Review of The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008) by Summer H — 31 May 2011

"The Haunting of Molly Hartley" is a movie that I just didn't understand. Watching it is an exercise in frustration and mental exertion. This is one of those movies that attempts to glue your eyes to the screen by forcing you to try and comprehend its extremely puzzling nature.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett) was nearly killed by her mother some time ago. She now lives with her father (Jake Weber) and begins attending a new school. Her father feels certain that this change is for the best and is determined for his daughter to leave the past behind and get on with her life. Unfortunately, it's not long before Molly begins to experience nightmares and flashbacks of her daunting past. Her emotional stress continues to escalate and this sets the tone for a complex chain of events.

One single cliche becomes the basis for most of the scary moments. There are several instances of Molly being startled by someone suddenly appearing out of nowhere or by an unexpected noise. This repetition turns into complete absurdity when Molly is startled by a dog behind a fence and then by mail being dropped through a front door mail slot. The overuse of this scare tactic doesn't create a spine-tingling atmosphere. It merely elicits brief, jumpy reactions from the viewer that quickly disappear and fail to leave a lasting impression.

Eventually, it's clear that none of the people in this film, except for maybe Molly, are who they appear to be. This happens after the characters have already been developed. It reaches a point where they're so irrational and unrealistic that they practically have no identity anymore.

By the end of the movie, it becomes a laborious task to try and understand all of the twists and turns. It feels like the screenwriters abandoned any efforts to develop the plot and simply resorted to these vague turning points that are only meant to baffle us in hopes that we'll at least remain attentive. Combine this with the unpredictability of the characters, and the movie is swamped with an overwhelming amount of perplexity.

There is a story somewhere beneath this mess, but one with a familiar premise: A traumatic incident from the past sets the stage for plenty of horrifying occurrences in the present. With cliches and not being able to make sense of what's going on, the movie is utterly forgettable.