Moloch is a 2022 Dutch folk horror film directed by Nico van den Brink, starring Sallie Harmsen and Alexandre Willaume.
| Moloch | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nico van den Brink |
| Screenplay by | Nico van den Brink Daan Bakker |
| Produced by | Sabine Brian Ronald Versteeg |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Emo Weemhoff |
| Edited by | Xander Nijsten |
| Music by | Ella van der Woude |
Production company | NL Film |
| Distributed by | XYZ Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Languages | Dutch English Romanian |
Plot
editThe film focuses on 38 year old Betriek (Sallie Harmsen), who lives with her family in a house on edge of a peat bog in north Netherlands. The family's relatively peaceful existence is shattered one day when a mysterious stranger attacks the house one night, setting off a string of unexplained events that Betriek attempts to unravel the mystery of the stranger. All the while, an ancient evil lurks deep within the bog.
Cast
edit- Sallie Harmsen as Betriek
- Alexandre Willaume as Jonas
- Anneke Blok as Elske
- Ad van Kempen as Ton
- Noor van der Velden as Hannah
- Markoesa Hamer as Sonja
- Edon Rizvanolli as Radu
- Jack Wouterse as Hans
- Phi Nguyen as Lennard
- Willemijn Kressenhof as Dr. Mensinck
- Fred Goessens as Roelof
Release
editThe film was released in theatres in the Netherlands on 19 May 2022.[1]
Reception
editOn review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 16 reviews.[2] Kurt Halfyard of ScreenAnarchy called the film a "bonafide gem of a horror movie" and van den Brink a "filmmaker to keep a very close eye on."[3] Kevin Toma of de Volkskrant rated the film 4 stars out of 5.[4] Whang Yee Ling of The Straits Times rated the film 3 stars out of 5, calling it a "well-crafted exercise in dread" and wrote that van den Brink "turns an over-familiar tale into a uniquely local folk horror."[5]
Roosje van der Kamp of filmkrant wrote a mixed review of the film.[1] Jon Mendelsohn of Comic Book Resources wrote that while the film "plays with interesting ideas and spends time with its characters", it "can't seem to blend everything together into a concrete whole" and "final product is a bit unsatisfying."[6]
References
edit- ^ a b van der Kamp, Roosje (3 May 2022). "Slim, gelaagd, uitgedokterd". filmkrant. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "MOLOCH". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Halfyard, Kurt (18 July 2022). "Fantasia 2022 Review: MOLOCH, Dark Whispers of Intergenerational Trauma". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Toma, Kevin (18 May 2022). "De variatie aan horror-ingrediënten geeft de spookwereld in Moloch een indrukwekkend reliëf". de Volkskrant. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Whang, Yee Ling (17 August 2022). "At The Movies: Moloch beats Kisaragi Station when it comes to dread". The Straits Times. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ Mendelsohn, Jon (20 July 2022). "REVIEW: Moloch Serves Up Underwhelming Horror Despite Its Game Cast". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
External links
edit- Moloch at IMDb
- Moloch at Rotten Tomatoes