The Moth Diaries

The Moth Diaries (2011)

*** (out of 4)

Mary Harron's impressive re-telling of the Carmilla tale takes place in an all girls boarding school where Rebecca (Sarah Bolger) begins to feel that new girl Ernessa (Lily Cole) is killing her friends in some sort of weird attempt at getting to her. I'm really a little surprised that this film drew such mixed reviews but I guess some are going to be disappointed that the horror elements aren't more graphic while others aren't going to be thrilled with teen vampires that aren't a part of the TWILIGHT crowd. For me, I thought this art-house horror film was extremely well-directed and acted and also contained one of the best atmospheres I've seen from any recent horror film. Director Harron really did a remarkable job with the visual style of the film and I especially loved how incredibly dark it was. I'm not sure what boarding school this was but it's the darkest I've seen in any movie and the director did a terrific job at really making you feel the coldness on the inside. There were some very effective scenes here including a suicide that I won't spoil who it happens to but there's another scene where a girl is walking on the ledge of the building and disappears through a window. The entire cast offers very good and believable performances but Bolger really steals the film in the lead part. I thought she was extremely good play the various emotions that her character has to and she easily carried the film. Cole was also impressive in her role that doesn't give her much dialogue but she tells us all we need to know simply by looking at her. I really liked how various teen issues (weight, suicide) were worked into the story to make it all the more effective. Also enjoyable was the surreal nature that Harron brought the picture by never making it clear what's really going on and if perhaps everything is just in one's mind. THE MOTH DIARIES isn't a masterpiece but I think it's one of the better horror films in recent years.