LOLA (2022) DIRECTED BY ANDREW LEGGE

LOLA is a fantastic, shining example of low-budget, independent film-making that can stand toe to toe with the big guns. 

LOLA (2022)
Directed by Andrew Legge
Written by Andrew Legg and Angeli Macfarlane


1940, Thom and Mars have built a machine, LOLA, that can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future


A Horror Movie Review by Mark Walker 

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT has a lot to answer for. While I am fairly certain it was not the first found footage film ever made, it was certainly one that thrust the format into the limelight and spawned hundreds of variously good and bad copies and homages over the years. To such an extent that there may have been a time when we were pretty much fatigued with found footage and had had enough. But things go in cycles and, whether it is Westerns, Zombies or Vampires, trends come and go and eventually we always circle back around.

I think LOLA has come at the perfect time. While found footage hasn’t ever really gone away, it doesn’t feel like it is as prevalent as it once was but is still throwing out the odd gem here and there to keep fans happy and to keep the fires burning. Take last year’s DEADSTREAM for example. It very clearly wears its influences on its sleeve, Blair Witch being the obvious one, but it thrust the found footage genre into the modern world, using an internet streamer as the catalyst for a story that unfolds through recordings from a haunted house livestream.

It was the same, but different.

MEAN SPIRITED did a similar thing with another modern take on found footage through streaming, so perhaps that is the direction a new wave of found footage movies should take?

Well, LOLA, thinks otherwise.

While LOLA has taken all the elements of the found footage format, it has used them in a slightly different way, exploring a different angle. In contrast to DEADSTREAM and MEAN SPIRITED, LOLA eschews modern technology and goes into the past to explore time travel, the rise of Hitler and the advance of Nazism in the early 1940s. In many ways it almost isn’t quite found footage, more of a message edited and sent back in time by one of the main characters to warn themselves.

Thom (Emma Appleton) and Mars (Stefanie Martini) are orphans who raised themselves in the 1930s, tucked out of sight in a grand country house away from any outside influence. Martha is the gentle, caring heart of the pairing, while Thom is the colder, more pragmatic genius of the two. While they are isolated together, they build LOLA, a steampunk-esque contraption that allows them to intercept radio and TV signals from the future.

At first their invention is an exciting and fun toy that allows them to explore their love of music as they watch footage of the 60s and 70s. They discover musical heroes like Bob Dylan and David Bowie years before they ever became famous or were even born.

However, with the changing political climate in Europe, it isn’t long before the fun stops and the very real potential for LOLA is discovered - intercepting future transmissions from the Nazis. This unprecedented level of intelligence and insight into enemy plans and tactics allows Thom and Mars to work with an initially suspicious British Army to begin to turn the tide of the war.

Of course, the joy is short lived and, as things start to turn bad, allegiances are tested and Thom and Mars discover just how bad things get when you mess around with time. If only they had picked up a few time travel films with LOLA to warn them off before things got bad!

LOLA is presented, found footage style, through wobbly home recordings made by the sisters, newsreel footage and army records. It cleverly uses stock footage to give a sense of period to the film, but also doctors it to include characters from the film. The film looks rough and shaky in places, but this sits perfectly with the time period and the style of film, it works effectively to draw you in and imagine you really are looking at images from the 1940s.

The acting and direction on show here is also perfect for the style and period of the film and Appleton and Martini are utterly convincing and enthralling as sisters responsible for literally changing the course of history. Throw in a soundtrack by Neil Hannon and you know you are on to a winner.

Like all Found Footage films, there are one or two times when you might think, ‘why are they filming that?’ but, by the time you realise, LOLA has drawn you in and you are not really going to care.

There are many influences at play here including material like PRIMER and THE MAN IN THE HIGHCASTLE to name just two. It explores the potential wonder of time travel as well as, like any good time travel tale should, the downfalls or knowing what is going to happen and the consequences of messing with fate. It is that conflict that allows films like LOLA to straddle both their parent genre of Sci-Fi and also Horror and the consequences for Mars and Thom really do become horrifying. A nod to THE SHINING confirms this broad depth of influence on the filmmakers.

There isn’t a lot more you can say about LOLA without risking spoilers, and I don’t want to do that. While I had an inkling how things were going to play out, there were still a few surprises with LOLA, and I was definitely caught up in the storytelling so much so that the 79 minute running time flew past without me ever once looking at my watch or fidgeting.

There is an ever revolving argument on social media every time the latest Hollywood Blockbuster is released to a deluge of bitterness bemoaning the lack of originality in the cinema and how Hollywood needs to get “back to its roots.” Let Hollywood do its thing, it’s a business and will always chase the money but, if you think there is a lack of originality and interesting stuff out there, you really need to look harder. LOLA is a fantastic, shining example of low-budget, independent film-making that can stand toe to toe with the big guns. There is room for all levels of filmmaking, let’s just make sure to support Indie film as much as enjoying the bombast of the latest Hollywood cash cow. (And don’t get me wrong, I love a good blockbuster!)
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LOLA is out in cinemas from 7th April, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Get out, see it, and enjoy!

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