Simplified, the plot revolves around a married couple and the deterioration of their relationship. Mark (Sam Neil) and Anna (played with total commitment by Isabelle Adjani) argue over each other’s infidelities, the love of their child and the world that surrounds them. It all seems fairly pedestrian at first but soon descends into a shockingly honest and surreal analysis of ‘the break-up’.

At first the couple’s interactions seem grossly overacted and deliberately artificial – almost as if they cannot feel or say what they really want to for fear that something terrible will be unleashed. Soon enough, however, they explode at each other with bursts of crippling rage so severe that, at times, all colour is drained from their skin and their teeth gnash and grind in a horrifying manner. In one particularly distressing moment of emotional turmoil, Anna is so overcome by the madness of her situation that, right after a ferocious display of physical posturing, she literally begins to excrete masses of blood and bile from her genitals. It is strong stuff and not for the faint hearted.

While these scenes provide a backbone to the film, there are some deliciously peculiar story threads that surround them, some veering sharply into the territory of a Freudian nightmare. One of Anna’s lovers, Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), for instance, is a flamboyant, narcissistic philosophizer who twirls and poses with every pretentious statement that slithers from his serpentine tongue. The other is an entirely different animal indeed, a grotesquely perverse and wholly disturbing mass of flesh and viscous fluid. This ‘thing’ provides her with great sexual gratification and seems to be a bizarre physical manifestation of sex and death, an overpowering presence likened by one character to God – albeit indirectly. It is horrifying and unreal, but, in a deliciously twisted way, more true than anything else in the film as it provides – and also represents – the most primal and basic needs of humanity. Apart from the effects used to create it, there is nothing phony about it.

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The true success of Possession, however, is that the meat of it comes from the feeling it creates, not the story it purports to tell. A minimalist synth score chugs away under the action, instilling a sense of dread to an already intense experience. Strange images come and go like the hallucinations of a lunatic mind and dialogue barks savagely from the mouths of its gibbering orators. In fact, the experience of watching it is more like a fever dream than that of viewing a movie. It is because of this that in writing it is hard to do it justice.

You just have to see it for yourself.

Movie Rating: ★★★★★ 

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Perhaps Hollywood films – which often seem farfetched and unrealistic to the outsider – are just far more accurate at portraying American life. Or perhaps the powerful influence of the silver screen has made the American public live up to the roles that they see so often in the media.
Either way, by using this rationale, it’s easy to come to one decision. American school life can’t be easy. Particularly if you aren’t perfect, and especially if you might be possessed.

Take Molly Hartley’s new school for instance. All of the girls are beautiful, the boys are handsome, most of them are rich (some considerably so) and if you aren’t clever, or good at sport, then you’re going to have a miserable time there.

It doesn’t help if you have skeletons in your closet either. Molly has major issues, mostly attributed to the fact that her mother tried to stab her to death.
As a result, the poor girl suffers from a number of symptoms including hallucinations, headaches, nosebleeds, and flash-backs to the time when her Mum (convinced that Molly was evil) tried to end her life.

Her father tries his best to make things right, but seems to be fighting a losing battle.
Molly’s issues – along with the pressure for her to fit in at school and do well in her studies – lead her to collapse on occasion, and as she approaches her 18th birthday, her condition seems to deteriorate.
Is Molly losing her mind? Or was her mother right? Is there an evil curse upon her that needs to be cleansed?

It’s all a little unexpected. By the film title, you may assume that this is going to be another possession/exorcism style adventure. But it really isn’t. Instead, it’s a teen drama with satanic elements which has little in the way of blood, big scares and action.

In this American society where everyone seems to fit a role, be it jock, cheerleader, geek, religious nut and so on, it seems that there is a desire to be ‘the special one’, the person that stands out and is different. And it’s always made to seem quite appealing, even if it does involve being ‘haunted’ or troubled.
The sheer number of films that follow this same formula does make you wonder – even though so many of these kids do just follow the mainstream, perhaps they would all like to be different really.
And that’s what makes The Haunting of Molly Hartley so strange. On the surface it would seem to be a mildly scary film about a girl fighting to save her soul from the forces of darkness. But more obviously, it is a film about peer pressure and the struggle to find individuality.

It’s a smooth film. Big budget, good casting, good dialogue.
Although it isn’t the most eventful of horror movies. there is the odd shock here and there to keep you on your toes and there is a certain something about The Haunting of Molly Hartley that makes it watchable. Hopefully it’s more to do with the story and the way in which it’s conveyed, and isn’t just down to all of those beautiful people with their perfect teeth, hair, and bronzed, zit-free skin.

It’s a film that is aimed at the Twilight generation. A step into what is perhaps a scarier place, and (lets all hope) a stepping stone to far more dark and terrifying things for those who have grown to like the idea of friendly, twinkling vampires.

The Haunting of Molly Hartley could leave true horror fans feeling nauseous. But for those teenage horror saplings out there, it’s good fun and even takes some unexpected turns.

Molly Hartley may be haunted, but you probably won’t be.

Movie Rating: ★★½☆☆ 

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This is the premise of independent Brit flick Hellbride the third feature from writer, director and producer Pat Higgins. It’s a horror, comedy, gangster, romance film that tries to be a bit of everything and fails on every front, especially the horror.

Lee Parker (from the equally awful Zombie Diaries) is loved up with his equally enamoured (and unbelievable) long time girlfriend Nicole (Rebecca Herod). Buying a ring from an antiques shop he proposes, and the couple prepare for their big day with the help of their friends and Nicole’s gangster father.

Unbenounced to the couple, the ring is cursed and possessed by an evil spirit which has a history of causing death and destruction to its wearer and the people around them.

Can Nicole be rid of the ghost before its too late? Will her fathers mob connections cause an all out gang war at the wedding? Will Lee’s cheeky chauvinist best mate end up with Nicole’s occult loving friend? Does anyone know why this terrible, cheap looking, unscary piece of festering bin mold got a dvd release?

Okay lets be fair, Hellbride does have a few things going for it. The performances are average, which given the cardboard calibre of most British actors gracing our TV screens these days is a compliment. Also Pat Higgins script is peppered with witty and well-written dialogue, which may not quite fit the mouths of the characters it emerges from but is still at times entertaining and engaging.

However, and this is a big however, in an oversized sized font bolded and underlined, there is still a hell of a lot wrong about Hellbride. The most shocking, jarring and obvious thing is how cheap it looks. The camera quality, the lighting, the sets, the sound and the atrocious special effects all look as if they went down the pound shop for equipment and props.
Looking worse than a wedding video filmed by your one-eyed, drunken uncle, the quality of the film makes it almost unwatchable at times, especially the embarrassing climax filled with plastic guns, joke shop effects and cgi from the 1980’s.

Hellbride’s other huge problem is it has no clear sense what it is. Starting with a reasonable horror premise, the plot quickly falls apart. At times a potty mouthed romance, then a gothic horror, then a blokey jokey comedy, then a Guy Ritchie wannabe gangster film. It is a monstrous mess of a movie that doesn’t work in any of the genres it attempts to emulate.

Pat Higgins is obviously a talented writer, but perhaps next time he should stick to scripting and leave the directing and producing to someone with more talent, a bigger budget and a better sense on how to use it.

I am all for independent horror especially when its British born, but Hellbride is one movie you will want to divorce as soon as it starts.

Movie Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ 

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