The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008)

3% of critics liked it
(36 reviews)
23% of users liked it
(61,536 ratings)

Go and Broken Hearts Club producer Mickey Liddell makes his feature directorial debut with this suspense thriller about a high-school student who arrives in a new town only to find that her frightful past won't be forgotten so easily. Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett) was all ready for a fresh start in… More Go and Broken Hearts Club producer Mickey Liddell makes his feature directorial debut with this suspense thriller about a high-school student who arrives in a new town only to find that her frightful past won't be forgotten so easily. Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett) was all ready for a fresh start in life, and kindly classmate Joseph (Chace Crawford) was more than willing to help out by showing her the ropes around school. But Molly Hartley is a girl with a sinister secret. Only when she discovers the truth about who she really is will she finally understand what she might one day become. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: Mickey Liddell
Written By: John Travis, Rebecca Sonnenshine
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Oct 31, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Feb 24, 2009
Studio: Freestyle Releasing

Critic Reviews

Tony Wong, Toronto Star
If you get past the retro Nancy Drew title, this is a worthwhile effort.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
The Haunting of Molly Hartley isn't the least bit haunting. It's just cheap.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
God and Satan duke it out for the soul of a young girl in The Haunting of Molly Hartley, an unexpectedly cynical addition to the teen-scream genre.
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times
It would take hallucinations of a powerful kind indeed to find anything worthwhile in The Haunting of Molly Hartley, a dead-on-arrival thriller that resolutely fails to come to life.
Chelsea Bain, Boston Globe
It's no Rosemary's Baby, but for teens looking for a quick fix on All Hallow's Day, it will do.
Adam Markovitz, Entertainment Weekly
The story's a snooze, so the filmmakers punch it up with smash cuts and thunderclaps that turn the most laughably banal items into cheap jack-in-the-box shocks. They'll make you flinch -- but then again, so will most of the dialogue.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...an entirely forgettable (and utterly lightweight) horror endeavor.
Linda Cook, Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
A watered-down version of prior, better films, 'The Haunting of Molly Hartley' is as dumb as a box of Halloween candy.
David Bezanson, Filmcritic.com
Why do filmmakers bother? Are they crazy? Are we crazy? And if not, why do we keep paying $8 to see the same movie again?
Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine
I can't believe that Freestyle actually got this movie to be released in the theaters. It's dull, boring, and at best, laughably bad.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
...almost as inept as the movie's advertising campaign, which gives away the 'surprise' ending on the posters.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
What transpires is everybody's guess, and all of it leads to what may take the blue ribbon for the least exciting climax ever to festoon a horror picture.
Jackie K. Cooper, jackiekcooper.com
Story about the devil's daughter that is poorly written but well acted
Pete Hammond, Boxoffice Magazine
The acting in Haunting is cardboard as can be, and although Bennett tries hard to engage us, sheâ(TM)s seemingly interchangeable with any number of teen actresses currently roaming the airwaves at the CW.
Larry Ratliff, San Antonio Express-News
The Haunting of Molly Hartley, sort of an updated Rosemary's Baby for teens, sucks most of the suspense out of its own suspense-thriller before the story even gets going.
David Schmeichel, Jam! Movies
A more accurate title would have been The Annoying Flashbacks of Molly Hartley, or Molly Hartley's Possibly Genetic Mental Disorder or even Molly Hartley's Series of Super-Sucky Unfortunate Events.
Keith Phipps, AV Club
It's a horror film better suited for skittish cats than humans.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
As it races from one unlikely trauma to the next for poor Molly, the movie forgets one key thing: The devil is in the details.

Read all 18 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Nicki M

It wasn't that bad, but the ending was really awful and ruined the whole thing! I suppose, thinking about it, at least it was a bit original for a story of this type, but it still wasn't really what you would expect or hope for! Up until the end, this is okay for a b-grade,… More
It wasn't that bad, but the ending was really awful and ruined the whole thing! I suppose, thinking about it, at least it was a bit original for a story of this type, but it still wasn't really what you would expect or hope for! Up until the end, this is okay for a b-grade, straight to DVD type movie. Haley Bennett is fine as Molly - not the greatest actress, but you could buy it (just). Chase Crawford also not overly convincing, but looks nice - really, what else can you hope for in this type of thing?! Shanna Collins as Alexis is probably the most convincing of the lot and she plays the "crazy" Christian girl. Jake Weber as Molly's Dad, also failed to convince. However, as previously stated, the movie looks nice enough, young attractive cast, as a dumb thriller/horror it works okay, if you keep your expectations low and try to ignore the stupid ending. At least it was entertaining.
Alexis N

I almost didn't watch it, the first 5 minutes were pretty boring and strange. But then it got nutty real fast. It held me at the edge of my bed till the end wondering what's going on, who's insane, what's real?! It's creepy, religious, fun and it has Chace… More
I almost didn't watch it, the first 5 minutes were pretty boring and strange. But then it got nutty real fast. It held me at the edge of my bed till the end wondering what's going on, who's insane, what's real?! It's creepy, religious, fun and it has Chace Crawford in it. Plus, not one, but two girls from 90210. Awesome!
Nani V

The story had potential, but it got really slow and confusing in between. A young girl and her father move into a new town to start over after her mother was sent to live in a mental institution. As her 18th birthday draws near, she is haunted by the memories of her mother trying to… More
The story had potential, but it got really slow and confusing in between. A young girl and her father move into a new town to start over after her mother was sent to live in a mental institution. As her 18th birthday draws near, she is haunted by the memories of her mother trying to kill her. The ending ruined the whole movie.
Dean M

This isn't a good teen horror movie though. It tires to be everything to everyone, and as a result, has little going for it. Part Cruel Intentions, part The Exorcist and part The Ring, this by-the-numbers demonic-possession… More
This isn't a good teen horror movie though. It tires to be everything to everyone, and as a result, has little going for it. Part Cruel Intentions, part The Exorcist and part The Ring, this by-the-numbers demonic-possession flick manages to be none of the above.
Justin Y

I'm sorry Mickey Liddell, but this movie does not look good on your resume. The Haunting of Molly Hartley is one extremely disappointing thriller.The story sucks. The opening sequence is there to setup the premise for what is to come, but it is… More
I'm sorry Mickey Liddell, but this movie does not look good on your resume. The Haunting of Molly Hartley is one extremely disappointing thriller.The story sucks. The opening sequence is there to setup the premise for what is to come, but it is easily forgotten. This movie doesn't even reach 90 minutes and yet it feels much longer than that. The movie takes forever to get going and I don't know. There is just too much time with the characters and nothing ever happens. Where is the haunting? Oh yeah, it shows up for the final 15 minutes, but it isn't even that great to redeem the first uneventful hour. This movie almost feels like one of those WB dramas.The film employs some of those jump scares and almost all of them are ineffective. The suspense factor is also very low and the blood and gore is non-existent. Everything that makes a thriller is not working in here.Almost all the actors in this picture are known from TV material. Haley Bennett, while pretty, isn't winning any awards. She does just enough to pull off the lead. Shannon Marie Woodward is the best actress in here and Shanna Collins is second. Too bad none of them are the lead. Shannon's character is also very minor. It is a true shame.As usual, the cute Haley Bennett with all the airtime isn't enough to make this a worthwhile watch. Don't feel bad about passing this film up.
Lewis C

The Haunting of Molly Hartley is not very scary or innovative, but it does manage to be interesting enough to watch at least once. It has its share of cheesy jump moments and loud noises that are meant to startle the viewer, but it doesn't follow the PG-13 horror mold as closely… More
The Haunting of Molly Hartley is not very scary or innovative, but it does manage to be interesting enough to watch at least once. It has its share of cheesy jump moments and loud noises that are meant to startle the viewer, but it doesn't follow the PG-13 horror mold as closely as you might think. The title is a bit misleading, because this isn't really a ghost story. No one gets haunted by any kind of spectre, it's more similar to a movie about possession. Well, more like pre-possession. After you've seen this, that phrase will make more sense. The Haunting of Molly Hartley seems more like a orgin story for another movie, so don't expect a firm resolution or a nice and tidy ending for this. That was ok for me, because the typical horror movie ending has been done quite enough, in my opinion. Anyway, a lot of the expected genre cliches are here, but quite a few are not. Rent or download Molly Hartley for something a little different, but don't expect anything more than a mild diversion.
moon r

a lonely house deep in the woods. a young maiden slowly approaches and enters: "hello?" there's a loud sound behind her...dammit, it's only the cat. she walks a bit further into the dim recesses. suddenly there's a loud noise...dammit, it's only the… More
a lonely house deep in the woods. a young maiden slowly approaches and enters: "hello?" there's a loud sound behind her...dammit, it's only the cat. she walks a bit further into the dim recesses. suddenly there's a loud noise...dammit, it's only the window blown by the breeze. there's a door ahead of her and she cautiously heads towards it when a hand jets from nowhere to tightly grab her arm...dammit, it's that hunky footballer who's been eyein' her at school goofing around. and so you have the gist of this one. ever seen it before? you betcha. it only can be redeemed from using such tired old cliches if they possibly utilise some fresh storyline... forget it. altho i wish jake weber would get more and better work.
George R

Can somebody please be ever so kindest to tell me WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!?! No, please tell me what the hell was this series of moving pictures was supposed to be? I don't get it, I didn't get a single damn thing about it. It makes zip-to-no sense. I had my third wisdom… More
Can somebody please be ever so kindest to tell me WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?!?! No, please tell me what the hell was this series of moving pictures was supposed to be? I don't get it, I didn't get a single damn thing about it. It makes zip-to-no sense. I had my third wisdom tooth pulled out the day I watched this, & even the pain I felt from waiting for the open gap to clog up didn't make this film any better. In fact, it only made it WORSE! The acting is tediously bad, the plot makes no sense, the story steals elements from other (and far superior) horror films & does nothing useful with them, it is completely inconsistent (no seriously, you'll almost forget what the point of the movie was), drops a certain subject & never brings it back up, the dialogue is so bad I laughed hardcore, the dialogue is so bad that it will make you head slap yourself so many times at once (yes, i used the dialogue again, but that's how bad it was), the soundtrack sucks, the score loses it's luster, & the script is as bad as they come. I swear I laughed at this movie so hard that I think that may have been the problem to why my open, toothless gap didn't close. As far as the scares go, it abuses the jump-scare factor, & I mean abuses it. Almost every 5-7 minutes of the movie, the character or camera turns around & "BAM!" goes the scare. TUrning around again, & "BAM!" The scares in this movie are not there to scare, because they're not even scary (a 3-year-old wouldn't find this scary), they're there to be annoying. And boy are they annoying. It's like when your friend throws out a Magikarp during a battle with him simply to annoy the hell out of you with or when some trainer has a Pokemon that constantly uses "Protect" at the very beginning of the battle. ITS ANNOYING!! When my friend & I went to pick up his little sister, she came out laughing her ass off from the theater room. I should have been warned. No, this movie is so bad, that I'd rather force myself to watch all of those shitty straight to DVD Disney sequels, Cars, Chicken Little, A Nightmare on Elm Street (the remake), The Grudge franchise, & even that Shutter remake than this! The whole film consists of the main character, Molly, being traumatized, & apparently haunted by memories of her mother trying to kill her, because her mother "knows what she is". And voila, the 'plot' begins (I use the term "plot" very loosely)! That being said, the rest of the film consists of that same sentence! "I know what you are!" And you know what? Throughout no part of the movie is it explained what the hell she (Molly) really is! Is she a demon? A demonic entity? A slave of the underworld? WHAT!?!?! The acting is hilariously bad. Each character had the same face 95% throughout the whole movie, only shifting expression & a face wrinkle on very few moments. When Molly was having her painful visions & such, she looked more like she was having an orgasm. I'm serious, Haley Benett's acting is better suited for the pornography industry than it is for the big screen. At a certain point of the movie, the dude Molley likes(?) tells her "Let's leave together". Yup, the most formulaic piece of dialogue that has been used countless times in other films is used in here! Do you need to know more? Do you? As one of my friends around here perfectly said, "Watching this movie is like watching monkeys masturbate." And they're correct! You do not want to watch the horrible mess you're seeing, but at the same time, it makes too much of a scene to ignore, like when a mom's young child throws a tantrum in the store when he/she doesn't get a toy. As far as calling it a "horror" movie, that's like calling Disaster Movie a "comedy". The Haunting of Molly Hartley is better suited for the Drama/Comedy section. That's another thing that makes this movie less of a horror, not to say it was even a horror movie to begin with, it is loaded with too much teen soap/drama bull. And you know what, even the teen drama goes wrong in this movie. You'll see much better, more enjoyable teen drama in "16 & Pregnant", & "High School Musical" than you will in this movie. Do me a favor, DO NOT watch this movie. If you want to keep your sanity, then avoid this movie like the plague. But if you want to watch a great comedy, then go on ahead & watch it, but beware! I am seriously not kidding you when I say that this movie literally messed up my entire "worst horror movies I have ever seen" list. "Pulse" (remake) used to be first on that list, now it's third, just behind this one!
Deb S

This is a film about your average teenager who is running from a secret past. Her father forces her to attend a new school in a new city even though the secrets from her past continue to haunt her. Although this movie is labeled as a thriller but there's nothing remotely… More
This is a film about your average teenager who is running from a secret past. Her father forces her to attend a new school in a new city even though the secrets from her past continue to haunt her. Although this movie is labeled as a thriller but there's nothing remotely suspenseful or scary about it as it uses all the scare tactics you're familiar with. The only good thing about this movie was Chance Crawford and that's only because he's so cute. Unless you like high school teenager based thrillers/horrors with a religious undertone and an idiotic and dumb twist ending, avoid this one!
Philip P

I wish this would have been better-the trailer looked rather promising and I hoped it would rise above the teenage horror cliches, but sadly it doesnt and the acting doesn't really help either. The film looks nice, but the story isn't enthralling and the characters are not… More
I wish this would have been better-the trailer looked rather promising and I hoped it would rise above the teenage horror cliches, but sadly it doesnt and the acting doesn't really help either. The film looks nice, but the story isn't enthralling and the characters are not that likeable either. I would only reccomend it for some cheap thrills and laughs on a boring night.
William G

Rosemary's Baby, Carrie and The Omen, blended together and jolted often for the hearing impaired.
FanGirl B

Let me put it this way - It's not a haunting.
Quinto W

Looks and feels exactly like a rejected CW pilot that was extended in order to pass for a feature lenght film, though I don't think anyone could be fooled. It spectacularly fails in every single possible way. The only reason I did not shot myself on the head is that Jake Weber is… More
Looks and feels exactly like a rejected CW pilot that was extended in order to pass for a feature lenght film, though I don't think anyone could be fooled. It spectacularly fails in every single possible way. The only reason I did not shot myself on the head is that Jake Weber is in here and I really, really like him and since I had skipped some recent episodes of Medium I was glad to have something to see him in.
Chosen 7

If HORROR/Suspense films were meant to be HORRIBLE...this movie would be considered a critical success. However horror movies actually need to have all or most of these qualities: good writing, good direction, good acting, a good score, and good cinematography. This movie is a failure… More
If HORROR/Suspense films were meant to be HORRIBLE...this movie would be considered a critical success. However horror movies actually need to have all or most of these qualities: good writing, good direction, good acting, a good score, and good cinematography. This movie is a failure in pretty much all aspects...the director Mickey Liddell needs to stick to producing. I'll say one positive thing...some of the acting was actually decent. As far as the plot is concerned...it was pretty predictable and the twist tried too hard to be original. If you want to watch a movie fail miserably...this is a great choice, watch at your own risk. Overall it sucked [this sentence is pretty redundant because of my harsh criticism of this poor excuse for a film].
Miriam K

This has to be one of the worst movies I have seen in a LONG time! It may appear obvious to some by the genre of some of my recent reviews that there is a teenager in the household here. . . Some of the films I find myself watching with her are actually not that bad! I am happy when… More
This has to be one of the worst movies I have seen in a LONG time! It may appear obvious to some by the genre of some of my recent reviews that there is a teenager in the household here. . . Some of the films I find myself watching with her are actually not that bad! I am happy when the acting isn't terrible, there is some attempt at a plot & it does not attempt to pretend to be something else. Unfortunately, this movie is all of the above. TERRIBLE!!! If there is anybody out there who actually understood the ending of this thing or what was supposed to have happend there, PLEASE contact me with the details. Its been over a week & I am still in mystery! No idea what happend!
Nicky M

Non-scarey mess of a movie that reminds me of a weak latter day Rosemary's Baby, but with teens!
Sarah P

Up until the end, I thought it was okay, probably because I love anything that showcases religious nutcases, but the end just canceled out anything that came before it.
ken j

The Haunting of Molly Hartley is the story of a girl name Molly who just moved to a new town with her father to get a fresh start at life after her mother pretty much lost her mind one day an decided to try and stab Molly believing infact that Molly is gonna soon turn evil but things… More
The Haunting of Molly Hartley is the story of a girl name Molly who just moved to a new town with her father to get a fresh start at life after her mother pretty much lost her mind one day an decided to try and stab Molly believing infact that Molly is gonna soon turn evil but things arent so easy for Molly in this new town she is starting to see things most people think she is weird and all she is trying to do is fit in with the popular kids that all changes though on Molly's 18th birthday that might just prove that her mom and others were right all along. Pretty good little thriller that had its slow moments and took alittle time to get its point across but overall ok for a one time watch as there isnt much new here and has been done in alot of other movies.
Rose G

Very predictable and probably too scary if it was even possible that something like this happens in real life. The ending is probably the worst ending I've seen in a long time and the rest of the movie isn't exactly good.
Jason S

Not bad...some good moments and acting better than I thought it would be. Didn't really like the ending much but it was ok entertainment.