Moloch – Folklore Treat
Director: Nico van den Brink
Writer: Daan Bakker, Nico van den Brink (Screenplay)
Starring: Sallie Harmsen, Anneke Blok, Noor van der Velden, Fred Goessens, Alexandre Willaume
Plot: Betriek lives at the edge of a peat bog in the North of the Netherlands. When she and her family are attacked by a random stranger one night, Betriek sets out to find an explanation. The more she digs, the more she becomes convinced that she is being hunted by something ancient.
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Moloch starts as we meet widowed Betriek (Harmsen) living with her young daughter Hanna (Velden) near a peat bog. One that has attracted a research team. One-night Betriek tells her story to a member of the team Jonas (Williaume) and how the town believe she is cursed.
After Betriek and her family get attacked by a man in their home. Playing into the bigger curse that surrounds the family, Betriek believes she is in danger, because of a discovery in the bog days before.
Thoughts on Moloch
Characters & Performances
Betriek is the widowed mother who has given up her dreams to make this life the best she can for her daughter. Returning home, where he works in the school, despite the town thinking she is caused because of what happened to her husband. When her family is attacked, she will learn more about the folklore around the mystery in the bog. To save her daughter and herself.
Jonas is the archaeologist that arrives in the bog after a body is discovered, looking into the history of the area with his team. He is one of the few people that will listen to the stories that Betriek has. As she will need to put the science, he knows against the folklore he has been told.
When it comes to the supporting characters, we do have the other family members and members of the digging team. Who fill in the blanks or are the people that need protecting. Sallie Harmsen and Alexandre Willaume are both great in the leading roles, dealing with the unexplained questioning what they once believed.
Story
Moloch will follow a widowed mother who finds her family under attack after a local dig makes a shocking discovery in the local bog. Moloch will bring us into the folklore side of stories, where a town believes one thing. While not taking it too seriously, that starts to come back to haunt the residents. As they need to figure out the truth behind the folklore to make sure they stay safe.
There balance between science and folklore comes through well between Betriek and Jonas interactions. There will be a tension being created around everything that is happening in the story, with how the story keeps us guessing to where the movie will end up going.
Themes
Moloch is a horror thriller that will use the folklore around the mystery about what happened on the bog. The bog will be used to show the murky environment that the events take place in. when it comes to the horror in the film, we get a nice mix of different styles which offer something different for each moment to unfold.
Final Thoughts – Moloch is a great atmospheric horror, balancing the folklore and science worlds together.
