All The Boys Love Mandy Lane
3/4
Sometimes, waiting for a movie for what seems like forever can really hurt the experience. You hear hype and praise over a long period of time that when your chance finally comes, it wasn't as good as you hoped. Kind of like waiting to date your dream girl while she goes through every guy except you until you're the only choice and then you find out she's a total bitch.
That isn't Mandy Lane.
A visceral and visual trip tackled in a realistic setting that is rarely seen in today's slasher movies. To say this film is easy to stomach would be a lie. In today's world, movies like this don't get play. It hits close to home and will make you uncomfortable. And that my friends is what makes it great. I can't give director Johnathan Levine enough credit. The man paints a gorgeous picture backed up with warped and brutal kills. One in particular made me sit straight up and go "What the fuck!?" This movie isn't a gore fest. There are no entrails pulled out or overly elaborate death scenes. These are raw as hell and clearly meant to get under your skin rather than make you holler with glee like some modern films.
The acting is solid across the board. The stereotypes usually present are here but different. They're real. We all knew these kids. We spoke to them. This film presents it's stock characters as real people, not cardboard cut outs. Amber Heard as Mandy is gorgeous, quiet, shy and everything else she needed to be. If the world is right, we will see much more Amber Heard in the next few years. It will be even more right if it's genre work.
I can't give anything away this time. It's too good. Even with some flaws and cliches in tow, you haven't seen a film quite like this. For a genre fan to take age old tricks and make them seem fresh is a feat rarely accomplished in 2009.
See this movie.
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