The Haunting of Sharon Tate

The Haunting of Sharon Tate is a 2019 American horror thriller film written and directed by Daniel Farrands, and starring Hilary Duff, Jonathan Bennett, Lydia Hearst, Pawel Szajda, and Ryan Cargill. The film is based on the 1969 Tate murders mixed with fictional elements. It follows actress Sharon Tate, portrayed by Duff, who suffers premonitions of her murder at the hands of Charles Manson's followers.

The Haunting of Sharon Tate
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDaniel Farrands
Produced by
  • Lucas Jarach
  • Daniel Farrands
  • Eric Brenner
Written byDaniel Farrands
Starring
Music byFantom
CinematographyCarlo Rinaldi
Edited byDan Riddle
Production
companies
  • Voltage Pictures
  • Skyline Entertainment
  • ETA Films
  • Green Light Pictures
  • 1428 Films
Distributed by
Release date
  • April 5, 2019 (2019-04-05) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

It was released in the United States on April 5, 2019, by Saban Films.

Plot

In August 1968, actress Sharon Tate tells a journalist about a nightmare she had in which she and her friend, Jay Sebring, had their throats slashed inside her home at 10050 Cielo Drive in the Benedict Canyon section of Los Angeles. One year later, a very pregnant Sharon returns to her "love house" after spending six months in Europe filming The Thirteen Chairs. She is initially happy to be reunited with her friend (and once-lover) Jay, and friends/house-sitters Abigail (Gibby) Folger, and Abigail's boyfriend, Wojciech (Voytek) Frykowsky, a boyhood friend of Polanski's. Sharon's husband, Roman Polanski has stayed behind in Europe to complete the script for his next film The Day of the Dolphin but has assured Sharon he will be home in time for the birth of their baby. That night, Sharon confides in Jay that she believes Roman is having another affair; Jay tells her it doesn't have to be this way but Sharon is determined to save her marriage for the sake of the baby. Later, Sharon becomes angered upon finding that a new caretaker, a young man named Steven Parent, is living in a trailer on the property without her prior knowledge and asks what happened to Will Garretson, the previous caretaker whom she is told "hasn't been around in awhile." That night, while the group is socializing, Voytek answers a knock at the door to find a long-haired stranger (Charles Manson) asking to see "Terry." Voytek tells Manson the home now belongs to Sharon and Roman, and that he has the wrong residence.

The following morning, Sharon and Abigail go for a walk, where they encounter two strange women, and subsequently find Sharon's pet dog dead alongside the trail. In the house's study, Sharon uncovers a recording of folk music by Charles Manson, left behind by the residence's former owner, music producer Terry Melcher. The music disturbs her, and she recalls the voice as being that of the man she remembers from her nightmare. Sharon later expresses to Jay that she finds Abigail and Voytek's extended stay at her home oppressive and that she wishes they would leave. That night, Abigail sees a woman standing outside the window of her bedroom. Sharon has a nightmare: she, Jay, Abigail, and Voytek are brutally murdered by Manson followers Tex Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel aka "Yellow," and Susan Atkins.

Sharon becomes convinced that Manson and this group of people are plotting to kill her, but Abigail and Voytek dismiss her fears as paranoia stemming from her pregnancy. Sharon brings the Manson recording to Steven, who is knowledgeable about technology, and he determines that it contains subliminal messages when played in reverse, revealing the phrase "Helter Skelter." Sharon subsequently has a nightmare in which she finds Steven's corpse in his car, and becomes convinced the dreams are premonitions. When Sharon believes she is going into labor, Steven runs to start his car. Sharon sees that Manson's followers have arrived, and rushes to the car, attempting to thwart his impending murder. Steven crashes the car into a fence, and he and Sharon flee back to the house on foot, as Tex shoots in their direction repeatedly.

In the house, Sharon, Abigail, Steven, and Voytek attempt to barricade the entrances, and find the power has been cut. Jay arrives at the house just as they are confronted by Tex, who tells Jay he is the devil and has come "to do the devil's business." Tex and Susan usher them into the living room, where Steven and Voytek are bound and gagged. Sharon manages to thwart the killers' plan by stabbing Tex with a penknife and freeing Jay, resulting in a melee in which Abigail smashes Susan's head on the corner of a table, killing her.

Sharon, Jay, Abigail, and Steven retreat to Steven's trailer while Susan searches for Voytek, who is still hiding in the house. Yellow attempts to kill him, but he violently beats her before drowning her in the bathtub. Tex, injured but still alive, tracks the group as Steven attempts to use a CB radio to call for help. Tex breaches the camper, but Steven beats him with a shovel before Sharon shoots him to death.

At dawn, the group approaches the house and as the others continue to the main road, Sharon returns to observe the crime scene. She is shocked to discover the corpses of Jay, Voytek, Abigail and herself; their conquering of Manson's followers was merely an imagined alternate possibility and she realizes that her premonitions were actually memories of what had already occurred, and that she and the others are, in fact, ghosts. Sharon, Jay, Abigail, Voytek and Steven-realizing they are in the afterlife—walk away from the house, Sharon holding the child that she did not live to give birth to.

Cast

Production

In February 2018, it was announced Hilary Duff, Jonathan Bennett, and Lydia Hearst had joined the cast of the film, with Daniel Farrands writing and directing the film. Lucas Jarach and Eric Brenner will serve as producers on the film, while Jim Jacobsen and Jorge Garcia Castro will serve as executive producers under their Skyline Entertainment banner.[1] Duff also serves as an executive producer for the film.[2]

Release

In November 2018, Saban Films acquired distribution rights to the film.[3] It was released on April 5, 2019.[4]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 19%, based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 3.12/10. The website's consensus reads, "The Haunting of Sharon Tate dishonors the events it seeks to dramatize with a poorly acted and offensively exploitative take on real-life tragedy."[5] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 8 out of 100 based on 10 reviews, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[6]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a negative review, writing: "[T]he movie's petty folly — its failure of imagination and morality — is that it actually goes out of its way to turn the Manson murders into schlock horror."[7] Frank Scheck, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, referred to Duff as being "miscast" in the title role, and wrote that the film "deserves the instant obscurity for which it is certainly destined."[8] David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of "D−", calling it "unfathomably bad" and writing that it "depicts the final days of Tate's life with all the sensitivity of a snuff film."[9] Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "turns the Manson cult’s crimes into fodder for a sleazy B-thriller".[10] TheWrap's William Bibbiani wrote: "It's far too early to call [The Haunting of Sharon Tate] the worst movie of the year. But if it's not, it's going to be a rough 2019."[11] Katie Rife of The A.V. Club gave it a grade "F" and wrote: "The worst part of The Haunting Of Sharon Tate is how seriously it takes its ham-fisted themes of fate and the nature of reality; the movie opens with an Edgar Allen Poe [sic] quote, for fuck’s sake."[12] Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com gave the film 0 out of 4 stars, calling it "appalling from start to finish".[13]

The film received positive notices from Starbust Magazine,[14] Cinedump,[15] Horror News,[16] Abort Mag,[17] Creative Screenwriting,[18] World Film Geek,[19] Film Threat,[20] Cultured Vultures,[21] His Name is Death,[22] and We Live Entertainment,[23] many of whom cited Duff's performance and the film's spiritual themes and surprise ending. It also won three awards at the 2019 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival for Farrands (Best Director), Duff (Best Actress) and Best Horror Movie.

Accolades

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2019
 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival Awards Best Picture The Haunting of Sharon Tate Nominated [24]
Best Horror Movie Won
Best Director Daniel Farrands Won
Best Actress Hilary Duff Won
2020
 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Picture Lucas Jarach, Daniel Farrands & Eric Brenner Nominated [25]
Worst Actress Hilary Duff Won
Worst Screenplay Daniel Farrands Nominated
Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property Nominated

References
  1. Busch, Anita; N'Duka, Amanda (February 6, 2018). "Hilary Duff Steps Into Role Of Sharon Tate In 'The Haunting Of Sharon Tate'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  2. Acosta, Gabriela. "Jorge García Castro, un mexicano que atrae las estrellas en Hollywood". Publimetro México. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. Kay, Jeremy (November 4, 2018). "Saban Films, Voltage Pictures strike deal on 'The Haunting Of Sharon Tate' (exclusive)". Screen International. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  4. Hasty, Katie (December 30, 2018). "Here's every 2019 movie release date so far". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  5. "The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  6. "The Haunting of Sharon Tate". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  7. Gleiberman, Owen (April 3, 2019). "Film Review: 'The Haunting of Sharon Tate'". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  8. Scheck, Frank (April 4, 2019). "'The Haunting of Sharon Tate': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  9. Ehrlich, David (April 3, 2019). "'Haunting of Sharon Tate' Review: Hilary Duff and the Manson Murders — What Could Go Wrong?". IndieWire. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  10. Murray, Noel (April 4, 2019). "VOD reviews: 'The Haunting of Sharon Tate' is sleazy exploitation, but 'The Wind' is one to see". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  11. Bibbiani, William (April 4, 2019). "'The Haunting of Sharon Tate' Film Review: Sleazy Thriller Exploits Manson Murders". TheWrap. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  12. Katie Rife (Apr 5, 2019). "However the new Tarantino turns out, it can't be worse than The Haunting Of Sharon Tate". The A. V. Club.
  13. O'Malley, Sheila (April 5, 2019). "The Haunting of Sharon Tate movie review (2019)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  14. "THE HAUNTING OF SHARON TATE". Starburstmagazine,cin. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  15. "The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)". CineDump.com. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. "Film Review: The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)". Horrornews.net. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  17. Cyre, Clayton. "FILM: The Haunting of Sharon Tate – Directed by Daniel Farrands – ABORT Magazine". Abortmag.com. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  18. ""The Haunting of Sharon Tate" Examines a Horrific Crime with Surprising Sensitivity". Creativescreenwriting.com. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  19. "The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)". Morbidlybeautiful.com. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  20. Kikta, Lorry (3 April 2019). "The Haunting of Sharon Tate". Filmthreat.com. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  21. "The Haunting of Sharon Tate REVIEW - Existential Exploitation". Cultured Vultures. April 19, 2019.
  22. "Little pigs, little pigs. („The Haunting of Sharon Tate", 2019)". His Name is Death. April 4, 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  23. "The Haunting of Sharon Tate Movie Review by Staci Layne Wilson". Weliveentertainment.com. 11 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  24. "HRIFF 2019 Program Guide". Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  25. "RAZZ NEWZ - The Razzies!". razzies.com.
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