What’s in a name? Whether it’s The Weinstein Company or Amber Heard, horror fans will go out of their way to see this horror flick based on the cast/crew involved. But, you know what they say. You can’t always judge a book by its cover; and in this case, you can’t judge a film by its participants.
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane is written by Jacob Forman and directed by Jonathan Levine (also the director of Warm Bodies). The film stars Amber Heard (Pineapple Express, The Stepfather, The Ward, Drive Angry, and “The Playboy Club”) before she was famous; as well as Anson Mount (Urban Legends II, “Hell on Wheels”), Michael Welch (“Joan of Arcadia,” Day of The Dead remake, Twilight saga), Edwin Hodge (“Boston Public,” “Jack and Bobby,” “Cougar Town”), and Luke Grimes (“Brothers and Sisters,” Taken 2, “True Blood”).
“The orphan Mandy Lane is a beautiful, pure teenager raised by her aunt, desired by her schoolmates and a close friend of the outcast Emmet. After the death of their high school mate in a pool party, Mandy befriends Chloe, Marlin, Red, Bird and Jake. Red invites the group for a weekend party in the isolated ranch of his family. In the middle of the night, a stranger wearing a hood attacks Marlin in the barn; when Jake seeks her out, he faces the killer, beginning a night of bloodshed and terror.”
Instead of breaking it down piece by piece, paragraph by paragraph – I’m going to break it down for you as simply as possible. All The Boys Love Mandy Lane is a distinctly average horror flick. It’s shot well, acted beautifully, and has a few particularly gory elements to it. But, it’s average. It brings nothing new to the table at all. No originality in the writing, we’ve seen halves of the plot reenacted across multiple genres. There aren’t any inventive scenes death scenes that will make you say, “Wow! Never seen that before!” The only thing Mandy Lane succeeds at is not being completely bad. It’s far from horrible and it’s far from great. It’s just average.
Here’s the thing: don’t fall for the hype surrounding this movie. We all know about Mandy Lane. It was to be released in 2007, but The Weinstein Company sold the movie to another company which then went bankrupt. After only three screenings at film festivals Mandy Lane was shelved until The Weinstein’s re-purchased the rights to the movie in 2013 and released it in America at the end of the year. During this six year span, Mandy Lane almost became an urban legend around the horror community. “Have you seen it?” “When will it come out?” “That film festival gave it a great rating so it must be good!” The hype surrounding this title was palpable; but hype doesn’t always mean the product you’re anticipating will deliver.
If you take All The Boys Love Mandy Lane for what it is, then you get a decent semi-slasher flick starring some promising talent. Mandy Lane is a title that doesn’t live up to its own legendary status. I can’t say anything positive about it, nor can I give it negative comments. It is so painfully average and after six years of waiting, it was also a disappointment. Seems the world agrees with me as Mandy Lane’s limited theatrical release only raked in $1,300,000. I’m going to give it a 5.3 out of 10. Right smack in the middle with a few extra points for a brilliant – though accidental – marketing scheme.
