The post-apocalyptic world doesn’t seem appealing because there’s so much hiking involved. If you want to get around the nightmarish landscape, you’ve got to stuff all your personal belongings and weapons into a backpack. In the middle of society falling apart, you’ve got to rush down to REI and buy camping gear that feels comfortable for that whatever remains of the scenic trail. Molly shows off this bleak new world where you got to keep traveling to find food and avoid being hunted down by the living and the mutated.
What caused the world to devolve? There’s no tell other than one minute there’s a packed beach full of tourists and then with a simple wipe, the sand is covered with metal barrels and Molly (Julia Batelaan) fights attackers in the dunes. It’s Mad Max Day at the beach. Molly looks like she’d be the opening victim of the attackers that will have to be saved by the mysterious stranger. She looks like a red haired intern librarian with her eyeglasses and light weight. But as the fight in the slippery sand continues, no hero emerges from the distance. Molly gets the upperhand on her attackers and frees herself. No matter where she goes in the beachy wasteland, she’s a blink of an eye away from being attacked. She even gets sliced up and feels it. As she discovers during one struggle, the post-apocalyptic world has given her a special talent to fend off attackers. And there are plenty of attackers. Right of the coast are a few elevated rigs. One has been transformed into a fight club where he uses chemicals to transform those seeking help into destructive beasts to entertain his high rolling clients. He gets word of Molly and sends his goons to nab her so she can be his new star attraction.
Molly is an enjoyable journey into a self-destructed future. The fact that the heroine doesn’t look like the idealized female super heroes that cos-play parade around conventions is a giant plus mark. She wiry and wily when she fights with her bow, guns and eventually her mutant power. She also feels a lot of pain. She has to go a full Rambo after one fight as she begs a kid for a needle and thread. Julia Batelaan plays her character without turning her into a Resident Evil sexy badass. She never lets go of her character’s nerdy virtues. They’re making Kill Mode, a sequel and I’m curious to see what more she can bring to her bespectacled warrior of the wasteland.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer brings out the injuries that Molly suffers in her fights. The audio is 5.1 DTS-HD MA. There’s plenty of clangs and punches from various speakers. The movie is subtitled.
Director Commentary Track has writer/director Thijs Meuwese discussing the film since co-director Colinda Bongers had a deadline to meet on another project. He breaks down his approach to the film including skipping the newsreel footage of how the world fell apart. He discusses the issues of shooting in Holland with its tough gun laws.
Making of Molly (31:22) shows off the action in the Netherlands. They even reveal the tricks of Molly and her bird of prey buddy. The piece is filmed as fly on the wall without direct interviews with the cast and crew.
Trailer (2:26) gives a sense of the post-apocalyptic fighting.
Artsploitation presents Molly. Directed by Thijs Meuwese & Colinda Bongers. Screenplay by: Thijs Meuwese. Starring: Julia Batelaan, Emma De Paauw, Joost Bolt & Ali Sultan. Rated: Not Rated. Running Time: 91 minutes. Released: October 2, 2018.
Molly | Official Trailer | Artsploitation Films from artsploitation on Vimeo.
