User Reviews

This movie is not near a 10, nor a 1. People are really crazy with their reviews out here in these streets lol This was a decently entertaining movie that was a mixed bag as far as pros and cons go.

It was definitely a bit slow in the first half. It felt like they were trying hard to be atmospheric and tension building... but it more made for awkward moments and a slow pace. Regardless, it kept your attention and was intriguing. I did not however like how they very quickly showed the "monster" in broad daylight... I feel like they shot themselves in the foot with that as far as the opportunity to expand upon their creep factor went (also something about the costume looked a tad silly as well)

About half way through was when things got a little more exciting, but it is also when the story started to fall apart a bit. Not horribly in a detrimental way, but to the point where I was just lightly confused for the rest of the movie lol

The movie looked great minus a few night scenes that were just too dark. Also the casting was great. Everyone did a solid job and I really didn't notice a rotten one in the bunch.

Now, the ending... or lack there of. This ending is going to piss a lot of people off because there isn't much semblance of one. I can already hear all the angry 1 star reviews saying that this is a waste of time. It is not a waste of time... however, you do leave it feeling a little unfulfilled and gypped in a sense.

With this ending and the entire production as a whole, I do feel like it didn't quite live up to its potential. I think the foundation was there but maybe the execution lacked, creating some detrimental disservices that it didn't quite bounce back from. The ending almost had me knocking it down to a 4, but it really was a decent, middle of the road production. Would recommend.

Just not great! The accents were SO thick I was happy it came with any subtitles at all, even if there was a delay of about 20 seconds. Now the movie, TOO dark even with the lights off it was hard to see at times. I loved the story, although it feels similar to another movie (Cannot recall the movie name). I wish they would have focused more on what happened to the lead lady in the end. End was left hanging and I hate movies like that. It was not bad though if you give it a chance and like horror you MIGHT end up enjoying it. But do not expect much to be explained, you will have to use your own imagination. No supernatural aspects, think real British ppl playing with evil magic. For the ppl rating this movie a 1, do they not see another number BUT 1 or what? Losers... It takes time and money to make a good flick and this was not horrible, save your 1's for the unwatchable movies like The Veloci Pastor!!

I do not know how this film has a 5.4 rating on IMDB. It makes me ashamed of being partly Irish as it is one of the worst films of the year.

A woman known as Bloody Mary is released from prison after twenty years and a probation officer is put in charge of monitoring the woman. She places an ankle bracelet on her and she is told that she must not leave her home.

The house is a mess in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a wooded area.

Meanwhile, the probation officer is the ex-wife of a local policeman who is now married to a pregnant second spouse. Wife number one has a boy with some unexplained medical issues.

Two children go missing and, of course, Bloody Mary is a prime suspect.

What follows is just pure gibberish with a completely ridiculous ending. Avoid Mandrake like the plague.

Probation officer Cathy Madden (Deirdre Mullins) has been assigned the case of Mary Laidlaw (Derbhle Crotty), a woman who's just been released from prison following the murder of her husband twenty years ago. When she first drives her home, two children are waiting, wanting to meet the urban legend -- she's a witch, so they say -- in person. Yet when those same two children soon go missing, Cathy learns she has so much more on her hands than a normal case.

Directed by Lynne Davison, this finds Cathy undergoing horror in her personal life as well, as her ex-husband Jason (Paul Kennedy) is remarried to a normal person who is with child (Roisin Gallagher) and even worse, Cathy's son Luke (Jude Hill) calls her mom. This is something that Mary knows and uses against her, taunting her with how much it hurts to lose a child.

Of course, there's also a demon, a wood baby made from roots and a town that wants to destroy Mary, who is now tied to Cathy through this horrific ritual.

While not the finest folk horror you can find, Mandrake is shot well and quite unsettling in parts. It's definitely worth a watch if you're struggling for something new to check out.

Im giving it 7, but maybe 7.5 to be more specific.

The cast was great, maybe that was the best part of it in my opinion.

The beginning is kind of slow. But at this point I didnt have a clue if this was pure crime stuff or real horror involved.

This is when the middle part comes in and takes the cake.

Talking for a 'capped' 7.5 potential, of course.

Then the movie, with less than 90 minutes total runtime, gets to the final part. No shockingly big twists here unfortunately.

And thats about it.

On a side note, I always kind of talk about the beauty of the girls in a movie? So here goes: I find the protagonist looks attractive, like a matured Emilia Clarke.

Cute, strong character and great actress 👍.

Now even the villainess has her appeal but I thought she was gonna be younger based on the previously shown picture of her. But yeah Im thinking the actress was a cutie back in the day.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie! I liked how it was gritty, straight-forward, and quite unpredictable... yet at it's core it was a traditional folk horror witch tale.

What I enjoyed the most was that the movie didn't resort to the tired ambiguous "am I going crazy" quasi-psychological trope, but the witchcraft and the supernatural were presented at face value (which I find a rare treat nowadays). Also the brutality of the townfolk was presented well, and made me kind of root for Bloody Mary.

The ending could have been better thought out of and more imaginative, but I wasn't mad at it. Now it was more like this basic open horror ending.

I recommend this for anyone who loves witch movies!

I don't care if movies make total sense or have some intricate plot to unwind. It has a plot and makes sense until the end, where I do wish thing's were wrapped up a bit more. My only complaint.

Anyway...

This movie has THE creepiest evil witch I've ever seen.

She isn't one dimensional at all. She's Evil, and that's her primary characteristic, sure. But we also see her tender caring side for her "philosophy" and her companion.

It's easy to even feel empathy for her, despite her heinous actions.

Loved the lead and found myself begging for her to survive when, in the second act, the story goes straight to hell (in a good way) and the terror explodes after master craftsman tension building.

Also found it hilarious and highly original to have a Probation officer who must look after a witch.

I loved this movie. That's all.