The Haunting of Molly Hartley

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.

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.

Really. Good acting. Fair production values. Thinking persons script. Make your own opinions and don't let the hate win! Bennet's acting was very good. She can definitely hold her own. Look forward to seeing her in more productions once she gets past this. Hopefully the critical pan of this movie won't taint her, even though I thought the movie was okay.

Bennet is a truly beautiful and expressive actress (I read she sings and has a lovely voice as well).

I thought it was realistic, and watch, it will be a semi-cult movie once the critical debris fades and the haters move on and the thoughtful move up.

Well, I didn't really want to see this movie at all. I work at a theater, and I was forced to watch this with my boss so I could talk with her about the promotion I've wanted for a very long time. By the time the credits rolled, "Molly Hartley" had injected me with insane predictability, zero plot, and good looking people to the point where I almost didn't want said promotion anymore.

Like I've already mentioned twice, the film's best and only strong point is the amount of good looking people in the movie. Even the geeky character is good looking. Haley Bennett manages to carry the movie in decent fashion, avoiding becoming laughable as most PG-13 horror movie heroines do *glares at Camilla Belle*. Chace Crawford was a presence I could have done without, while Shannon Woodward was the best performer (and had the best character) in the movie as Leah.

I will give this movie a bit of credit for not being formulaic for about 75% of the movie...while it avoids typical clichés most of the time, it arrives at a conclusion so obvious, stupid, rushed, and unfinished that you can't help but wonder who allowed this movie to be made. It doesn't go for cheap jump scares, which I appreciated, and is more of a satanic thriller than a straight up horror movie. Of course, it's my feeling that PG-13 horror movies not named "The Ring" are just as bad as the Disaster/Date/Superhero Movie franchise, but Molly Hartley manages to barely avoid being as disastrous as Prom Night or When A Stranger Calls. Don't take that as a compliment. It's very easy to beat those movies.

My biggest complaint would be the fact that the movie basically has no plot. We just follow Molly Hartley around aimlessly as the evidence of her being the hottest devil child ever builds up, and then "BAM", an epic fail of an ending comes, scroll goes the credits, and SMACK goes the sound of heads hitting desks. Whoever greenlit this movie is on crack, and I'm not joking.

Please don't waste your time.

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)