The Haunting of Sharon Tate

Daniel Farrands' latest film tells the tragedy of Sharon Tate, one of 5 deaths in an infamous real-life mass murder committed by the members of Charles Manson's cult. The release comes close to the 50th anniversary of those events.

I entered hoping for a fact-based biopic of Sharon Tate and what happened that night, giving life to the people that were killed and showing us who those people were during their short lives and final days. What we actually get is a rather dull sensationalistic take on the facts, used purely to create a horror film off the back of the tragedy. Had I seen his previous film based on Amityville murderer Ronald DeFeo (which I watched after this and is better executed while feeling narrowly less exploitive), I would've know what to expect - a mostly fictional horror story based on real victims of a real tragedy.

While it uses the real life events as an influence on the characters and story, there's clearly a lot of artistic license used and the result is a sub-par horror film that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth due to its exploitation of the real tragedy that took place. There was an opportunity to pay respect to the people that lost their lives, but unfortunately we get a forgettable home-invasion horror film with a particularly odd plot point, which feels absurd for a film which wants to give the impression that it's a fact-based biopic.

I can appreciate why Sharon Tate's sister was so against the film.

There's nothing particularly interesting about this film and it doesn't do justice to the innocent victims, nor reveal much of anything that we didn't already know. It invents more than it enlightens. Without revealing spoilers, Farrands could have easily made this horror film as a fictional story, with fictional characters, and the result would probably have earned slightly better ratings. But at its core it's a by-the-numbers horror with attempted jumps, moments of suspense, and cat-and-mouse chases, but it definitely does not give the impression (to me at least) that it wants to pay homage to the victims, nor deglorify Manson.

The acting is okay, but it's hardly top class, and Duff seems to fade in and out of using an odd accent in her portrayal of Tate. Some of the script feels unnatural, the characters are underdeveloped and some of the acting and dialogue is wooden. The story moves along at a decent pace, but it doesn't really offer enough to hold interest or build suspense, possibly because we know what's coming.

Farrands seems to have found himself a new niche, making films about real life tragedies, the next of which will be the murder of OJ Simpson's wife. Unfortunately, the tragedy of Farrands' new-found inspiration for his films is that they're exploiting these horrific real-life events for entertainment and profit.

I give it 1/10 due to the combination of it being an unoriginal and dull horror film, as well as an insensitive exploitation of the tragedy. Had it been presented as a fictional story, with fictional characters, it may have earned closer to 3 or 4 out of ten, but it still wouldn't have been anything special.

Who ever thought that this movie would be a good idea? My sympathies go out to Sharon Tate's family. I'm sure Farrands wouldn't appreciate it if someone in his family was brutally murdered and the event was dredged up and publicly thrown back in his face in the guise of an "entertaining" film....all for the purpose of making more money. This movie idea is highly inappropriate and cruel.

I was immediately struck how low both the IMDB and Metascores were, this movie is universally hated but it can't be that bad. Right?

Well it kind of is, bad and deeply inappropriate.

It tells the story, no sorry a "Remixed" version of the true story about the fate of actress Sharon Tate and how she fell victim to three members of Charlie Manson's "Family".

Movies about material like that just don't sit right with me. They're just inappropriate in my view, insensitive and just plain wrong. Remember they managed to make at least 2 movies out of 9/11!

Starring Hilary Duff it's an embarrassingly bad movie that honestly makes a mockery of the events that transpired on that fateful day. I don't agree with everyone saying Duff was terrible, she simply wasn't. The film itself however, awful on every level.

As the "Events" started taking place I found myself scratching my head in confusion and when the credits rolled I was angry for the victims in real life! This didn't paint a very flattering picture and made entertainment out of their demise.

Awful sick picture and everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves.

The Good:

Nope

The Bad:

Deeply inappropriate

Generic home invasion movie

Moronic ending

I don't have a dog in the fight about whether one should make a movie like this about a real person, so I was happy to give it a go. But it does feel exploitative, in part because it is so incredibly bad that you cant help but feel it was disrespectful. If you are going to make a movie about a real person who was brutally murdered at least have the decency to make a good movie, not this amateur hour rubbish. Watch the trailer. See how bad it seems? Well, believe me, the trailer has been skillfully edited to make it look 20x better than it really is.

Life is tough out there for 90's stars. They had it all..awesome fashion, cool thin eyebrows, ecstacy and a ton of money. But what do you do when those lucrative tv show parts dry up? You get desperate And decide to exploit one of the most repulsive moments in American history. This is truly a horrific film, with hilary heavy breathing and trying to look gorgeously startled throughout, whilst cradling her prosthetic bump murmuring "I think those people are a threat to me and my baby". Sharon Tate was so much more than a murder victim, yet we always overlook her talent and contribution to fashion and films in favour of morbidly sifting through her (and her friends who always seem to be a footnote) murder. But this film goes much further by mashing up the worst horror cliches (I'm tired of seeing people in the mirror-gasp- turn around and no ones there) with deeply offensive notions that Sharon prophesied her own murder. Sharon tates family have been through so much, and the fact that they have to deal with trite schlock like this really makes me feel even worse for them. It means that theyre not allowed to heal, and it perpetuates the murder porn that permeates throughout our society and it's sick. Two stars as the music, whilst cliched, is decent.