Small in Budget but Big in Heart All the Boys Love Mandy Lane Definitely Entertains

Director: Jonathan Levine.

Starring: Amber Heard, Anson Mount, Whitney Able, Michael Welch, Aaron Himelstein, and Luke Grimes.

Somewhat disturbing underground film "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," is a horror movie with substance. Although, playful initially this film gets on with the scares early in the film. And without giving away major spoilers, watch closely the relationship between Emmet and Mandy Lane for clues to the ending. As well, this fun film stays away from many of the typical horror cliches and introduces the killer relatively early in the film; the ending is a bit of a shocker, but very satisfying. No shallow character development here.

A lot of the music seems to pop up randomly into the movie while not really setting a tone for the film. The score moves in from heavy rock to 70's classics with eerie string instruments popping in and out periodically. The music seems to need a little gentle focusing to hold the horror theme in "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," together. Although, some fans of horror films might say that the music is only a small part of any film, the musical score often enhances the overall feel of the film. See films like the "Descent," and "Eden Lake," to find out how music can fill a movie viewer with feelings of horror or dread while showing little to no violence on screen. In the case of "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," the score only adds an uncertainty of direction to the film.

Director Jonathan Levine keeps it simple and focuses on the major theme of boyhood lust for the elusive Mandy Moore while showing his ability to create an unpredictable story. One thing is very clear in this film "All the Boys (really do) Love Mandy Lane," and many will do almost anything to get next to her, or as Bird puts it "...to get with you (Mandy)."

Also, Levine stays away from introducing corny scares, rather the director creates tension by adding twists and turns to the story, and subtly adds dimension to the antagonist through a slow reveal in "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane." The addition of a little unpredictability increases the excitement of the film and will keep most viewers in their seats.

Unfortunatly, this film seems to be in an independent movie limbo as distributors Sony keep this film under wraps and away from horror fans. The latest word is that "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," will see 1000+ theatres in 2008, but with the production already seeing completion in 2006 it makes this reviewer wonder if it will ever see the big screen (Shockya).

Finally, "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," is an enjoyable film and although somewhat lacking in the musical score this film will generate enough fear in the audience to entertain many. See this film for the lovely slow-motion shots of Mandy Lane, the entertaining story, the youthful male bravado, or for the terrific ending...if you can find it!

A look at the international trailer for "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane:"




Sources:

All the Boys on Shockya.com

All the Boys on Moviesonline.ca

All the Boys at Internet Movie Database

Posted in: 2008,Aaron Himelstein,Amber Heard,Anson Mount,horror,independent,jonathan levine,Luke Grimes,mandy lane,Michael Welch,movie,Whitney Able