AS WELL AS ROSEMARY'S BABY
The Haunting Of Molly Hartley was not screened for critics prior to opening this weekend in North America. The Toronto Star's Tony Wong caught a screening this weekend, and suggests that the new film has "the subtlety of a '70s-style psychological thriller," even though it is "tailored for the Gossip Girl set." [Gossip Girl, incidentally, currently features De Palma's step daughter Willa Holland as a special guest-- Willa gets a rave review for her first episode from Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack.] Wong further states that Molly is inspired in parts by Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby and Brian De Palma's Carrie. Here's an excerpt from Wong's 2-and-a-half-star review:Rosemary's baby is all grown up, and her name is Molly Hartley.
But will tweenies raised on a diet of rental torture porn appreciate the subtlety of a '70s-style psychological thriller?
Although the film is tailored for the Gossip Girl set, and even stars the show's hunk, Chace Crawford, this may be too tame for the Saw V generation. Still, if you get past the retro Nancy Drew title, this is a worthwhile effort.
Molly Hartley (Haley Bennett of Music & Lyrics) is nearing her 18th birthday, and evil lurks everywhere – from the mean girls at her private school to the fact that she has been promised to the devil. After her mother has a breakdown, Molly moves to a private school and gets the attention of rich kid Joseph (Crawford). While trying to adjust to her new life and strange friends, she is haunted by dark visions.
Director Mickey Liddell borrows heavily from Roman Polanski's classic fright film and throws in a nod to Brian De Palma. Molly's knife-wielding, verse-spewing mother is straight out of Carrie.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. This year the Hollywood horror factory has plundered Japanese, Spanish and Korean works for inspiration, so there's nothing wrong with dipping into the classics.
Bennett pulls off a sense of deep vulnerability, evocative of Mia Farrow's turn in Rosemary's Baby, in a role that is more demanding than most teen horror flicks.
Updated: Sunday, November 2, 2008 11:55 AM CDT
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