The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008)

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

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Haley Bennett	...	Molly Hartley
Jake Weber	...	Robert Hartley
Chace Crawford	...	Joseph Young
Shannon Woodward	...	Leah
Shanna Collins	...	Alexis White
AnnaLynne McCord	...	Suzie
Marin Hinkle	...	Jane Hartley
Nina Siemaszko	...	Dr. Emerson
Josh Stewart	...	Mr. Draper
Jessica Lowndes	...	Laurel Miller
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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44711) | Singapore:PG | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Australia:M | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Liddell Entertainment

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The page of the book that Molly is looking at in the library is rife with spelling errors. Auditory is spelled 'aditory'. Possible is spelled 'possibile'. Component is spelled 'componant'.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Dr. Emerson: Congratulations, Molly.
Molly Hartley: Thank you.
Dr. Emerson: See you soon.

Movie Connections:

References Le locataire (1976)

Soundtrack:

Postman

A miserable excuse for a horror film!

"The Haunting of Molly Hartley" feels like a lazy attempt on the part of the filmmakers to transport the audience into a world of surprise and bewilderment. I found myself entering a world of frustration and mental exertion. This movie is puzzling to the point that it is hardly comprehensible.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett) was nearly killed by her mother some time ago. Molly now lives with her father (Jake Weber) and begins attending a new school. Molly's father feels certain that this change is for the best and is determined for his daughter to leave the past behind and get on with her life. Unfortunately, it is not long before Molly begins to experience nightmares and flashbacks of her daunting past. Her emotional stress continues to exacerbate and this sets the tone for a very complicated chain of events.

The movie's attempts to frighten the audience are quite discouraging. In fact, one single recycled cliché becomes the basis for most of the scary moments. There are countless instances of characters suddenly appearing out of nowhere and startling Molly. Sometimes these moments are simultaneously accompanied by loud music, which is nothing original. Eventually this repetition turns into complete absurdity when Molly is startled by a dog behind a fence and then by mail being dropped through a front door mail slot! The writers have milked this scare tactic for way more than it is worth. The overuse of this tactic certainly does not create a spine-tingling atmosphere throughout the course of the movie. Instead, it merely elicits brief, jumpy reactions from the viewer which disappear in the blink of an eye and fail to leave a lasting impression.

It is not uncommon for mediocre horror films to suffer due to the characters. That is the case with this film, but in a different way. At a certain point, it becomes quite clear that none of the characters in this film, except for maybe Molly, are who they appear to be. This occurs after the characters have already been developed. Eventually, it reaches a point where they become so irrational and unforeseeable that they practically have no identity anymore.

By the end of the movie, it becomes a laborious task to try and apprehend all of the perplexing twists and turns. It feels like the writers abandoned any efforts to effectively develop the story and simply resorted to these vague turning points that are only meant to baffle the audience in hopes that the audience will at least remain attentive. Combine this with the unpredictability of the characters, and the movie is swamped with an overwhelming amount of complexity.

The interesting thing is that beneath all of the confusion, there is a story. However, it is a story with an unoriginal premise: A traumatic incident from the past sets the stage for a plethora of horrifying occurrences in the present. Once again, the writers try to compensate by using gimmicks and recycled clichés, but they fail, of course.