I loved “Mandy Lane,” I can’t deny it. It’s damn good, probably one of the best slashers in the last ten years. A masterpiece? Nah, not really. But what it is is a strong and surprising slasher film with characters that are actually engaging to watch. All the while it sets us up for some of the most vicious kills I’ve seen since “Sleepaway Camp.” Humorously enough, “Mandy Lane” is exactly what I was reminded of while watching, because both films feel like two completely different genre fueled narratives.
I was never a big fan of Hellboy mainly because it was difficult to find. Here in the Bronx, any chances of ever reading it were futile. But I was a big fan of the original “Hellboy” movie as well as the two animated mid-quels that others found generally forgettable. The first film was Guillermo Del Toro playing Mike Mignola’s game, a veritable bevy of oddities and monsters confined to the modest budget of a studio who had very little faith on the power of this concept. “Hellboy II” however is Del Toro’s game, a movie that’s reliant on the imagination of Guillermo Del Toro who brought with him Oscar cred via the masterwork of “Pan’s Labyrinth.”