Review: MOLLY (2017)
A wasteland where a few survivors scavenge supplies while avoiding the diseased, bloodthirsty victims of whatever caused the apocalypse. A small community of survivors ruled by a despot who stages battles to the death for the amusement of his followers. A loner who doesn’t want to get involved, but is forced into action against this tyrant. Sounds very familiar doesn’t it? Well MOLLY takes it all and turns it on its head.
Molly (Julia Batelaan MAGISTRATUS OVERTURA) is something of a legend. A teenage girl who survives alone in the wasteland, aided by powers even she doesn’t understand. Deacon (Joost Bolt) has heard this tale and sends his goons out to capture her. He plans to infect her with the disease that created the semi-human “supplicants” and make her the star attraction in his arena.
Matters become more complicated when she discovers Bailey (Emma de Paauw) a young girl living alone waiting for her most likely dead parents to return. Now she has to take care of the child as well as fight off her enemies. Inevitably Bailey is kidnapped and Molly has to storm Deacon’s stronghold to rescue her.
The thing that most sets MOLLY apart from similarly plotted films is Molly herself. She’s not some multi black belted, ex special ops killing machine. Yes she’s a good fighter, but she’s also a klutz, often times winning fights despite herself. She’s simply to stubborn to give in and die. This makes her both a refreshing change from the usual Mad Max clone and someone we can relate to.
I was worried about the super powers aspect of the film, but thankfully they aren’t used as a quick answer to every problem she gets into. Indeed she seems unsure of how to control them or where they came from. Their origins are hinted at in flashbacks and will apparently be revealed in a prequel, KILL MODE currently in post production.
Directors Colinda Bongers and Thijs Meuwese, (who also wrote the script) have an eye for action scenes. The camera stays on the action rather than constantly cutting away and changing angles every few seconds. The final half hour is almost one continuous fight all through the abandoned oil platform that serves as Deacon’s lair. It’s a stunning achievement for both the crew and actresses Batelaan and Annelies Appelhof who plays Kimmy, Deacon’s right hand woman and lead goon.
Artsploitation will release MOLLY on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD October 2nd. It’s a quirky and worthy addition to the end of the world genre.