Good afternoon, House of Madness dwellers:
This afternoon I'm going to share my thoughts on the newest installment from the good people over at Shudder. You know the kind of movie you're sure will be bad, but you watch it anyways just to realize it's actually good? Well, Mandrake isn't one of those. Unfortunately, the story is rather bare bones, confusing at times, and honestly, it's just not that interesting. More than once I lost my train of thought and realized I was counting the ceiling spackle dots in my bedroom instead of paying attention to what was going on on my TV screen. I'm not saying Mandrake is awful, because it isn't and deserves a better term to describe itself; let's just go with bland to be fair and honest.
Mandrake (Written by Matt Harvey and directed by Lynne Davison) follows parole officer Cathy Madden (Deirdre Mullins), as she is tasked with the job of rehabilitating a convicted killer named 'Bloody' Mary Laidlaw (Derbhle Crotty). As Cathy is approaching Mary's secluded house for the first time, she sees two children she recognizes wandering the forest clearly looking for misadventures. She tells the children to head straight home, lest she call their parents, and the children take heed; or so Cathy thinks. Once Cathy gets to Mary's house, it is quickly realized that Mary would fit in nicely at a high school reunion in a butcher shop on Shutter Island. An ankle bracelet is then attached to Mary, and they set up their next meeting which is to take place at Cathy's office in the city.
Later that evening, the children Cathy saw earlier have been reported missing by their parents, last seen in the woods near 'Bloody' Mary's house. A search party is dispatched, but it seems the children's parents and some of the locals have started their own manhunt to deal with Mary on their own terms. This is quickly dealt with by police (more on them in a minute), and the mob is quickly dispersed. The search initially turns up nothing besides the body of a local carouser with a rap sheet, but it is clear the fate these children will suffer.
While all this is happening, Cathy is trying to balance an overburdened work schedule, seeing her son Luke (Jude Hill) that she sees irregularly because of her long work hours, and dealing with her ex-husband Jason (Paul Kennedy)who just so happens to be on the police force. Not only that, but Jason's new wife Grace (Roisin Gallagher) is pregnant, and Cathy's own son Luke has started calling Grace 'Mommy'. Is the entire world actually out to get Cathy, or is she having another post partum breakdown (which we find out about later from the seemingly all knowing Mary) that launched her marriage into the depths of Hell?
Once it's made clear what's actually going on, we're left with abduction, murder, folklore, and an evil that has finally been stopped.........or has it just been reborn? There are certainly worse ways to spend 85 minutes of your hard earned free time, but I'm also sure there are definitely better ways too.
Madness Meter: 4.8/10
NB
