"The Haunting of Molly Hartley" is a somewhat decent film filled with flaws.
**SPOILERS**
Going to Huntington Prep School, Molly Hartley, (Haley Bennett) is struggling to cope with the various problems in her family's past as well as the drama at a new school. As she tries to separate what happened to her, her friends at school, Joseph Young, (Chase Crawford) Alexis White, (Shauna Collins) Suzie, (AnnaLynne McCord) and Leah, (Shannon Woodward) each come up short of offering her help to get through the situation, and despite the best attempts of her father Robert, (Jake Weber) the problems manifest themselves as psychotic visions and ghostly voices, driving her further over the edge. Using that as an avenue of investigation, she soon learns of the demonic secret made with her family and her, forcing her to race to get free of it before it's too late.
The Good News: There wasn't a whole lot that worked here. The constant use of whispering voices and demonic faces appearing all over, including at school, in the bathroom or in her rather freaky dream after awakening from surgery, display an attempt to show something supernatural is going on, and it's off to a great start there. The film's opening does have some good stuff to utilize, from the eerie string-following in the forest and attacks by birds to the whispering voices in the forest as well as inside the cabin, provide a nice framework here, and the ensuing freak-out in the car afterward is pretty nice, having to swerve to avoid oncoming traffic and the pleas to stop going faster before the destructive crash and aftermath makes this a rather fine beginning that could've done something interesting with. The school freak-out was also somewhat interesting, especially with the whispering voices and demonic face appearing before being locked inside and the frantic attempt to get out, but otherwise this one pales in comparison with the film's best sequence, her main confrontation in the house. Aside from spelling out the back-story finally, it also includes several intense mini-chases and brawls, both sides getting the upper-hand before the final resolution offering something interesting it could've played off but instead merely segues into the finale from there, the confrontation at the friends' house. With the true meaning of the back-story twist, the suspenseful searching of the grounds and the action-twist, it's got a couple good parts to it that are somewhat interesting. The last interesting thing about the film is the attempted baptism, which is handled well, contains enough good stuff to it that it feels unique and manages to be quite creepy as well. Otherwise, there wasn't enough here to bring it up.
The Bad News: There was a lot of problems to this one that hold it down. The main problem in here is that way too much time is spent on the testing and mental disorders segments of the plot, which aren't that interesting nor provide much of anything to the film. Going through all the different doctor's offices and tests doesn't do anything, as there's no answers given as to what they showed nor what they were supposed to, and with absolutely nothing at all to do with the film, they simply showcase themselves out as flaws. There's also more problems when she has to go in to get the operation, which simply eats up time and neither helps nor harms the situation. The further dilemma about the mental insanity does prove a point, but instead here is just presented as every other one has done, she fears she'll be like the insane one despite every single source possible saying otherwise, and these eventually just get tiresome after the twentieth different incarnation of the same scenario. Basically, this one needed to get its priorities straightened out before doing anything, and the failure really shows up here. The party scene here is also somewhat of a problem, really not doing anything but play into the teens out there that will target the film but instead just comes off as utterly boring with nothing happening at all. The finale is also really problematic, since it's gone the entire film without even so much as offering one single ounce of explanation for the situation and when the twist comes around, there's no impact to it since nothing was set-up for it. The last flaw, though, is the biggest, and is the film's rating. It really hampers this since it's got no real kills to speak of, the few that do pop up aren't that bloody or gory really leaving the gore-hounds out of this one, but really censoring the film's nudity attempts or really allowing it to explore the more sinister aspects of its plot as it can't offend the teen-target-audience it wants with its cast, and as a result this one just really comes up short. These here are the film's many flaws.
The Final Verdict: A severely flawed and problematic film, with a few decent moments but not nearly enough to overcome the flaws present and dramatically lowering this one. Really only recommended to those seeking a mild horror film for youngsters or fans of the cast, while hardcore horror fans should steer clear.
Rated PG-13: Violence and Language
**SPOILERS**
Going to Huntington Prep School, Molly Hartley, (Haley Bennett) is struggling to cope with the various problems in her family's past as well as the drama at a new school. As she tries to separate what happened to her, her friends at school, Joseph Young, (Chase Crawford) Alexis White, (Shauna Collins) Suzie, (AnnaLynne McCord) and Leah, (Shannon Woodward) each come up short of offering her help to get through the situation, and despite the best attempts of her father Robert, (Jake Weber) the problems manifest themselves as psychotic visions and ghostly voices, driving her further over the edge. Using that as an avenue of investigation, she soon learns of the demonic secret made with her family and her, forcing her to race to get free of it before it's too late.
The Good News: There wasn't a whole lot that worked here. The constant use of whispering voices and demonic faces appearing all over, including at school, in the bathroom or in her rather freaky dream after awakening from surgery, display an attempt to show something supernatural is going on, and it's off to a great start there. The film's opening does have some good stuff to utilize, from the eerie string-following in the forest and attacks by birds to the whispering voices in the forest as well as inside the cabin, provide a nice framework here, and the ensuing freak-out in the car afterward is pretty nice, having to swerve to avoid oncoming traffic and the pleas to stop going faster before the destructive crash and aftermath makes this a rather fine beginning that could've done something interesting with. The school freak-out was also somewhat interesting, especially with the whispering voices and demonic face appearing before being locked inside and the frantic attempt to get out, but otherwise this one pales in comparison with the film's best sequence, her main confrontation in the house. Aside from spelling out the back-story finally, it also includes several intense mini-chases and brawls, both sides getting the upper-hand before the final resolution offering something interesting it could've played off but instead merely segues into the finale from there, the confrontation at the friends' house. With the true meaning of the back-story twist, the suspenseful searching of the grounds and the action-twist, it's got a couple good parts to it that are somewhat interesting. The last interesting thing about the film is the attempted baptism, which is handled well, contains enough good stuff to it that it feels unique and manages to be quite creepy as well. Otherwise, there wasn't enough here to bring it up.
The Bad News: There was a lot of problems to this one that hold it down. The main problem in here is that way too much time is spent on the testing and mental disorders segments of the plot, which aren't that interesting nor provide much of anything to the film. Going through all the different doctor's offices and tests doesn't do anything, as there's no answers given as to what they showed nor what they were supposed to, and with absolutely nothing at all to do with the film, they simply showcase themselves out as flaws. There's also more problems when she has to go in to get the operation, which simply eats up time and neither helps nor harms the situation. The further dilemma about the mental insanity does prove a point, but instead here is just presented as every other one has done, she fears she'll be like the insane one despite every single source possible saying otherwise, and these eventually just get tiresome after the twentieth different incarnation of the same scenario. Basically, this one needed to get its priorities straightened out before doing anything, and the failure really shows up here. The party scene here is also somewhat of a problem, really not doing anything but play into the teens out there that will target the film but instead just comes off as utterly boring with nothing happening at all. The finale is also really problematic, since it's gone the entire film without even so much as offering one single ounce of explanation for the situation and when the twist comes around, there's no impact to it since nothing was set-up for it. The last flaw, though, is the biggest, and is the film's rating. It really hampers this since it's got no real kills to speak of, the few that do pop up aren't that bloody or gory really leaving the gore-hounds out of this one, but really censoring the film's nudity attempts or really allowing it to explore the more sinister aspects of its plot as it can't offend the teen-target-audience it wants with its cast, and as a result this one just really comes up short. These here are the film's many flaws.
The Final Verdict: A severely flawed and problematic film, with a few decent moments but not nearly enough to overcome the flaws present and dramatically lowering this one. Really only recommended to those seeking a mild horror film for youngsters or fans of the cast, while hardcore horror fans should steer clear.
Rated PG-13: Violence and Language