The Haunting of Molly Hartley (PG-13, 2008)

The Haunting of Molly Hartley is a modest horror-thriller; in fact, if anything, it's too modest, relying on music cues and cheap surprises instead of actual suspense. Bennett (last seen as a Britney-esque teen pop star in the comedy Music and Lyrics) is a charming, easy-to-watch lead actress, but she's not given much to work with here, stumbling from plot point to plot point with a dazed, slightly upset look on her face. In an age when TV shows like Reaper and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and (more explicit and violent) films like Teeth and The Faculty have wrung horror out of the classes, clashes, and cliques of high school, The Haunting of Molly Hartley feels curiously constrained, as if the filmmakers didn't have the brains, bravery, or budget to kick things up a notch.

Director Mickey Liddell does manage to work in a few moments of actual suspense: Is the nice, born-again girl (Shanna Collins) in Molly's classes really not so nice? Is the handsome smile of the school's cutest boy (Chace Crawford) hiding a secret? But the film's finale is so shabby -- and so sudden -- that the film ends not with a bang but a whimper. The Haunting of Molly Hartley isn't too violent, isn't too scary, and isn't too over-the-top; unfortunately, it isn't too memorable, either.