Bannister DollHouse

I saw this at a film festival last year and it was a film that starts interestingly, kept my intention and by the end I was wanting it not to end.

The acting is generally very good, and the struggle to make the film before the lead female actor grew too old to follow up on her debut in another Mycho film, SlasherHouse 2, must have been immense. But they managed it, and created a perfectly creepy daughter character with an actor who is prepared to push herself, and the filmmakers.

Yes, it is a low budget film. So what? A film that lets me leave an auditorium lost for words with the film's conclusion is powerful no matter how little, or how much, is spent on it.

This ain't no Disney.

Its a strange mix of reviews here.

I'd heard positive things about the film from a handful via word of mouth of festival screenings, but I suppose the thing here is to lower your expectations. I was made aware that this was made on very little money by some filmmakers who had seen it. So I went in with those expectations adjusted.

The film is good, not quite great, but very competent and there's are moments that really gave me the chills. There are some jump scares in there, but they feel earned, there's a build up to them and they work for the most part.

The film gets a little silly toward the end of the second act and it does feel like it starts to fall apart a bit, silly lines and jokes in what had been a very serious film up until that point.

The end is where the film comes into it own, taking the expectations of this kind of genre film and doing something different and although it moves toward bleak territory as it closes. It works.

Lets be honest, if you only watch movies like The Conjuring and Insidious, then the lack of polish is going to put you off, the film requires the audience to make some connections and thats not going to work with everyone.

The lighting is nice, most of the actors do a good job with a decent script and its kind of amazing what can be done with a camera and some actors and not much money.

I'd give it a 6.2

That's the confusing credit at the end of this fun timepasser - who the heck is Martha? I'm guessing she's the unnamed doctor's receptionist who turns up later as a separate character, given all the other female parts are namechecked in the film. Anyway, as everyone has pointed out, this is cheap, but it's good fun. The acting really isn't as great as several reviewers say, but it's OK. The whole thing reminds me of the UK Thriller series that ran on ITV in the Seventies - not massively original, but points for commitment. There are cliches, but there's also creepiness, and one or two subtle moments worth keeping an eye out for.

So, thanks to everyone involved. I had fun.

Off to bed now. I hope someone makes me a hot chocolate...

Bargain basement horror that boasts a few acceptable chills, "The Haunting of Molly Bannister" is a throwaway genre entry whose story presents a bagful of ideas better executed in better films. Here, a family, a doll, and an evil presence collide and cause life-and-death headaches for the previously mentioned family. The story is routine; and the production is expectedly threadbare, though all involved do what they can do to ensure an earnest tone. The overall experience is subpar, but it is not without a respectably macabre moment or two. The poster was quite frankly the best thing about this whole thing.

I've never been one to scare easily, but watching this, late last night with the lights out. I was hooked from beginning to end. Really solid genre entertainment. I can't believe how creepy it was. Great acting, especially from the Mum character and the little girl did a great job of being horribly creepy without over doing it. That ending though, mind blowing. Wonderful.