#Nico van den Brink

[cinemaquiles]

Muita atmosfera, pouco horror: "Moloch" 2022

[sloshed-cinema]

Moloch (2022)

Dutch school plays just hit different. Where American schools in some parts of the country are pushing for abstinence-only and other backwards policies regarding handling of the birds and the bees, the annual pageant commemorating the take on local myth figure Feike doesn’t beat around the bush in the least, having little girls in leotards hold a balloon-egg aloft as other in sperm outfits run about them, the backdrop a uterine ruddy pink. While this moment makes audience and parent alike snicker, it signals the start of one of the better exposition scenes in recent memory. Visiting researcher Sonja reads aloud a local myth to her associate Jonas in their tent as the tale is enacted onstage in town. It’s the best damn production and set design I’ve seen for a kids’ play, leaning heavily into shadow and painted flame. But in this it takes on almost the aesthetic of a woodblock print, making this fairy tale more vivid. The little girl portraying Feike and marked with the symbol of Moloch has braces, showing that this story is indelible through the generations, its importance still handed down by oral tradition. Even the lead-up to the play feels like the movie is perking up, an ambitious tracking shot following the little girl Hanna around backstage before settling out with the audience. Even on a small scale, things can be cinematic.

Perhaps this is a reminder that movies are best when they can identify and lean into their strengths. Moloch follows a cursed family, the matriarch of each generation always meeting a bloody fate and the adult daughter of the most recent iteration trying to fight that. When it comes to horror, the film struggles out the gate, leaning into jump scares which are difficult to earn as well as computer graphics that look… less than impressive. Yet elsewhere, we get atmospheric sequences swathed in mist and uncertainty, granting a dread to proceedings. The film could have used a bit more sequences like patriarch Roelof’s flashlit pursuit of unknown trespassers through the forest as they trigger his jingling tripwires and a touch less people being startled by someone’s reflection. It’s a matter of personal taste to a degree, but there’s a definite assuredness to the more subtle scenes that isn’t as present during moments with a loud bang as someone appears unexpectedly in frame. The climax attempts to meld the two together to similar effect: Bull-masked cultists? Yes. Spoopy ghost? Nope. All the same, a feel-bad conclusion is usually something I can get behind, and the film manages to close on a note which feels jarring but not frustrating. It would appear Jonas has a lot to think about regarding his research.

THE RULES

PICK ONE

Select either FEIKE or MOLOCH and sip when that figure is named.

SIP

Jump scare noise.

Someone drinks liqueur.

The cold is mentioned.

BIG DRINK

Betriek fudges translating for her parents.

Betriek has headphones in a scene.

[lady-arryn]

MY TOP 10 FAVOURITE MOVIES OF 2022 (in no particular order)

FRESH dir. Mimi Cave MOLOCH dir. Nico van den Brink CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH dir. Cooper Raiff BODIES BODIES BODIES dir. Halina Reijn PREY dir. Dan Trachtenberg BARBARIAN dir. Zach Cregger FIRE ISLAND dir. Andrew Ahn THE BLACK PHONE dir. Scott Derrickson NOPE dir. Jordan Peele RESURRECTION dir. Andrew Semans

[unbornwhiskeyy]

moloch (2022, dir. nico van den brink)

(hooptober 2023 12/31)

[jellymonstergrrrl]

Moloch (2022) dir. Nico van den Brink

[moviemosaics]

Moloch

directed by Nico van den Brink, 2022

[gebo4482]

Moloch - Official Trailer [HD] | A Shudder Original

Dir: Nico van den Brink Star: Alexandre Willaume / Sallie Harmsen / Jack Wouterse

[moviesandmania]

MOLOCH (2022) Reviews and Shudder release news for Dutch horror movie

MOLOCH (2022) Reviews and Shudder release news for Dutch horror movie

Moloch is a 2022 Dutch mystery horror film about a woman and her family being hunted by someone or rather something from a peat bog. Directed by Nico van den Brink from a screenplay co-written with Daan Bakker. Produced by Sabine Brian and Ronald Versteeg. Plot: Thirty-eight-year-old Betriek (Sallie Harmsen) lives at the edge of a peat bog in the North of the Netherlands. When she and her family…

[infraredmag]

MOLOCH

@Sallie_harmsen, @AWillaume and #MarkoesaHamer star in #MOLOCH directed by #NicoVanDenBrink available on @iTunes 10/18 via @Shudder. Preview it now at: www.InfraredMAG.com/moloch-2022 #NewMovie #Horror #Film #HorrorFan #SallieHarmsen #AlexandreWillaume

MOLOCH 1h 39m | Horror | Rated R | 18 October 2022 Moloch tells the story of Betriek who lives a quiet life with her family at the edge of a peat bog. When they are attacked by a random stranger one night, Betriek sets out to find an explanation. But the deeper she digs, the more she becomes convinced something ancient is after her and her loved ones. Director: Nico van den BrinkWriters: Dean…

[fathersonholygore]

[Fantasia 2022] MOLOCH & The Terrifying Dominance of Folklore

[Fantasia 2022] MOLOCH & The Terrifying Dominance of Folklore

Moloch (2022) Directed by Nico van den Brink Screenplay by Nico van den Brink & Daan Bakker Starring Sallie Harmsen, Anneke Blok, Markoesa Hamer, Ad van Kempen, Edon Rizvanolli, Willemijn Kressenhof, Fred Goessens, Phi Nguyen, Albert Secuur, & Johan Fretz. Horror ★★★★★ (out of ★★★★★) DISCLAIMER: The following essay contains significant spoilers; BEWARE! Folk horror is so great because folklore,…

[thepeoplesmovies]

Shudder Film Review- Moloch (2022)

Shudder Film Review- Moloch (2022)

Creepy, unusually captivating, not going where I thought it was heading. A Netherlands heartstopper, with terrifying performances all round helping Moloch build to an excruciatingly shocking, baroque finale. Another winning Shudder original. Single mum, unassuming Betriek (Sallie Harmsen) is bewildered when a random stranger threatens her family in the middle of the night at the isolated…

[horrorpatch]

Folk Horror Film MOLOCH Picked Up By Shudder Coming Out of Fantasia Film Festival!

Folk Horror Film MOLOCH Picked Up By Shudder Coming Out of Fantasia Film Festival!

Shudder announced today it has acquired the new folk horror film MOLOCH to stream on the service. The film is coming out of the Fantasia Film Festival and is Dutch Nico van den Brink’s directorial debut. To find out more about the film, keep reading on down below. You can also watch the trailer here. From The Press Release NEW YORK – May 18, 2021 – Shudder, AMC Network’s premium streaming…

[ilcovodelbikersgrunf]

Deadline ha rivelato la prima immagine di Moloch, film horror olandese attualmente in fase di filming.

Protagonista di Moloch è Betriek, una trentottenne che vive ai margini di una torbiera nel nord dei Paesi Bassi. Quando una notte lei e la sua famiglia vengono attaccate da uno sconosciuto, la donna cercherà di trovare una spiegazione a ciò che sta succedendo intorno a lei. Più Betriek si avvicinerà alla verità, più si convincerà di essere tormentata da qualcosa di antico.

[lasvampiras]

HET JUK (2019)

Dir. Nico van den Brink

[visplay]

Chris: Moloch is a different horror film from the Netherlands, includes bog bodies, starts well and has solid characters, but it falls apart a bit near the middle and does not deliver as much as I would like, Avoid.

Richie: The story was titled, Moloch, but Moloch isn’t the focus of the film, it is more about the legend of Feike, a little muddled, Watch: On Subscription Service.