In 2018, Quentin Tarantino came under fire when the sister of deceased star Sharon Tate was upset that the filmmaker planned on releasing his film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” on the 50th anniversary of Tate’s murder at the hands of the Manson Family (who are featured in the director’s film). Tarantino and Sony pushed the release date back, avoiding controversy. As messed up as some felt the release date was, nothing Tarantino can do would come close to the offensive nature of the upcoming film “The Haunting of Sharon Tate.”
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US Weekly premiered the first trailer from the film, which stars former child star Hilary Duff as the titular Tate. And boy, oh boy, it’s a doozy. Where do we even begin?
Let’s start with the premise, which, in no uncertain terms, is completely terrible and shameful. The film features the true story of Sharon Tate’s untimely death at the hands of crazy killers, but with a twist. You see, the folks involved in this film decided to ask the question, “What would you say if it wasn’t the Manson Family that murdered Tate, but instead ghosts?” Ugh.
The people who came up with ‘Haunting’ took their inspiration from a quote that Tate gave in an interview, where she (reportedly) said, “Yes, I have had a psychic experience- at least I guess that’s what it was- and it was a terribly frightening and disturbing thing for me. It happened a year or so ago. Maybe you can explain it.”
She continued, “I saw something or someone tied to the staircase. Whoever it was- and I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman but knew somehow that it was either Jay Sebring or me-he or she was cut open at the throat.”
So, Hollywood being Hollywood, folks decided it was a great idea to turn this truly tragic event, which involved the grisly murder of a pregnant woman and scared a nation, into the latest low-budget jump-scare horror flick. And to make matters worse, or to rub salt on the wound if you prefer, the acting, writing, and direction of the film look absolutely terrible. Even if this was about Jane Smith and not Sharon Tate, we would still think this is nothing short of yet another bargain bin horror flick.
Joining Duff in this tone-deaf horror film is Jonathan Bennett and Lydia Hearst.
There’s no release date set for “The Haunting of Sharon Tate.”
We are only a week into 2019 and we feel it’s a safe bet to pencil in “The Haunting of Sharon Tate” as one of the worst films of the year.