THE HAUNTING OF MOLLY HARTLEY

Director: Mickey Liddell
Stars: Haley Bennett, Jake Weber, Chace Crawford, Shannon Woodward, Shanna Collins, Nina Siemaszko, Josh Stewart
Year: 2008
Rating: R

The sadness of watching The Haunting of Molly Hartley comes from realizing just what the movie could have been. What started out as probably an interesting (if not terribly original) idea, what ended up on film was a story lacking in depth on all levels - characterization, story, and emotional impact. At just 82 minutes in length, the film suffers from its brevity; through the entire thing, motives and back story and even plot points are either underdeveloped, left unexplained, or glossed over entirely. So while the film has its suspenseful moments, for sure - plus an attractive and talented cast doing what they can with the material - ultimately it's a letdown because it never full lets you know what exactly is going on. Even the ending, where everything is supposed to be explained, is ... well, lacking fully in explanation.

Haley Bennett stars as high school senior Molly Hartley, who has just relocated to a new town with her father (Jake Weber of "Medium") after a traumatic experience. We soon learned what that experience was, however: Molly was stabbed with a pair of scissors by her own mother, who attempted to kill her in order to "save her" from damnation, babbling about the "evil" she would soon become. Her mother now confined to a mental institution, Molly fears she will get out and come after her again; she wants no contact at all with the woman, and in fact resents the fact that her father still goes to visit her mom in the mental hospital.

The new start comes with a new, private school, and on the first day 17-year-old Molly is hooked up with honor student (and devout Christian) Alexis White (Shanna Collins, in probably the best performance in the film), who is more than eager to escort Molly to her classes and show her around. Molly even meets the class jock/stud, Joseph Young (Chace Crawford), who is interested in her ... even if he does already have a girlfriend.

But things are not entirely well; Molly suffers from headaches and strange visions - most of which involve her mother's attack, or even the woman's returning to kill her. She's also hearing voices, creepy whispers that sometimes speak her name, and a great deal of the film involves Molly getting creeped out or spooked by her visions when alone - instances that do, in fact, provide the film with some of its best suspense, as well as a couple of moments that may make you jump in your seat.

But even as Molly gets closer and closer to finding what's going on, unfortunately the film does not build the same level of trepidation and suspense. None of the other characters are ever truly in danger (well, not until toward the end), and whatever is after Molly is pretty much confined to the "ghost jumping out of the closet" kind of scare that gets a little old after awhile. The ending, complete with what is meant to be a big plot twist, was fairly easy to guess - and even the last few moments of the film, showing the "after-effects" of what happens in the final scene, are very much no big deal instead of the eerie/creepy finale they should have been.

In short, while the movie's not a complete waste of time, it's definitely something you want to catch on cable (or even Netflix) for free. Kind of sad, too, as it has its moments - but would have hugely benefited by a better script and more plot (and character) development. ** - Reel Mediocre