Reviewed by Melissa Antoinette Garza
Prior to viewing, I had heard many rave reviews toting All the Boys Love Mandy Lane as an unknown low-budget gem with everything to offer. Some called it original while others boasted it was the next Last House on the Left. Whether friends, people at work or online acquaintances, everyone seemed to love this movie that had been virtually overlooked for the last 8 years.
Though it’s not typically the style of film that would be considered a cult classic, the movie certainly is growing an underground following from younger horror fans. I’m curious if it is the quality of the actual movie that is drawing all this sudden attention or if by word-of-mouth the curious events that occurred behind the scenes is causing the fans to flock. Admittedly for such a low-budget movie, there is a lot of fascinating rumors fluttering around. I’m sure some were drawn when they heard the cast and crew attest that the ghost of a young dead girl who had died of asphyxiation haunted the production.
For those not taken by the supernatural, history buffs and conspiracy theorists alike may find intriguing a claim that the ranch utilized in filming was watched over by John Wilkes Booth. The legend states that Booth had actually avoided capture for killing President Lincoln and remained the caretaker of the property until his death and that now he is buried in an unmarked grave on the property.
Though the scenario surrounding Booth seems farfetched, there is still historical significance in the graveyard on the ranch as it is filled with headstones dating back to the 1800s. The deceased were all residents of a town that is no more.
Now though, I would love to believe it was any one of those tales that sparked talk about the movie, most likely the newfound attention is because the lead character Mandy Lane is portrayed by Amber Heard, known to all for being newly engaged to the very famous Johnny Depp. Now that the two are semi-official, Ms. Heard’s career as an actress is being revisited by many. That isn’t to say she doesn’t have her own fan-base but without question her popularity has grown greatly now.
That isn’t to say that the film is unworthy of any recognition. It does have a certain overall tone and look which keeps the intensity and suspense throughout. On the downside, most of the actors are the customary mid-twenties eye-candy cast as high school students. Still, all involved held their own. Not one of the main characters slowed down the production or made the film difficult to watch. In other words, despite the fact that they looked like models, they did encompass the talent required to act.
The movie opens when Mandy (Heard) is invited to a party being held by the cool kids. She agrees to go as long as her best friend Emmet (Michael Welch) can tag along. Though, Emmet is an outcast, he does stick up for himself and isn’t afraid to defend Mandy against the tough jocks. Emmet watches, while the host of the party, Dylan (Adam Powell), starts to come on to Mandy a little too strong. To stop it from progressing Emmet sprays a water pistol at Dylan. Dylan jumps up, punches Emmet and holds him under water until he realizes Mandy is upset.
Later, Emmet is on the roof calming down when he is joined by Dylan who tries to make a mends. Emmet begins to taunt Dylan telling him that Mandy would never go for him unless he did something outrageous. He encourages Dylan to jump off the roof into the pool, which the idiot does. He breaks his neck and dies.
The kids at the party turn on Emmet even more-so than before. Everyone blames him for the death and he is ostracized and picked on to an even higher extent, only this time he doesn’t have Mandy as an ally.
Fast forward nine months and Mandy is now friends with the in-crowd. Emmet attempts to talk to her, but she ignores him as is belittled by the beautiful and popular Chloe (Whitney Able) who is nothing more than a Paris Hilton clone. That said, Able pulls off the façade of self-esteem while being an insecure basket case very well.
Mandy along with Chloe and their other girlfriend Marlin (Melissa Price) are all invited to a party by pothead Red (Aaron Himelstein). They agree to go as does Jake (Luke Grimes) who is has the combined looks of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison) from the Twilight series and Todd Gaines (Timothy Olyphant) from Go (1999). Jake is a complete jerk who attempts to sex up all the girls despite Marlin doing everything to please him.
Lastly among the buddies is Bird (Edwin Hodge). Bird is the only nice guy on the trip. Though, Red isn’t terrible, he is still there primarily to get laid, whereas Bird actually respects women. He knows the rumors surrounding Mandy’s virginity yet doesn’t even attempt to take it. He asks her to hold hands and for a small kiss never pushing the boundaries. If there is a protagonist in the movie, I would say that Bird is the closest to it.
The group isn’t alone as one of the locals Garth (Anson Mount) keeps checking in on the group. He knows Red’s father and whenever the group gets out of control he threatens to call. He is supposed to be much older though he honestly looks the same age as everyone else. Chloe wants to sleep with him, but he turns her down feeling that he’s too old.
Soon people start getting killed in different horrific ways. Though the identity of the killer isn’t hidden, I’m not going to discuss it here as it isn’t shown immediately either. It’s expected, but of course there is more than meets the eye.
The ending is the most frustrating aspect to the movie. It’s a conclusion that I saw a mile away however I anticipated an explanation or motive that was more than what was provided.
That said, there is a certain charm to the fact that the plot, subplot and “twists” are both obvious and ambiguous. Somehow the movie manages to answer the questions one would ask yet create more for the viewer to ponder. Even after watching, I am stumped whether All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was a thought-provoking piece with an intentional unclear ending to make the audience wonder or if it was just lazy unmotivated writing.
There is a third option as well. Possibly, the moral is that not everything has a motive though if that were the case it would almost be in conflict with the theme of the film which, without giving anything away, is about the level of control one has versus what they believe they have.
Much of this film actually reminded me of an older movie which I adore. As most know I love Anthony Perkins and years ago he did a film entitled Pretty Poison (1968). I felt it was much closer to that than other movies I’ve seen it compared to (a.e. The Last House on the Left (1972), I Spit on Your Grave (1978), etc.). I honestly don’t see any parallels to the “torture” style films of the 70s or even those more recent like Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005) and All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. Though there are death scenes, and one is mildly gruesome, there really aren’t any elaborate traps nor is there a rape scene like there was with the films mentioned previously. Of course, as one could guess from the title, everyone is after Mandy Lane but there isn’t anything close to a sexual assault in the movie. She is certainly placed in uncomfortable situations by idiots like Dylan and Jake, but she always maintains control and is never subjected to rape. I for one am happy about that. In so many movies, rape is the go-to when a woman is the lead character in a horror movie. It’s refreshing when they visit other options as they did here.
I would certainly suggest watching this, especially for those who have access to Netflix or other streaming sites where it’s available. Be prepared to have unanswered questions at the conclusion not just surrounding the last few scenes but also situations that were brought up earlier in the film which seem to be connected yet are not revisited.
Sadly, I can’t delve into more without giving away spoilers so I shall stop before I ruin the movie. Overall, for a 750K budget film, the production was high, the atmosphere was unsettling, the pace was quick, the build-up was strong and the characters each had their own distinct personality. I would have preferred the other women aside from Mandy to be portrayed in a stronger light, however balancing that against Mandy and the need to depict her helping the other girls made that understandably difficult.
As for the ending, there is a part of me that feels as though the film was just unfinished in the sense that rather than write an actual ending they took the easy way out. As I said, I also find this to be a strength as it does make one use their own imagination and allows one to play with several different scenarios to find a solid motive and ending.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10
