First off I need to mention it was absolutely wonderful having Hilary Duff back on the screen, especially in a role such as this. Writer and Director Daniel Farrands has been making headway with his recent release in the Amityville saga The Amityville Murders and now with the release of The Haunting of Sharon Tate, Farrands isn’t holding back his niche for true crime.

Married to filmmaker Roman Polanski, actress Sharon Tate is a rising star who’s about to have her first baby. Plagued by terrifying premonitions, Tate sees her worst nightmares come true when she encounters members of the Manson Family cult on August 8th, 1969.

I very much enjoyed the stylistic choice for the film. With soft lighting, long panning, and zooming shots the film felt very ‘60s. The story begins with Sharon Tate returning from London and her husband Roman Polanski stayed behind to work on a script. Her friend Abigail and Abigail’s boyfriend have been staying at the home and by the look of things, they have been enjoying themselves. Throughout the film, Sharon becomes increasingly terrified for her and her unborn baby’s life and begins to lose all grip with reality unable to distinguish fantasy and reality. Sharon dreams of violence not only to her friends but to her own self. Shadows, faces, strange noise, and strange packages are only the beginning of her imagination crossing into reality.

Traditionally going into a film the ending is unknown. In this case, the ending is known, there is a murder that it a total Hollywood Tragedy. Setting up the journey to that moment, building the story and adding your own twist for flavor, now that is great filmmaking and Farrands accomplishes just that as he did in a similar film involving murder & tragedy The Amityville Murders. I am sure that this film will land itself underfire with a slew of controversial issues, however, overall Farrands offers an enthralling twist on this popular tragic event. Hilary Duff offered a strong performance as Sharon Tate who was haunted by a mysterious man in her nightmares. I am looking forward as to what director Daniel Farrands has next for us.  

Saban Films will release The Haunting of Sharon Tate in theaters and VOD April 5th, 2019. Be sure to check it out, you’ll be glad you did!

Cast: Hilary Duff, Jonathan Bennett, Lydia Hearst, Pawel Szajda, Ryan Cargill, Bella Popa, Fivel Stewart, Tyler Johnson, Ben Mellish Director: Daniel Farrands Screenwriter: Daniel Farrands Distributor: Saban Films Running Time: 90 min Rating: R Year: 2019