somesunnyday

This is a beautifully and thoughtfully made horror/thriller that manages to sustain the creep factor throughout. I won't be spoiling anything by telling you that it's a supernatural tale. This establishes itself quite early on in the piece which I initially found disappointing. I'm partial to those slow burn movies that leave you wondering if there is a supernatural element going on at all. The fact this film introduces this early on certainly does not take away from chill factor and manages to maintain a strong sense of mystery which adds to the unsettling nature of the story.

You get to establish a great empathy for the main character, Annie, thanks largely to the great performance of Caity Lotz while she tries to figure out what the hell is going in her childhood home after her mother has passed away and why her sister has disappeared. The home and setting is a character in itself. A very small, drab home with 60's/70's decor becomes an incredibly creepy setting, even with the bright San Pedro sun shining outside which filters into the home in a dark golden glow as you get to explore every inch of it during the film. Knowing that Annie and her sister's childhood was traumatic at the hands of their mother adds to the malevolent personality of the house. The atmosphere of this film reminds me a little of Absentia, another great film you should check out.

There were moments where my heart jumped without the use of the clichéd, annoying jump scare which seems to be popular these days. A sense of dread builds and builds to a very satisfying climax. The less you know about this going in, the better. Check it out, it's well worth it.

What a refreshing change it is to see a modern horror film like this one. Although it's probably more leaning towards psychological thriller than outright horror. The director has taken the tried and tested methods of previous eras and moved them into current times. "Lovely" Molly is newly wed and due to financial constraints is forced to move into her childhood home with her hubby while they make ends meet.

We gradually start to realise that Molly has recently had a stint in a psychiatric hospital due to a complete mental breakdown brought on by dark childhood memories exacerbated by a heroin habit. Her sister, Hannah, shares her disturbing secret. Moving back to her childhood home turns out the be the worst move she could have made. The odd happenings start off subtly with the security alarm system going off in the night and no signs of forced entry and eventually manifest into footsteps, voices and an incredibly creepy male voice singing an almost nursery rhyme type tune "Lovely Molly". These later occurrences are only heard by Molly who eventually starts to "see" this presence in the house.

It's established that her deceased father abused both Molly and her sister. Could this dark force be her father coming back to haunt her? Exploring this proposition is where the film shines. Her husband is often absent due to work commitments and finds himself coming home to Molly in various states of psychosis, eventually finding blatantly left evidence of Molly using drugs once again. He finds dealing with her behaviour increasingly difficult and Hannah intervenes to try and help, adamant that she can fix Molly's problem without having to send her back to the institution.

We get to live through Molly's apparitions as they grow more intense and outright frightening. The film plays with the idea that this may all be in Molly's mind. She seems to become "possessed" by this being at times which causes her to commit violent acts, eventually murder. The pinnacle is when Molly staggers outside naked into the arms of a demon with a horse like head that you cant just make out in the cold night fog (a very memorable scary moment). At this stage, you're still not sure if this is Molly's psychosis.

The film finally cuts to Hannah visiting the vacated house alone after all the goings on. She finds a family photo album on the floor and flicks through, shocked to find all the pictures of their father have cut outs of a horses head in place of his face. She's then drawn to a sound coming from the closet (established as Molly's safe haven during their childhood abuse). She opens the door and is drawn to something in there, holding her hand out. The film ends. Was all this really happening to Molly? Was it her father that came back to possess her? Was this demon figure responsible for her father's behaviour too?

Whether you find definitive answers to these questions or not the journey taken is up there with the great psychological horror classics in my book.