Moloch (2022 film)
2022 Dutch film
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Moloch is a 2022 Dutch folk horror film directed by Nico van den Brink, starring Sallie Harmsen and Alexandre Willaume.
Daan Bakker
Ronald Versteeg
| 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
The 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 night when a mysterious stranger attacks the house, setting off a string of unexplained events that Betriek attempts to unravel about the mystery of the stranger. All the while, an ancient evil lurks deep within the bog.
Cast
- Sallie Harmsen as Betriek
- Isabel Merbis as young Betriek
- Alexandre Willaume as Jonas
- Anneke Blok as Elske, Betriek's mother
- Hansje van Welbergan as young Elske
- Ad van Kempen as Ton
- Noor van der Velden as Hannah, Betriek's daughter
- 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, Betriek's father
Release
The film was released in theatres in the Netherlands on 19 May 2022.[1]
Reception
On 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]