnight fun.

And that makes it a successful film.

Oh, yeah, one more thing:  the toys.  Brrr...you'll see what I mean.

Here's the trailer:

The Innkeepers (2011) Go Ahead, Stay For A Night

Ti West has a bright future in filmmaking.

That needs to be said right off the bat.  The writer/director of The House of the Devil (which bears a second look from me) set out to make an homage/update to the classic haunted house story and - despite a near-miss of an ending (which I won't spoil here) - created a beautifully tense and suspenseful film with The Innkeepers.  West has an uncanny talent for setting up scenes and building tension, as well as drawing performances from the actors that fit the style of the film perfectly.  He's building on such a high platform that as his films get better and better, we're going to see more rich visual storytelling as the years and films go by.

The Innkeepers is mostly a two-character film, with Pat Healy starring as the snarky Luke and Sara Paxton as the enthusiastic, cute-as-a-button and asthmatic Claire.  Luke and Claire are the only staff on duty at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, a quaint little hotel that is on the verge of closing up shop.  Luke started a ghost hunting website and enlists Claire to help gather evidence.  Claire is gung-ho about finding out more regarding the local legend of a woman who hung herself after being stood up at the altar.  While the two take shifts, we focus mostly on Claire as she investigates strange noises and spooky hallways, rooms, and garages.

The inn is short on guests, but not short on creepiness.  There's a troubled woman and her young son (Alison Bartlett and Jake Schlueter), staying there as leverage in an argument with her husband.  There's also a famous actress turned psychic, Leanne (Kelly McGillis), who seems to know more than she's willing to let on.  A strange, sad older man (George Riddle) who insists on staying in the hotel room where he spent his honeymoon.  As the night wears on, Claire forms a bit of a bond with Leanne, whose steady drinking gives cause for skepticism from Claire, despite her fan-girl-ishness.  The woman and her son storm out after what they believe is shoddy treatment by the staff (causing some good lines from Luke), but Leanne stays.  After a big scare, Luke confesses his feelings for Claire in a roundabout way.  Yet after another big scare, he runs off, saying that his encounters with the local ghost were fabricated and the real terror he feels after exploring the basement is too much for him.

Leanne warns Claire that something horrible will happen to her if she doesn't leave.  Claire decides to evacuate the inn, and discovers the old man dead in a bloody bathtub, a victim of suicide.  Luke returns and tries to tell Claire something, but she's panicked and wants him to help her get out.  When she heads to the basement, thinking Leanne has somehow ended up there, the movie hurtles towards its sad and strange conclusion.

The only issue, if I can call it that, that I had with the movie was its ending.  It wasn't quite there for me.  I tried thinking about it from outside the box, but still couldn't get a strong feeling for it.  Endings are hard, I know that.  But when you consider the rest of the film is so solid and so incredibly well-filmed, it's really a small nitpick overall.  As I mentioned, the tension is palpable.  You really are along for the ride as Claire explores the hotel and encounters both real and red herring scares.  The acting from Paxton and Healy was simply fantastic.  They have obvious chemistry and were just so natural.  They seemed like real people having a really crazy night at an allegedly haunted inn.  The dialogue was natural, never forced.  The scares were beautifully done, subtle yet never weak.

Ti West really has the potential to become one of this generation's greatest horror filmmakers.  He understands tension and character, and modern - and mainstream - horror needs more of that to effectively balance out the slick shocks and occasional gore.  I expect his next film will be even better.

Memorable scenes:

*  Claire's dream featuring a spooky visitor.  Brrrrr....

*  Any time the audio equipment was used.  Excellent use of sound.

*  The banter between Luke and Claire.

*  The ghost at the top of the stairs, then in the basement.  Subtle but oh, so creepy.

*  Luke and Claire trying to contact the ghost in the basement.  Ratchet that tension up to ten!

And now, as a small bonus, here are some pictures of the actual Yankee Pedlar Inn I took on a recent road trip up to Torrington, Connecticut.

Until next time, dear readers, enjoy the trailer: