The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008)

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Director:

Mickey Liddell

Writers (WGA):

John Travis (written by) and
Rebecca Sonnenshine (written by)

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

This Halloween her past is yet to come.

Plot:

Molly Hartley looks to put her troubled past behind her with a fresh start at a new school, where she sparks with one of the most popular students...

Plot Keywords:

Ancestry | Teenage Girl | Teen | Haunting | Male Female Relationship

Cast

Haley Bennett	...	Molly Hartley
Jake Weber	...	Robert Hartley
Chace Crawford	...	Joseph Young
Shannon Woodward	...	Leah
Shanna Collins	...	Alexis
AnnaLynne McCord	...	Suzie
Marin Hinkle	...	Jane Hartley
Nina Siemaszko	...	Dr. Emerson
Josh Stewart	...	Mr. Draper
Jessica Lowndes	...	Laurel
Randy Wayne	...	Michael
Jamie McShane	...	Father
Ron Canada	...	Mr. Bennett
Kevin Cooney	...	Dr. Donaldson
Ross Thomas	...	Jock

Also Known As:

She Lived (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for strong thematic material, violence and terror, brief strong language and some teen drinking.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44711) | Singapore:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Liddell Entertainment

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first bathroom scene Leah pushes the stall door out, scaring Molly. But later Molly pushes the stall doors inward looking for the person whispering.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Molly Hartley: [on the phone] Dad? Could you come pick me up?
Father: Are you safe?
Molly Hartley: Yeah. I'm safe.
Father: I'm on my way.
[hangs up and Molly is attacked instantly]

Movie Connections:

References Le locataire (1976)

A failure of a movie... a failure of humanity in general.

Horrendous. I've never written a review for a movie, good or bad, nor have I even been inspired to; but this absolute garbage of a movie made me furious enough to want to express what I feel: The failure of this movie can not be overstated.

If you want to know what watching this movie is like, combine the following: *A "noisy shocker" at least once every ten minutes (I wish that were an exaggeration). You all know the noisy shocker; like when a loud barking dog or a group of birds suddenly bursts into the otherwise quiet and peaceful scene in order to make you jump. Overuse of this dynamic is a sure tell of an uninspired and boring thriller/horror movie, and this movie totally engulfs the entire cake of it.

*A disgustingly sappy high school teen atmosphere. Complete with the sassy and rebellious cool girl, handsome and charismatic romantic interest, jealous girlfriend, and all the drama you might find in any teen show on TV. Rich cute white teens all around, for your viewing pleasure.

*About 20 minutes of plot. The rest of the movie deals with the stereotypical problems of the modern rich white high school teen. The first and last 10 minutes are where the plot takes place - the entire middle of this movie goes absolutely nowhere.

*A lazy and transparent religious undertone. We get it. Just accept Jesus as your lord and savior, or else. Everyone else will let you down.

*A twist so mind-numbingly ridiculous, nonsensical and frustrating, that it will leave you with a truck-full of questions (not good philosophical questions, but bad "WTF?" questions), as well as make you wish bad things happened to everyone involved in writing/directing/producing this movie, because they got paid to deliver this abomination of a movie.

All that said, if I had to dig for a good quality in this movie, I would say it is the acting. And that's the only praise I can think of really. All 3 stars I gave this movie are for the decent acting in the face of sheer stupidity.

So in conclusion, avoid this movie, unless dull, boring, lazy and banal high-school-teen based thrillers/horrors with a religious undertone and shockingly idiotic twist happen to be your favorite.