Horror fans should take a look away from the mainstream from time to time. Especially in European genre cinema, there are always a few pearls to be discovered that get lost in the mass of new releases. One of them is last year’s Dutch horror debut Moloch by director Nico van den Brink.
The horror film Moloch takes you on a spooky trip in gloomy moors, occult rituals and Dutch horror legends. You can discover the insider tip in the Amazon Prime Video streaming subscription.
Folk horror from Holland: Moloch awakens an ancient horror on Amazon
What is Moloch about anyway? The film begins with a time jump to 1991 and a traumatic experience for the little girl Betriek. Crouching in a closet, she has to listen to her grandmother being brutally attacked. As blood drips from the ceiling, she realizes what just happened.
30 years later, Betriek (Sallie Harmsen) is a grown woman who, after the death of her husband, lives with her daughter in a small Dutch village with her parents. In the immediate distance is a gloomy and misty moor. A team of archaeologists makes a gruesome discovery.
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Mysterious Bog Bodies
The bodies of several women are dug up in the bog. Some of them are hundreds of years old. you all became his throat severed with a vertical cut. The horror find brings mysterious incidents. Strange whispers assail local residents and Betriek’s family is attacked by a man controlled by a strange force.
As the bodies pile up, Betriek tries to figure out what’s happening around them. An ancient power seems to have awakened in the moor. And everything is connected with the legend of a woman named Feike and that Child Sacrifice God Moloch together.
Horror film Moloch: 99 minutes of showers lead to an absolutely nasty twist
The Dutch horror film can be attributed to the genre of folk horror and weaves existing myths with a fictional story about occult rituals and supernatural horrors. Moloch does not reinvent the genre wheel and uses familiar horror elements. The best way to compare the film is with Ari Aster’s horror nightmare, Hereditary.
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A house full of secrets
One slow and naturalistic narrative style meets a spooky (moor) atmosphere, gloomy images and an interesting mythology inspired by Dutch sagas and legends. Don’t expect loud jump scares and shocks.
Instead, Moloch captivates over the 99-minute running time with its enigmatic characters, numerous mysteries and the terrifying darkness. The central puzzle builds up steadily and erupts in a nihilistic and vicious finale.
However, instead of presenting the resolution with a mallet, Moloch rewards attentive watching with one at the end clever and devastating twist, which brings all the threads together. And at the latest the final shot of the film shakes you to the core and lets Moloch linger in your nightmares even longer.
*. . .