Monster Mania Day 2: Lovely Molly

Written by Stu Cooper

For Day 2 I decided to continue the theme of underrated horror films with "Lovely Molly". "Lovely Molly" was a paranormal horror film released in 2011 directly to DVD. The film was available on redbox for a short time and is now streaming on Netflix, which is where I discovered the film. The story follows a young newlywed named Molly, played by the beautiful Gretchen Lodge and her husband as they move into her parent's old house. Molly's husband is a truck driver and has to leave a lot, so the film primarily follows Molly as she stays in the house alone. Soon after moving into the house Molly begins experiencing some very eerie disturbances. It starts off small with noises and whispers but escalates into violence eventually. We also see a first person perspective throughout the film provided by the couple's handheld camera. The viewer does not know who is operating the camera until the end of the film, so there is another layer of creepiness added on. The catch to all of this is that Molly is a recovering heroin addict and she relapses. So you are left wondering if all of these paranormal experiences are real or just hallucinations caused by her addiction. This is an idea that was later used in the Evil Dead remake. I can't help but wonder if the writer of that film was a fan of this one.

"Lovely Molly" is a slow disturbing paranormal thriller and it's a great watch if you are home alone and want to scare the hell out of yourself. I wouldn't recommend it for a date night movie because it is a pretty heavy handed film that features tones of rape,incest,drug use, and some pretty graphic violence. Unless of course your partner is already pretty open minded, then it works! The film portrays the slow descent of a woman into lunacy. Losing my mind has always been a big fear of mine so perhaps that's why I felt so disturbed by the film. Another scary thing to note is that the guy who played Molly's husband, Johnny Lewis, actually went insane in real life after this film. He killed his landlord, her cat, and then himself last year. He was also featured on Sons of Anarchy, One Missed Call, The O.C. and several other films. It's always extra eerie when an actor dies after filming something that involves demons/ghosts (The Exorcist, Poltergeist). Overall the film accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do, make you uncomfortable and creeped out. The film also introduces a new element to the tired paranormal genre. It leaves you feeling paranoid and it also has several interpretations. I think even Peter Venkman would have trouble sleeping after watching this movie.