Tim (Johnny Lewis) is having such a problem with his new wife Molly (Gretchen Lodge). Making matters worse is the fact that as a truck driver he is away from home for long periods of time. Molly should not be left alone under any circumstances.
In Lovely Molly, writer/director Eduardo Sanchez (co-director of The Blair Witch Project) makes it clear that something is wrong from the start. A distraught Molly tells the camera that bad stuff just went down but she isnt responsible. Then we cut to her wedding day a year earlier, happier times for the young couple.
Molly and Tim move into her childhood home after getting married. Its a spacious but old home in a rural area, and occasional hints are dropped indicating that not all of Mollys memories of growing up there are good ones. Strange occurrences and even stranger behavior soon follow.
First an alarm goes off and a locked door is found wide open in the middle of the night, but there are no signs of forced entry. Then Molly begins to make alarming statements. She says that her dead father is still alive and haunting her. He wont show himself to others, but she knows he is there. In confessionals to a camera, Molly declares that she is going to show the people who dont believe her that she is telling the truth.
It begins to appear that Mollys problems lie elsewhere. She starts to use drugs again, shes already received some kind of psychiatric care, and she follows around a mystery woman for reasons that are not immediately known. Is everything in her head? Is it the drugs and the loneliness? Or is something sinister in the house trying to drive her crazy?
The slow burn nature of Lovely Molly works well at first. Sanchez effectively utilizes the house and generates real tension with a potent combination of sustained silence, darkness, sudden strange noises, and tight angles that keep what were trying to see just out of sight. There are also a handful of unexpected, cringe-inducing moments.
Unfortunately, full-blown scares never materialize. The payoff isnt nearly as potent or interesting as the buildup, and the suspense slowly drifts away as it nears the conclusion. Mollys behavior becomes tedious and annoying. The people closest to her should know better but make foolish decisions. Her actions in the end are predictable.
Ultimately, though it gets off to a promising start and has strong individual scenes, Lovely Molly doesnt really bring anything new or fresh to the is it all in their head? subgenre. Its a worthy effort that falls short.
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