The Haunting of Molly Hartley

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.

I actually registered on this site to post this comment. I feel it is my duty to save you precious moments of life that are better spent elsewhere.

This film used the normal scare tactics, i.e. suspenseful building music, quick appearance on camera of people or things, reflections in mirrors, etc., but nothing new or original. The little whispers in the background try to make you nervous, but it leads to a dead end.

Speaking of endings, just when you think the movie has built to where it will explain exactly what is going on, it ends. One minute it seems all hell is about to break loose, and then there is a very weak resolution and the movie is over. The best way to describe it is to take a movie that is 2 hours long, and cut out the last half hour except for the final few minutes. I actually had to go home and verify that the theater didn't skip a reel or two. Unfortunately for us, they didn't.

Words can not express how terribly this movie ends. I am amazed that this ever made it into a theater. Don't waste your time and money on the theater, or even a rental. Hell, don't even waste your time watching it for free on TV. I've had bowel movements much more interesting and fulfilling than this movie. Maybe the director had a vision in his head, I just wish he would have let everyone else in on it.

I'll admit, this is a poor excuse for a horror film, but it still isn't completely awful. Loads of people will be disappointed with this film, and so I seriously hope you know what you're in for.

17 year old Molly was stabbed by her mother who is now in a mental hospital. Molly lives with her dad and attends a new school, but strange things start to happen to her.

Yes, sounds cliché, and it is, but there are some decent moments in it. The problem with this film is it opens with a fairly impressive scene, but the tension just fails after that and the whole thing goes downhill.

Normally, I wouldn't have watched this film. The only reason I did was because of Haley Bennett as the lead role. Yes, that is the ONLY reason. She has a wonderful horror movie scream and does a good job of acting scared, and she is in fact the highlight of the movie. The other characters aren't fleshed out enough and the way they pop into Molly's life with different reasons gets a little confusing.

This film didn't have a huge budget and so I can forgive the lack of gore and special effects which I was expecting, but the script is rather weak and the plot is pretty thin so the supposed twist ending is predictable. Oh, and the ending scene will confuse some and outrage others, depending on if you understand it. Long story short, it isn't very good.

Despite all the negative things, some people will enjoy this film. I am one of those people, I could definitely watch it again and don't regret buying it. Not one of my favourites, but if you're looking for a cheesy horror movie to bitch about, then it fits the bill. If you want a true horror with lots of blood and screams and special effects, then this isn't even close to what you're looking for.

All in all, I liked this film enough to buy it and watch again. I'm giving it six stars because although it severely lacks the shock factor to make it a horror, it still qualifies as one of those bad movies you watch on Saturday night. Just remember that you may still be very disappointed, so lower your expectations.

I went into the theater not knowing anything about this movie; I hadn't seen any previews on TV, no reviews on the Internet, nothing. A good buddy of mine wanted to go see it, so I thought "What the heck, it's Friday night and I don't have anything better to do", so we went. Boy, did I learn my lesson.

I can't believe I actually paid to see this movie. Do yourself a favor and just wait until this comes out on DVD. Actually, don't do that; this movie isn't even worth renting. This is one of the most boring and non-entertaining movies I have ever seen. Although this movie is labeled as "suspense" or "thriller", there is nothing even remotely suspenseful or scary about it. It uses all the scare tactics you're familiar with, and thus are not affected by anymore. For example, the bathroom mirror trick. Come on, how old is that trick?

As for the acting, I would say it is mediocre at best; no great performances from anybody that will save this movie. There were a couple of scenes in which I thought Haley Bennett (Molly Hartley) was going to be able to turn the movie around, but ultimately ending up crushing my hopes.

If you want to spare yourself two boring hours, don't go see this movie; it's just not worth the money. Also, remember to do your research. And don't trust your friends. (Just kidding)

Judging by the current rating of 3.8 I was expecting this to be awful however it was actually entertaining and although it wasn't anything new it was nowhere near the worst film I've ever seen. It does make me wonder exactly what people expect when watching films like this.

The acting was pretty good for one of these types of films with Haley Bennett putting in a good performance in the lead role and Shanna Collins putting in good support.

It's not a scary film and maybe the lack of many frights and gore put off many people. Although this is a film more about the story than the gore there are a few creepy moments and a less than predictable last 15 minutes.

This is far better than the rating suggests and worth watching if your at a loose end.