The Haunting of Molly Hartley
Encyclopedia
The Haunting of Molly Hartley is a 2008 supernatural horror film
written by John Travis and Rebecca Sonnenshine and directed by Mickey Liddell starring Haley Bennett
, Chace Crawford
, AnnaLynne McCord
, Jessica Lowndes
and Jake Weber
.
) going into the woods to meet her boyfriend. He gives her an early birthday present, but her father shows up and demands that she leave with him. As they drive home she tells him that she will be marrying her boyfriend as soon as she turns eighteen. He breaks down and apologizes to her before crashing their car. Seeing that she is not dead, he kills her with a broken piece of mirror, saying he couldn't let the darkness take her. The film then switches to present day, and Molly's story.
Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett
), a 17-year-old girl, is stabbed with scissors in the chest one day after school in the bathroom by her deranged mother Jane (Marin Hinkle
). Although she survives and her wound is healed with only a scar left, she is still haunted in her dreams and hears things because of the frightening experience. Molly lives with her father Robert (Jake Weber
) and her mother is locked up in a mental ward outside the town she recently moved to. Her father enrolls Molly in a new school to help with the trauma and start a new life. However, as her 18th birthday approaches, Molly must deal with both the stress of being a new student and with the continuing nightmares she has of her mother's attack. Joseph (Chace Crawford
), a student at her new school, attempts to help her. However, Molly begins to display symptoms of the same psychosis that took control of her mother's life.
One night, her mother escapes and tries to kidnap
her, but Molly escapes. The next morning she is cornered by Jane and discovers that she, and others who share her mother's concerns, want to kill her in order to save her from a preordained life as a servant to Satan
.
It's revealed that Molly had died as the result of a miscarriage and her parents made a pact with the devil disguised as a woman to save her life. The terms of the agreement were such that the Hartleys would only have Molly until her 18th birthday, then she would belong to the devil. After her mother is accidentally killed by falling down to the floor and upon knocking her father out, Molly turns to Joseph for help discovering that he is one of them and has set her up by taking her to his house. Dr. Emerson (Nina Siemaszko
) arrives at Joseph's house and tells Molly that she is also to be a servant of the devil. She says Molly can either kill her father to break the pact, or submit to the devil. She attempts to let her father live and not join the devil by stabbing herself in the chest with a kitchen knife in an effort to commit suicide. This attempt is in vain because the clock has already struck midnight.
The movie switches to a mental institution, where a doctor is talking to a woman dressed in black, later revealed to be a cold-hearted Molly. It is revealed that Molly's father has now been admitted to the institution; Molly casually smiles and says she will not speak to him, instead choosing to move on. Molly becomes valedictorian of her high school, and dates Joseph. She is seen leaving her high school graduation with Joseph in a limousine, after being told by Dr. Emerson (disguised as the school guidance counselor) that they'll "see her soon."
, based on 10 reviews and a 3% "Rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes
. Its best review came from the Toronto Star
which said "If you get past the retro Nancy Drew
title, this is a worthwhile effort." The LA Weekly
wrote "From Freestyle Releasing, the self-service distributor that brought you D-War
and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
, comes a movie even worse than those two combined."
upon its DVD release on February 24, 2009 via Fox's home video division, since Fox holds rights to release Freestyle movies on DVD. The movie was released in Mexico on June 4, 2010 via Quality Films. The UK release is set for the June 14, 2010.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written by John Travis and Rebecca Sonnenshine and directed by Mickey Liddell starring Haley Bennett
Haley Bennett
Haley Bennett is an American singer and actress.She will star in the new FX series Outlaw Country with Luke Grimes and Mary Steenburgen.-Life and career:...
, Chace Crawford
Chace Crawford
Christopher Chace Crawford , better known as Chace Crawford, is an American actor. He currently portrays Nate Archibald on the CW television drama Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
, AnnaLynne McCord
AnnaLynne McCord
AnnaLynne McCord is an American actress. Known for playing a range of vixen-type roles, McCord first gained prominence in 2007 as the scheming Eden Lord on the FX television series Nip/Tuck, and as the pampered Loren Wakefield on the MyNetworkTV telenovela American Heiress...
, Jessica Lowndes
Jessica Lowndes
Jessica Lowndes is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Adrianna Tate-Duncan on TV series 90210.-Personal life:Jessica Suzanne Lowndes was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
and Jake Weber
Jake Weber
Jake Weber is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in Dawn of the Dead and for his role as Drew in Meet Joe Black...
.
Plot
The film begins with a teenage girl (Jessica LowndesJessica Lowndes
Jessica Lowndes is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Adrianna Tate-Duncan on TV series 90210.-Personal life:Jessica Suzanne Lowndes was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
) going into the woods to meet her boyfriend. He gives her an early birthday present, but her father shows up and demands that she leave with him. As they drive home she tells him that she will be marrying her boyfriend as soon as she turns eighteen. He breaks down and apologizes to her before crashing their car. Seeing that she is not dead, he kills her with a broken piece of mirror, saying he couldn't let the darkness take her. The film then switches to present day, and Molly's story.
Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett
Haley Bennett
Haley Bennett is an American singer and actress.She will star in the new FX series Outlaw Country with Luke Grimes and Mary Steenburgen.-Life and career:...
), a 17-year-old girl, is stabbed with scissors in the chest one day after school in the bathroom by her deranged mother Jane (Marin Hinkle
Marin Hinkle
Marin Elizabeth Hinkle is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing the role of Judith Harper-Melnick, Alan Harper's ex-wife on the hit series Two and a Half Men and her role as Judy Brooks the sister of the series lead Lily Manning on Once and Again.-Career:Hinkle started her career on...
). Although she survives and her wound is healed with only a scar left, she is still haunted in her dreams and hears things because of the frightening experience. Molly lives with her father Robert (Jake Weber
Jake Weber
Jake Weber is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in Dawn of the Dead and for his role as Drew in Meet Joe Black...
) and her mother is locked up in a mental ward outside the town she recently moved to. Her father enrolls Molly in a new school to help with the trauma and start a new life. However, as her 18th birthday approaches, Molly must deal with both the stress of being a new student and with the continuing nightmares she has of her mother's attack. Joseph (Chace Crawford
Chace Crawford
Christopher Chace Crawford , better known as Chace Crawford, is an American actor. He currently portrays Nate Archibald on the CW television drama Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
), a student at her new school, attempts to help her. However, Molly begins to display symptoms of the same psychosis that took control of her mother's life.
One night, her mother escapes and tries to kidnap
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
her, but Molly escapes. The next morning she is cornered by Jane and discovers that she, and others who share her mother's concerns, want to kill her in order to save her from a preordained life as a servant to Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
.
It's revealed that Molly had died as the result of a miscarriage and her parents made a pact with the devil disguised as a woman to save her life. The terms of the agreement were such that the Hartleys would only have Molly until her 18th birthday, then she would belong to the devil. After her mother is accidentally killed by falling down to the floor and upon knocking her father out, Molly turns to Joseph for help discovering that he is one of them and has set her up by taking her to his house. Dr. Emerson (Nina Siemaszko
Nina Siemaszko
Nina Siemaszko is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Siemaszko was born Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko in Chicago, Illinois to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother...
) arrives at Joseph's house and tells Molly that she is also to be a servant of the devil. She says Molly can either kill her father to break the pact, or submit to the devil. She attempts to let her father live and not join the devil by stabbing herself in the chest with a kitchen knife in an effort to commit suicide. This attempt is in vain because the clock has already struck midnight.
The movie switches to a mental institution, where a doctor is talking to a woman dressed in black, later revealed to be a cold-hearted Molly. It is revealed that Molly's father has now been admitted to the institution; Molly casually smiles and says she will not speak to him, instead choosing to move on. Molly becomes valedictorian of her high school, and dates Joseph. She is seen leaving her high school graduation with Joseph in a limousine, after being told by Dr. Emerson (disguised as the school guidance counselor) that they'll "see her soon."
Cast
- Haley BennettHaley BennettHaley Bennett is an American singer and actress.She will star in the new FX series Outlaw Country with Luke Grimes and Mary Steenburgen.-Life and career:...
as Molly Hartley - Chace CrawfordChace CrawfordChristopher Chace Crawford , better known as Chace Crawford, is an American actor. He currently portrays Nate Archibald on the CW television drama Gossip Girl.-Early life:...
as Joseph Young - Shannon Marie WoodwardShannon Marie WoodwardShannon Woodward is an American actress known for playing Sabrina on Raising Hope and Di Di Malloy on The Riches.-Personal life:...
as Leah - Shanna CollinsShanna CollinsShanna Dophalene Collins is an American actress. She played Amber, the best friend of Dani Davis , on the first season of the ABC Family original series Wildfire. She also played Laurie Miller on the CBS series Swingtown...
as Alexis White - Marin HinkleMarin HinkleMarin Elizabeth Hinkle is an American actress, perhaps best known for playing the role of Judith Harper-Melnick, Alan Harper's ex-wife on the hit series Two and a Half Men and her role as Judy Brooks the sister of the series lead Lily Manning on Once and Again.-Career:Hinkle started her career on...
as Jane Hartley - Nina SiemaszkoNina SiemaszkoNina Siemaszko is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Siemaszko was born Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko in Chicago, Illinois to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother...
as Dr. Amelia Emerson - Josh StewartJosh StewartJoshua Regnall Stewart is an American actor best known for his role as Holt McLaren in the FX TV series Dirt. He was also cast as Brendan Finney in the final season of the NBC TV series Third Watch.-Early life:...
as Mr. Draper - Ron CanadaRon CanadaRon Canada is an American actor. He began as a television newscaster during the 1970s in the Baltimore-Washington area mainly on WBAL-TV Channel 11 in Baltimore, until the early 1980s when he became an actor. He was a tour guide at NBC studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza...
as Mr. Bennett - Kevin CooneyKevin CooneyKevin Cooney is an American film and television actor. He has appeared in the films Legally Blonde, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Con Air and many others, and the television series Dharma & Greg, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and others.-External links:...
as Dr. Donaldson - AnnaLynne McCordAnnaLynne McCordAnnaLynne McCord is an American actress. Known for playing a range of vixen-type roles, McCord first gained prominence in 2007 as the scheming Eden Lord on the FX television series Nip/Tuck, and as the pampered Loren Wakefield on the MyNetworkTV telenovela American Heiress...
as Suzie Woods - Jessica LowndesJessica LowndesJessica Lowndes is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Adrianna Tate-Duncan on TV series 90210.-Personal life:Jessica Suzanne Lowndes was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada...
as Laurel Miller - Jake WeberJake WeberJake Weber is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in Dawn of the Dead and for his role as Drew in Meet Joe Black...
as Robert Hartley
Critical reception
The film received mostly negative reviews and currently holds a 28/100 rating on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, based on 10 reviews and a 3% "Rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Its best review came from the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
which said "If you get past the retro Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...
title, this is a worthwhile effort." The LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
wrote "From Freestyle Releasing, the self-service distributor that brought you D-War
D-War
D-War , is a 2007 South Korean fantasy action film released in North America as Dragon Wars: D-War, War of the Dragons in Malaysia, and sometimes referred to colloquially and in some marketing materials as Dragon Wars. It is written and directed by Shim Hyung-rae...
and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a 2006 fantasy action film directed by Uwe Boll, inspired by the Dungeon Siege video game series. It was produced by Brightlight Pictures and distributed by Freestyle Releasing and Vivendi Entertainment in the United States and Canada. 20th Century...
, comes a movie even worse than those two combined."
Release
Originally independently released by Freestyle Releasing, all ancillary rights reverted to 20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
upon its DVD release on February 24, 2009 via Fox's home video division, since Fox holds rights to release Freestyle movies on DVD. The movie was released in Mexico on June 4, 2010 via Quality Films. The UK release is set for the June 14, 2010.
Soundtrack
Although a formal soundtrack was never released, the following songs were played in the movie:- "Preparedness" by The Bird and the BeeThe Bird and the BeeThe Bird and the Bee is an American indie pop musical duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of musicians Inara George and Greg Kurstin...
- "I Don't Wanna" by Anna WaronkerAnna WaronkerAnna Jeanette Waronker is a singer/songwriter, composer, and producer best known as the former frontwoman of That Dog. She is the daughter of producer Lenny Waronker and actress/musician Donna Loren, the sister of session drummer Joey Waronker, and is married to Steven Shane McDonald of Redd...
- "Rain" by Bishop AllenBishop AllenBishop Allen is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The band's core members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, who are supported both on stage and in the studio by a rotating cast of musical collaborators...
- "Post Man" by The Sammies
- "17" by X-Press 2X-Press 2X-Press 2 is an English electronic and dance music duo. The members are DJ Diesel and DJ Rocky . Ashley Beedle left to pursue solo projects in 2009.-History:...
- "Falling Out" by The Sammies
- "U A Freak (Nasty Girl)" by ChingyChingyHoward Bailey, Jr. , better known by his stage name Chingy, is an American rapper.Chingy grew up in the Walnut Park section of St. Louis and began rapping in earnest in his late teens...
- "Mad Scientist" by MadisonMadison (band)Madison was an American rock band from New Jersey during 2001-2006. After releasing their debut EP 'For The First Time in Years... I'm Finally Leaving You' under Fidelity Records, the band signed with Rushmore Records/Drive-Thru Records in 2005...
- "Untouched and Intact" by The Honorary TitleThe Honorary TitleThe Honorary Title was an indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The band released their first self titled Ep "The Honorary Title" in 2003 and then their first album in 2004, Anything Else But the Truth, which was later re-released with five additional songs and two bonus videos.In early 2007...
- "Overwhelmed" by Karen DeBerg