THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY (2008)
Teen centric horror stars Haley Bennett, who was recently seen in the really effective thriller Kristy and probably the only reason to watch this. Story has 17 year-old Molly Hartley approaching her 18th birthday and being continually haunted by the nightmare of her own mother (Marin Hinkle) attacking her with a pair of scissors. Mom is in a psychiatric ward now and Molly lives with her dad (Jake Weber) and carries the physical and mental scars of that attack to her new school. Soon though, Molly learns that her mother tried to kill her due to a deal made with a mysterious woman to save Molly’s life when she was born stillborn after a miscarriage in a public restroom… yup, you read that right. The deal was that on her 18th birthday, Molly would become a servant of Satan…and now her birthday draws near.
Totally routine and forgettable PG-13 horror is directed very by-the-numbers by Mickey Liddell from a script by John Travis and Rebecca Sonnenshine. Basically it’s a high school version of Rosemary’s Baby with poor young Molly being stalked by those who want to kill her before she reaches her birthday and by the servants of evil who want to see her meet her date with destiny. It’s all very boring and while Haley Bennett does show some of the intensity that made her a great heroine in Kristy, the actress has very little to work with here. Dull and forgettable. Also stars AnnaLynne McCord as a typical mean girl, a part that she seems to play so well.
-MonsterZero NJ
MonsterZero NJ's Movie Madhouse 