Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Could It Be the Devil in Me?, November 11, 2008
I enjoyed "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" ... back when it starred Sissy Spacek, was directed by Brian De Palma, and went by the title of "Carrie." No, we're not dealing with a full-blown rip off here, but we are dealing with two films that have annoyingly similar elements: a misunderstood teenage girl in high school; a mother who wants to "save" her daughter by murdering her; religious fanaticism; the maturing of supernatural powers; a frightening parable about identity and the dangers of emotional and physical development. The difference between the two films? "Carrie" actually made sense. And it wasn't a tame date movie geared towards a young PG-13 crowd. "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" is so juvenile in its approach to horror that the filmmakers overlooked many crucial elements, a fully realized story being one of the most important. We get an idea of what's happening, but we get no real sense of why, and what little we're told is painfully lacking in detail.
This movie was not made for people like me. It was made for young adult audiences, and it shows not only through a predictable, unoriginal plot, but also through a litany of phony pop-out scares. At the start of the film, a flock of birds suddenly fly through a shot, making a seventeen-year-old girl scream. Later on, another girl awakens from a nightmare; after less than three seconds of silence, the girl's alarm clock loudly comes to life. Later still, that same girl is startled by a loud thud. When she turns around, she realizes that an assortment of mail was just delivered through the slot on her front door. None of these scares have anything to do with the story--they were included for no reason other than making the viewers jump in their seats. It's sort of like a carnival funhouse, which is filled with random frights that have no narrative connection. When you see as many horror movies as I have, you come to recognize how and when those cinematic false alarms will appear. You may also grow tired of them, as I have.
The plot: the title character (Haley Bennett) is a troubled seventeen-year-old girl, having survived a viscous stabbing at the hands of her mother. Since then, her mother has been locked away in a mental institution. To make a fresh start, Molly and her father (Jake Weber) move to a new city. Once there, Molly is enrolled in a posh private high school, and it's there that she meets: Leah (Shannon Marie Woodward), a rebellious teen with an anger management problem; Suzie (AnnaLynne McCord), who's jealous and spiteful; and Alexis (Shanna Collins), a perfect Little Miss Christian who introduces herself by saying, "Some are offended because I have a close, personal relationship with Jesus." Molly also meets Joseph Young (Chance Crawford), who just happens to be Suzie's ex as well as the one of the richest, most popular guys on campus. He immediately takes a liking to her, although right from the start, we suspect it's for reasons other than the fact that she's a beautiful loner with a painful past.
Not everything is fun and games for Molly. She begins to fear that she's just as crazy as her mother. That's because she regularly has crippling panic attacks, all of which are accompanied by disturbing visual and aural hallucinations. Many of these attacks are kick started by Alexis, who will gladly bend anyone's ear about God and Jesus and the Bible. Clearly, she's serious about her faith, and it shows in a scene in which Bibles are distributed as a companion guide to John Milton's "Paradise Lost"; Alexis protests to her teacher, claiming that God's word should never be reduced to the level of a classroom textbook. When not in class, Alexis continuously tries to convert Molly, insisting that she's a good person who, for the sake of her immortal soul, needs to be saved. Molly refuses to listen ... until her mother (Marin Hinkle) pays her an unexpected visit. Never mind questioning how she got out of the asylum or how she knew where to find her daughter--let's just focus on the fact that she had perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting Molly dead. I won't reveal them, but I will say that lines like, "I know what you are," and, "I have to save you," continuously enter the conversation.
When Molly hears the truth, she rushes to Alexis for help. Then she reunites with Joseph, who wants to protect her by ... oh, why am I even bothering with a plot description? Does anyone really care what this movie is about? I certainly didn't, and this was before all eight-six minutes had gone by. At the end of the film, my feelings for it shifted from dislike to apathy, which is even worse when you stop and think about it. I place most of the blame on the ending, which is incredibly vague and unsatisfying. "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" is lifeless, derivative, devoid of scares, and just plain boring. Worst of all, it didn't want to be any better than what it was, which is to say that it had no ambition to be more than a mild teen thriller. I can't say I was expecting a masterpiece, but I certainly did expect something that actually made an effort. It's a horror movie without actual horror, which may explain why it was aimed at younger audiences. God forbid they should see a movie that's too scary for them.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Where's The Haunting?!!, September 10, 2009
The Haunting of Molly Hartley is utterly childish, boring and absolutely oblivious of the kind of fans that watch actual genre cinema. If you're expecting a "haunting," forget it, there isn't one, just a few voices and a single vision. Where does all of it lead? Well, nowhere, the finale offers no explanations, no fear, no tension...not even a little black magic. This was a huge bust and a major waste of time.
The acting was passable, the dialogue passable, the visuals passable and the cinematography and score adequate, though uninspired, and that's about it. If you're a tween or a thirteen-year-old girl, you may find this interesting, real horror fans on the other hand will be guaranteed to feel cheated, betrayed and bored to tears.
I plan to avoid Mickey Liddell, John Travis and Rebecca Sonnenshine's work from hereon in, I have no desire to be treated like a little girl or a brainless consumer again. I mean have the writers and director EVER seen a horror film? A REAL horror film? To create such a gooey pile of girlie pop poop and expect genre fans to respond favorably is just plain deluded. I was so incredibly annoyed after watching The Haunting of Molly Hartley, I felt cheated and embarrassed, especially after seeing the looks on my guests' faces. If you have a tween/teen girl and you're interested in having them check out a film that offers a little innocent, saccharine "coming of age" and "the power of female sexuality" subtext, you can't go wrong with this film. Horror fans looking for REAL horror shouldn't waste their money to rent or purchase, this is pure trash.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
not worth your precious time, May 17, 2009
...this is one of the most horrible films ever. There's no "plot" whatsoever, the "characters" were all scrambling around for nothing and a wasted watching time. Better go out and run around your house!
Totally not recommended at all.
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