4.8 | / 10 |
Users | 2.3 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.3 |
Something evil lurks just beneath the surface of teenaged girl's private school world -- and it's ready to battle for her very soul. Now, on the eve of her 18th birthday, Molly Hartley is about to discover the devilish truth of just who, or rather what, it is she is destined to become.
Starring: Haley Bennett, Chace Crawford, Shannon Woodward, Shanna Collins, Nina SiemaszkoHorror | 100% |
Mystery | 23% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
As tales of troubled teens go, “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” is a complete waste of time. Though basted in demonic juices and religious flavorings, the movie is a confused piece of work, made in a distinctly amateur style suggesting the production didn’t quite do their homework when it came time to assembling a moderately hectic, PG-13-o-fied horror experience. I’m willing to forgive a few missteps and bad ideas along the way, yet this picture is one long headache, teeming with poorly staged suspense beats, hideous performances, and a half-realized story that’s basically 90% lifeless padding, waiting to unleash its blunted climactic sting. There have been numerous features concerning the possibly psychotic lives of teen girls. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley” has to be one of the worst of the bunch.
A new face at a private school, Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett, “Music and Lyrics”) is having trouble fitting in, battling headaches, nosebleeds, and an attack of mysterious voices on a daily basis. With her father (Jake Weber, “Dawn of the Dead”) pushing medicinal solutions to cure his child, Molly is more concerned with her mother, a seemingly demented woman who rots away inside a local mental hospital, haunting the frightened girl’s every step. Trying to adapt to her tricky adolescent environment, Molly finds comfort with friends both born-again (Shanna Collins, “Veronica Mars”) and Juno-like (Shannon Marie Woodward, “Raising Hope”), along with a concerned school counselor (Nina Siemaszko, “License to Drive”), and flirty dreamboat Joseph (Chace Crawford, “Twelve”). Just finding her stride, Molly’s life is swept away by madness when she gradually pieces together the horrifying truth behind her upcoming 18th birthday.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation looks quite fresh and textured. While a low-budget horror film, the cinematography is expressive, making for a welcome BD viewing experience. Colors are generous, leading with blues and yellows, while blood red pulls focus on a few shots. Bright, outdoor encounters really show off the range of hues. Skintones are also pleasingly pink and natural. Clarity is satisfactory (the print is clean), permitting a detailed read of faces, with make-up and plastic surgery enhancements easy to spot, extending to school interiors, which carry an evocative sense of life without seeming too soft. There is some crush to contend with once the film slips into evening encounters, losing information to solid blacks, but it's not an overwhelming problem. Again, this is not a film with an enormous scope, leaving the visual event controlled but effective, delivering the horror and intimate elements without too many distractions.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix on the Blu-ray is expectedly animated, eager to manufacture an unnerving listening experience. Directionals are generous and effective, with shock jumps and ghostly approaches creating movement, sustaining what little here passes for tension with cheap but fluid jolts. Dialogue is solid and weighty, nicely separated and urged frontal, leaving expositional needs crisp, while feeling out a more circular hold when the action hits the classroom or the echoed interior of a church. Sound effects are pronounced but blended easily, while atmospherics are comfortable, though never pushed out all that far. Scoring is comfortable, only hitting a few shrill notes of suspense, keeping a low profile until called into duty. Low-end is there to boost the more violent, body-thumping sequences, also providing a beat for the aggressive soundtrack cuts.
I get what "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" is ultimately attempting to do, assuming a "Twilight Zone" posture for the climactic reel of revelations, looking to the comfort of a twist to provide a powerful, final gut-punch of shock, sending the viewer off dazed and rattled. If there wasn't such outstanding filmmaking incompetence preceding the conclusion, the picture might've squeaked by with some lasting impact. Instead, the long, slow march to the revelation of Molly's true identity carries no weight, no taste of a satisfying resolution. It's just a cheap piece of screenwriting formula capping an exceedingly unremarkable, unlikable story of blurred identity.
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