The Exorcism of Molly Hartley

Last updated
The Exorcism of Molly Hartley
The Exorcism of Molly Hartley.jpg
DVD cover
Directed by Steven R. Monroe
Written byMatt Venne
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJonathan Cliff
Edited byKristina Hamilton-Grobler
Music byCorey Allen Jackson
Distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release date
  • October 9, 2015 (2015-10-09)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Exorcism of Molly Hartley is a 2015 American supernatural horror film written by Matt Venne and directed by Steven R. Monroe. The film is a sequel to the 2008 film The Haunting of Molly Hartley . It was released on Digital HD on October 9, 2015, and on Blu-ray on October 20, 2015. [1]

Contents

Plot

After causing a botched exorcism that resulted in the death of a fellow priest, Father James (Tom McLaren) and a pregnant woman, Father John Barrow (Devon Sawa) is committed to a Catholic mental asylum. Chaplain Henry Davies (Peter MacNeill) informs him that the Vatican has revoked his status as a priest. Meanwhile, Molly Hartley (Sarah Lind), is arrested after police find the corpses of the two friends she engaged in a threesome with the night before. While interrogating Molly, she hears strange noises before she begins to have a deeper voice and refers to herself as "we". She is sent to the same mental asylum for psychiatric evaluation under Dr. Laurie Hawthorn (Gina Holden), but her condition worsens after an insect-like creature enters her body.

Hawthorn looks through Molly's past records and diagnoses Molly's symptoms as her subconscious fulfilling a claim she told her high school guidance counselor, Dr. Emerson, that she was claimed by the devil on her eighteenth birthday and describes it as an incubation or pregnancy for six years, six months, and six days, involving that Dr. Emerson and Molly’s ex-boyfriend Joseph Young were both killed in a double suicide, after Molly went off to Michigan. However, after supernatural occurrences happen around Molly, Dr. Hawthorn begins to believe in demonic possession. With limited options, she asks Barrow to perform the exorcism in exchange for signing his release forms. Though he initially refuses, after the suicide of an asylum employee, supernatural occurrences, and seeing Molly for himself, he visits Davies, who encourages him to help Molly, handing him his clerical attire and the items he needs to perform the exorcism. Barrow manages to perform the exorcism, trapping several insects that come out of Molly's mouth in a special box, which he keeps in a container filled with holy water.

Barrow returns the container to Davies, who places it in his basement for safekeeping. Barrow notices Davies' book on Satanism and how the letters on the cover match the letters on Molly's forehead during the exorcism. Davies explains this is "Leviathan", the fourth book of the Satanic Bible that explains the Antichrist will be born after the worst sin committed, Matricide, is committed on the "mother of the devil" or the person whose body was used to incubate the devil. Barrow demands to see the box, but upon opening the container, he finds that the box has been replaced with a large stone. Davies hits Barrow, knocking him out.

Barrow wakes up in a locked room in the asylum where he witnesses a patient commit suicide in the room next to him filled with other dead patients. An orderly comes brandishing a gun and orders him to come with him. Barrow and the orderly arrive at the underground room, where Davies takes part in a ritual to sacrifice Molly to bring forth the Antichrist and Barrow, the father of the devil since he was the one who extracted the devil through an unholy ritual. Before he can kill Molly, Dr. Hawthorn stabs Davies through the abdomen, dropping the box and releasing the insects, providing a distraction as Molly stabs Davies. Barrow, Dr. Hawthorn, and Molly escape while several of the participants are killed by the insects. Barrow assures Molly she is safe as she is driven away in an ambulance. Meanwhile, one of the insects flies into a moving school bus, where it approaches an outcast girl at the back of the bus. It inches toward her ear as the screen goes black.

Cast

Reception

Trace Thurman of Bloody Disgusting gave the film a negative review, noting that "No one (and we mean no one) was asking for a sequel to the 2008 PG-13 horror film The Haunting of Molly Hartley." [2] Adam Lee Price of Fangoria was more mixed in his review, stating that "the film did have its moments" while remarking that it was "an in-title-only sequel" to The Haunting of Molly Hartley. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Pumpkinhead</i> (film) 1988 film by Stan Winston

Pumpkinhead is a 1988 American supernatural horror film. It was the directorial debut of special effects artist Stan Winston. The film has built up a cult following since its release. The first in the Pumpkinhead franchise, it was followed by a direct-to-video sequel, two TV film sequels, and a comic book series. The film was originally called Vengeance: The Demon and it was inspired by a poem written by poet Ed Justin. The film inspired a video game called Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's revenge.

Sarah Lind is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring roles on the television series Mentors, Edgemont and True Justice.

<i>Amityville II: The Possession</i> 1982 Mexican-American supernatural horror film directed by Damiano Damiani

Amityville II: The Possession is a 1982 supernatural horror film directed by Damiano Damiani and starring James Olson, Burt Young, Rutanya Alda, Jack Magner, and Diane Franklin. The screenplay by Tommy Lee Wallace is based on the novel Murder in Amityville by the parapsychologist Hans Holzer. It is the second film in the Amityville Horror film series and a loose prequel to The Amityville Horror (1979), set at 112 Ocean Avenue and featuring the fictional Montelli family, loosely based on the DeFeo family. It follows the Montelli family's decline under apparent demonic forces present in their home.

<i>Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming</i> 2007 television film directed by Ernie Barbarash

Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming is a 2007 American made-for-television supernatural horror film produced by Lions Gate Entertainment. The film premiered on the Sci Fi Channel. Originally titled The Dead Speak, it was written and directed by Ernie Barbarash and is a sequel to the 1999 feature film Stir of Echoes, although its only connection to the previous work is a similar premise and the inclusion of Jake Witzky, who had a key role in the original film but is only a secondary character here.

<i>The Grudge 3</i> 2009 film by Toby Wilkins

The Grudge 3 is a 2009 American supernatural horror film directed by Toby Wilkins and written by Brad Keene. The film is the sequel to The Grudge 2 (2006) and the third installment in the American The Grudge film series. The film stars Johanna Braddy, Gil McKinney, Emi Ikehata, Jadie Rose Robson, Beau Mirchoff, and Shawnee Smith, with a special appearance by Matthew Knight. Aiko Horiuchi and Shimba Tsuchiya plays Kayako and Toshio, respectively, in the film, with Takashi Matsuyama only reappearing as Takeo Saeki though archive footage.

<i>The Haunting in Connecticut</i> 2009 American film

The Haunting in Connecticut is a 2009 supernatural horror film produced by Gold Circle Films and directed by Peter Cornwell. The film is alleged to be about Carmen Snedeker and her family, though Ray Garton, author of In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting (1992), has publicly distanced himself from the accuracy of the events he depicted in the book. The film's story follows the fictional Campbells as they move into a house to mitigate the strains of travel on their cancer-stricken son, Matt. The family soon becomes haunted by violent and traumatic events from supernatural forces occupying the house.

<i>The Haunting of Molly Hartley</i> 2008 American film

The Haunting of Molly Hartley is a 2008 American supernatural horror film written by John Travis and Rebecca Sonnenshine and directed by Mickey Liddell. The film, starring Haley Bennett, Chace Crawford, AnnaLynne McCord, and Jake Weber, was a critical failure but a mild commercial success.

<i>The Ward</i> (film) 2010 American film

The Ward is a 2010 American supernatural psychological horror film directed by John Carpenter and starring Amber Heard, Mamie Gummer, Danielle Panabaker, Laura-Leigh, Lyndsy Fonseca and Jared Harris. Set in 1966, the film chronicles a young woman who is institutionalized after setting fire to a house, and who finds herself haunted by the ghost of a former inmate at the psychiatric ward. As of 2023, this is Carpenter's most recent film as a director.

<i>The Last Exorcism</i> 2010 American film

The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Caleb Landry Jones, and Louis Herthum.

<i>Devil</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by John Erick Dowdle

Devil is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle. The screenplay by Brian Nelson was from a story by M. Night Shyamalan. Starring Chris Messina, Logan Marshall-Green, Geoffrey Arend, Bojana Novakovic, Jenny O'Hara, and Bokeem Woodbine, the film revolves around five strangers who become trapped in an elevator. Devil was released on September 17, 2010. Critics praised the film's atmosphere and performances, but criticized the short running-time and story.

<i>Exeter</i> (film) 2015 American film

Exeter is a 2015 American supernatural horror film directed by Marcus Nispel. The screenplay by Kirsten McCallion is from a story by Nispel. It stars Stephen Lang, Kelly Blatz, Brittany Curran, Brett Dier and Gage Golightly. Jason Blum serves as an executive producer through his Blumhouse Productions banner. The film premiered at the Glasgow Horror Film Festival on February 27, 2015. The film was released on July 2, 2015 on DirecTV Cinema.

<i>The Conjuring</i> 2013 American supernatural horror film

The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. It is the inaugural film in The Conjuring Universe franchise. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. Their purportedly real-life reports inspired The Amityville Horror story and film franchise. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experienced increasingly disturbing events in their newly occupied farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.

<i>The Last Exorcism Part II</i> 2013 American film

The Last Exorcism Part II is a 2013 American supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly. It stars Ashley Bell, Julia Garner, Spencer Treat Clark, and Louis Herthum. It is a sequel to The Last Exorcism, and was released on March 1, 2013. The film follows Nell Sweetzer as she attempts to recover from her past experiences and start her life anew. Nell then starts to realize that the demon that previously possessed her has come back for her. Unlike its predecessor, it is not presented in a found footage format.

<i>The Amityville Asylum</i> 2013 British film

The Amityville Asylum is a 2013 British horror film written and directed by Andrew Jones. It is the eleventh film to be inspired by Jay Anson's 1977 novel The Amityville Horror. Sophia Del Pizzo stars as Lisa Templeton, a young woman who is hired to work as a custodian at High Hopes Psychiatric Hospital, an asylum that was built on the site of a haunted house in Amityville, New York.

<i>The Exorcist</i> (franchise) American media franchise

The Exorcist is an American media franchise that originated with William Peter Blatty's 1971 horror novel of the same name and most prominently featured in a 1973 film adaptation of the novel, and many subsequent prequels and sequels. All of these installments focus on fictional accounts of people possessed by Pazuzu, the main antagonist of the series, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter this possession.

<i>The Antichrist</i> (film) 1974 horror film by Alberto De Martino

The Antichrist, also released as The Tempter, is a 1974 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Carla Gravina, Mel Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, Umberto Orsini, Alida Valli, Remo Girone, Anita Strindberg, and George Coulouris. The musical score was composed by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai. It is widely regarded as a cash-in on The Exorcist, a similarly-themed and widely-successful American film released the previous year. It is considered a cult film.

<i>Witchboard III: The Possession</i> 1995 film directed by Peter Svatek

Witchboard III: The Possession is a 1995 Canadian horror film directed by Peter Svatek and starring David Nerman, Elizabeth Lambert, Cedric Smith, Donna Sarrasin, and Danette MacKay. It is the second sequel to the film Witchboard (1986), following Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway (1993).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satanic film</span> Subgenre of horror film which depicts the Devil and associated wicked themes

A Satanic film is a subgenre of horror film, and at times other film genres, that involves the Devil as a concept or a character. Common themes/characters in Satanic film include the Antichrist, demonic possession, exorcism, and witchcraft.

<i>The Crucifixion</i> (film) 2017 horror film

The Crucifixion is a 2017 horror film directed by Xavier Gens, written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes and starring Sophie Cookson, Brittany Ashworth and Corneliu Ulici. It is based on the Tanacu exorcism that took place in Vaslui County, Romania, in 2005.

<i>Prey for the Devil</i> 2022 film by Daniel Stamm

Prey for the Devil is a 2022 American supernatural horror film directed by Daniel Stamm and stars Jacqueline Byers, Colin Salmon, Christian Navarro, Lisa Palfrey, Nicholas Ralph, Virginia Madsen, and Ben Cross.

References

  1. MrDisgusting (August 6, 2015). "The Exorcism of Molly Hartley, which arrives on Digital HD October 9". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  2. Trace Thurman (October 20, 2015). "We Watched 'The Exorcism of Molly Hartley' So You Don't Have To!". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  3. Adam Lee Price (November 3, 2015). ""The Exorcism of Molly Hartley" (Blu-ray Review)". Fangoria . Retrieved 2016-07-23.