Freddy Beans here with a review of MOLLY, out on VOD and Blu-Ray September 25th.
The Dutch enter the field of post-apocalyptic wastelands with an impressive opening act, here in MOLLY.
This one starts on a desolate wasteland shot and immediately becomes anything but desolate. We’re introduced to our hero MOLLY (Julie Batelaan) who it's refreshing to report isn’t a supermodel and looks quite unassuming. She’s a normal looking girl running for her life from a few crazed men with weapons. She eventually runs out of breath and can’t continue. Accepting the inevitable, she turns to face what ends up being a brutal fight with the men pursuing her.
The fights throughout this film are ugly, down and dirty slugfests. If you want clean crisp fight scenes this one isn’t for you. If you want to see a set piece where someone is hanging onto their last breath and the winner is determined merely by who has more heart, pick this one up immediately. Every fight scene is cold and calculated and damn fun to watch. Think OLDBOY and his hammer. Not the inept Spike Lee version.
The story follows Molly as she traverses a long and deserted landscape devoid of moisture. She shows off her survival skills early in the film by scavenging a dead bird for tools. Whether off the beaten path, roadkill, or attached to a dead guy, the girl is relentless in her pursuit of survival.
She also comes equipped with a bow and arrow, a companion falcon, and some unexplained powers that come in handy during these gritty fight scenes. Those powers are the problem and why she’s being chased.
The script does hint at some sort of earlier experimentation she survived, with flashbacks and dream sequences, but nothing is thoroughly explained. We’re left assuming Molly was experimented on and escaped not too long before we came upon her.
There’s a fight club in this one too. One where the fighters are injected with some infection that turns them into raving mad zombies. These “supplicants” are the byproduct of the guy running the show.
The head cheese at this Thunderland fight club (an oil rig doubling as an MMA ring) only known as Deacon (Joost Bolt) ends up in need of a new champion immediately after we meet him. His ‘supplicant’ champion “The Truth,” ends up facing a hard truth and dies in the ring. Deacon now needs another champion to infect and utilize in order to become rich. Rich in ammo that is, as bullets are the currency of choice in this movie.
There’s another much younger girl named Bailey (Emma De Paauw) who befriends Molly and they become quite a pair. Little orphan Bailey and Katniss Everdeen running through Tatooine terrain, kicking ass and bonding through it all.
The cinematography here has to be seen to be believed. The colors and long continuous action shots are so innovative I wanted to watch it again immediately after it ended. This is a low budget flick that makes its ideas work with ingenuity.
The story is a simple one that uses subtle shots to implicate a much larger story at play behind the scenes. In fact, there’s a prequel I can’t wait to see, already in production titled KILL MODE.
A prequel is needed and they definitely left things very open for a sequel here.
Colinda Bongers co-directed MOLLY with Thijs Meuwese who also wrote the script. They are such unique visionaries I will eat up whatever they put on the screen for us in the future.
I haven’t even brought up the bionic-armed woman, (see KILL MODE poster above) or Bailey’s parents, or that our hero is terribly far-sighted. This movie does so much with so little it’s inspiring.
To boot it comes in at a crisp 1h 31 min so you’re in and out of this one before you know it.
The visuals are all Baz Luhrmann’s ROMEO + JULIET, while the story more follows JESSICA JONES, mixed with HUNGER GAMES, TURBO KID, and MAD MAX.
To leave you today I will quote my favorite line in the film in response to anyone that badmouths this film in the talkbacks.
“You’re shitting out of your face.”
8 of 10 ravers love MOLLY.
Til next time, Kids!
- Freddy Beans
