Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

The Haunting of Molly Hartley Blu-ray Movie Review

Demonic forces want her? They can keep her.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 3, 2011

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 Haunting of Molly Hartley” is such an impossibly goofy motion picture that it almost defies explanation. Whatever tone of dread director Mickey Liddell was aiming for has missed its mark by a country mile. Instead the picture is an amateurish mess, trying desperately to hold together as a watered down genre experience that feels as though it was cut in half, fighting to appear terrifying when most of its bloodshed was removed to keep a muted rating, spotlighting a cast of dreadful young actors who might be better off seeking other means of employment. How this clumsy picture actually found any form of wide release in 2008 is baffling. Then again, Crawford is the star of “Gossip Girl,” the much buzzed-about show nobody actually watches, and he remains front-page news on several character-assassinating celebrity blogs. Too bad his acting skills make Zac Efron look like Lee Strasberg’s T.A.

“The Haunting of Molly Hartley” doesn’t make much sense when the film finally reveals its satanic architecture in full, but why should it have to? After all, there’s no pass at substantial story construction here, just a series of loosely connected boo scares from a director who must be under the assumption that his audience has never seen a horror movie before. Even the simple act of mail delivery receives its own booming sound effect -- though, in the future, postal workers could very well be a scary thing at the rate the USPS is declining. The endless buffet of cheap jolts is merely covering up the ludicrousness of the plot, which Liddell has no idea how to package properly into a blistering, end-of-days fright fest. Instead, the staging is straight out of community theater, the wild plot twists lack any reasonable setup, and the conclusion of this relentlessly silly movie is bizarrely pro-evil. Hooray?

The Haunting of Molly Hartley Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Haunting of Molly Hartley Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

The Haunting of Molly Hartley Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cast & Crew Interviews (25:18, SD) are vapid EPK conversations with actors Haley Bennett, Shanna Collins, AnnaLynne McCord, and director Mickey Liddell. Apparently shot before the theatrical release of the feature, the chats are primarily interested in obvious sound bites, encouraging the professionals to recount the plot, explore character motivations, and discuss their own experiences with paranormal encounters and assorted horror-based events. Everyone is locked in shill mode, providing tedious answers to dumb questions, maintaining a smile and giggle to keep the mood light. There's nothing here that approaches genuine reflection on the creation of the film, just promo-babble from eager talent desperate to move on to bigger and better things.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

The Haunting of Molly Hartley Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.