A dedicated cast, authentic characterisation and a couple of genuinely terrifying moments lift The Blair Witch Project‘s Eduardo Sánchez’s horror from exploitative slasher into bone-jolting thriller.

The set-up is familiar. Newlyweds Molly (Gretchen Lodge) and Tim (Johnny Lewis) move into Molly’s expansive family home, which has been empty since the death of her parents. Initially loved-up and worry-free, the young couple’s troubles begin when they are woken one night by their alarm system going off, seemingly by a gust of wind. Soon enough, with Tim away for weeks on end as a truck driver, Molly is left sleeping alone in the house, increasingly distressed by bumps in the night and memories of her childhood that she would really rather forget.

We should probably start by slapping a warning onto this film. If you walk into it expecting answers, waiting on edge for the story to be tied up with a neat twist, you might want to look elsewhere.

Lovely Molly is a committed, disturbing little film which features some interesting ideas, but its strength does not derive from the central concept (which is really its weak link). Where Lovely Molly shines is in its stylish filmmaking and powerhouse performances from the two female leads, Gretchen Lodge and Alexandra Holden.

At its heart, all horror aside, Lovely Molly is an analogy for trauma, a story about a young woman struggling to cope when old wounds resurface. And Gretchen Lodge’s utter commitment to the role is truly admirable. Moving from hysterical rages to desperate, exhausted sobs at the flick of switch, Lodge’s performance is devastatingly authentic. Similarly impressive is Holden as Molly’s sister Hannah, drawn in sharp contrast to her bruised, volatile sister.

The delicate unfolding of their complex relationship holds some genuine surprises, and is indicative of a film in which the biggest twists come from the human relationships and not the murky, ill-defined back story.

That is not to say that Lovely Molly works only as a drama. There are one or two standout aspects of this film as a horror. Firstly the soundtrack, ratcheting up the tension at all the crucial moments, from a high-pitched whining that underpins every major scary set-piece to the innovative use of eardrum-blasting, jump-inducing percussion in place of visual scares.

Eduardo Sánchez is evidently a filmmaker who realised long ago (see: The Blair Witch Project) that the actual seeing of a scary thing is far less terrifying than the suggestion of it. Also working in this film’s favour is its surreal, disturbing streak.

At the end you are left with questions, and probably more than you’ll be happy with. But on the strength of Lovely Molly as a character piece, it would be fascinating to see Sánchez move away from horror and try his hand at, who knows, a plain old human drama?

Released in UK cinemas on Friday 29th June 2012 by Metrodome Distribution.

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