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Movie Review: 'The Haunting of Sharon Tate'

The past cannot be changed, nor is it easily forgotten.

By Rachel MariaPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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"My whole life has been decided by fate."

The movie poster for The Haunting of Sharon Tate is as brilliant and straightforward as the production itself.

For the audience who is acquainted with the gruesome real-life tragedy, there's no hiding that the dramatization about to take place is sinister. Director Daniel Farrands does a fantastic job of building and maintaining the movie's natural tension, keeping in mind that a shorter film is more precise. For me, the most impressive part of The Haunting of Sharon Tate is that there isn't an extreme focus on the media circus that took place after the Tate and LaBianca murders. Instead, we're left to re-imagine Tate's perspective and those who died with her that night. Shortly before her death, Sharon was troubled by her relationship issues with French film director, Roman Polanski. He was not present on the night of August 9th, 1969.

The Haunting of Sharon Tate is ominous from the start, as it depicts real and re-created footage from the day police officers discovered the bodies of Sharon Marie Tate Polanski, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her death, and of four others in her Los Angeles home. In a flashback from a 1968 interview, Sharon (played by Hilary Duff) is asked by a journalist if she's had psychic experiences before. Sharon's real-life answer was integrated as the movie's primary storyline, and she goes into detail about a haunting nightmare. In her dream, Sharon wakes up in the middle of the night, and standing next to her door frame is a strange man.

She's perturbed, but walks past him, down the stairs, and into her living room where Sharon and her boyfriend, Jay Sebring, are then stabbed to death in cold blood. Just a year later, this terrible nightmare came true. Although Sharon and Jay were dating at the time of the interview, they remained good friends throughout her marriage to Roman Polanski. He was also her hairstylist, which explains why he was with her during the night of the murder. Whether or not Sharon's dream predicted her own death is up to each person to determine. As the movie progresses towards its climax, Sharon is plagued by recurring visions of the Manson Family, but no one believes her. Her sanity is further affected when she suspects her husband is having a second affair.

Hilary Duff plays the role of Sharon Tate. I think she fits the part well because the horror and thriller movie genres are out of her comfort zone as an actress. Duff's portrayal of Sharon felt very organic, especially in the most disturbing scenes. At the end of the movie, there's a moment of shock when you think Sharon Tate and the others have escaped the wrath of the Manson family. As the group walks away from the house, we're hit with the sudden realization that no one actually survived the night. In reality, Sharon has imagined an alternate ending in which she and her friends could have made it out alive. What makes this even sadder is that when Sharon assesses the crime scene behind her, it's been taken over by criminal investigators, police officers, and hordes of reporters.

Honestly, The Haunting of Sharon Tate couldn't have had a better ending. We'll never know about the weeks leading up to the horrific tragedies of August 1969, or about Sharon in general, but many innocent lives were lost in a matter of hours. Sharon's baby, who was just two weeks from being born, never saw the light of day and was buried with her. For many years, the media's interest has remained on the perpetrators of the crime, so I think that a film that mainly focuses on the actual victims is necessary. In the day and age where Hollywood biopics are gaining more fame, filmmakers and audiences alike need to be respectful of those who have passed on.

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About the Creator

Rachel Maria

Creating is my fixation. 28 years old -- NYC bound

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