Friday, November 13, 2009

The Haunting of Molly Hartley

The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008):
The movie begins in a sinister forest where we get our first glimpse of Molly’s probable future. The film pans forward to Molly (played by Haley Bennett) making a fresh start at a new school after her mother’s psychotic episode – we will continue to see more of this episode through bits and pieces of Molly’s visions and flashbacks. Molly promptly befriends a Christian zealot slightly nerdy girl and of course hunk senior Joseph (Chase Crawford). She soon learns that everyone is not who they seem to be. It appears that once Molly turns eighteen, she’ll be liable for a supernatural bargain made long ago by her crazy mother and weak father – a bargain that she’ll not be allowed to escape.

I found this movie to be a reasonably adequate psychological thriller. Being a natural skeptic as well as an inquisitive and dark thinking individual, I found this flick to have a subtle symbolism that many films steer away from because your average movie viewer doesn’t have the attention span to figure it out. This movie had a few slow spots and was a bit forgettable, but still enjoyable. I would watch it once and then let it go.

Haunting of Molly Hartley
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your take on this one is interesting. I couldn't handle it myself, but maybe I'm not able to pick up on the symbolism you mentioned in the review? I also thought the Christian girl was stereotyped; as a Christian myself, that annoys me. I did sit through it but was pretty disappointed in most every aspect.

Hoping for more fiction from you soon. :)

Weezel said...

My review probably is somewhat of a gift. I have a difficult time giving negative reviews, even though I'm sure I have watched enough movies that deserve negative comments . . . In this movie I thought I saw a hint of dark satanistic symbolism just under the surface. A mere hint of a female Rosemary's Baby in her next phase.
Perhaps is was merely wishful thinking as really good horror flicks are not exactly plentiful these days. Thanks for your opinion -- it's alway welcome.

Haddock said...

Must see this.