The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019) – A Four Leaf Joint Review by Fitz and Gothic Bob- Fitz of Horror Review

Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) & Bob Coldicott (Gothic Bob) March 16, 2019

Synopsis–Pregnant with director Roman Polanski’s child and awaiting his return from Europe, 26-year-old Hollywood actress Sharon Tate becomes plagued by visions of her imminent death.

Welcome to Fitz of Horror’s first ‘4 Leaf Joint Review’. Right to the point – we’ve never claimed not to be “cheesy” and, well, we both wanted to see this movie and spew our opinion about it. We needed some kind of format to make this halfway digestible, so here’s how it works. We’ll each give our own opinion on 4 cornerstones of a movie: Direction/Acting, Cinematography, Sound/Music and last but not least Effects! It’s a simple rating system; one clover means not-so-great and four clovers is damn-well-near perfect. Here we go!

Direction/Acting
Fitz of Horror– 🍀🍀🍀 Having a daughter and seeing so much Lizzie McGuire over the years made it tough at first to get into the film and past Hilary Duff in such an outlandish role for her (she is also producer) but as my mind got past that I was able to appreciate her performance. The other actors were great in their supporting roles and played well off of Duff’s bouts of paranoia which turned out being premonitions of their fates to come. They aren’t the greatest performances ever but in this film they worked. 3/4 clovers!

Gothic Bob– 🍀🍀🍀 I thought this was cast well. Fitz is right though, the acting wasn’t the best. I also wouldn’t go as far as saying they look like their real life counterparts but the principles fit the bill and worked fantastically for the story and screen. I’m gonna come right out and say it; Hilary Duff is gorgeous and was nearly a total sell as Sharon Tate. Difference being that Tate looked cocaine skinny, even when feeding two. I would’ve maybe had Duff thin her eyebrows a bit but she was stunning, regardless. Being an older dad with toddlers, I really don’t know about her past work nor have any idea what she’s been up to, outside of being a kid actor on some show a decade or two ago. Knowing that, though, and seeing her do a movie like this was interesting. I realized that she was real-life pregnant halfway in and that just blew me away. It added to the realism and concern. As a parent I don’t know if I could’ve done that, even as a dedicated method actor. Well, being pregnant, I couldn’t regardless, lol. Credit to Jonathan Bennett for wearing that embarrassing swimming outfit. The acting was pretty f’n good. I’m not sure about Ben Mellish as Manson, as opposed to someone like Matt Smith in ‘Charlie Says’ (who I think looked awesome), but it’s insignificant in the grand scheme. It all worked.

Cinematography
Gothic Bob– 🍀🍀🍀 The camera work wasn’t bad in this. You had some shake and you had some bake. It was solidly shot by Carlo Rinaldi and whatever crew he had. 3/4 clovers!  

Fitz of Horror– 🍀🍀🍀 We agree again. The cinematography was done quite well with some great sweeping shots of the Hollywood hills (not just drone footage) and some really well done scenes with intense build up to to some genuinely disturbing violent moments. 

Sound
Fitz of Horror– 🍀🍀🍀 Watching films at night when my family is in bed it is extremely frustrating when the film sound is all over the board. I don’t want to have to grab the remote in anticipation of death screams or chainsaws. This movie’s sound was level and on point in that department and the chilling soundtrack was a great fit for transitioning dread from scene to scene. I expected a bunch of 70s psychedelic rock but maybe they couldn’t afford the rights to it, all the better because the score was pretty damn good.

Gothic Bob– 🍀🍀🍀🍀 Haha, the struggle is real. Like Fitz, I too end up watching these late at night while the kids are sleeping. I might be generous here but I’m going 4/4 clovers! I felt the sound was mixed well but what really got me was the score/soundtrack and use of music in this film. I’ve played in bands, I’ve been a DJ and have worked with music production and I wish I knew who managed the score for this. Why? It wasn’t anything mind blowing or a complicated masterpiece but it was a on-point when it came to building my anticipation and anxiety. Subtle but disjointed, glitchy screeches or scraping. I don’t know, it just did it for me. It fit form and function and it did it’s job. It got me.

Effects
Gothic Bob–  🍀🍀🍀 Again, form and functionality but there was one brutally intense scene where digital effects were used in place of practical effects and it almost made me furious enough to give this 2 clovers versus 3. You’ll notice it when you watch it, I think. Lots of blood flying but…oh…it’s not staining everything, everywhere! Even without that, you can tell it’s digital. Some creativity to find a way to simulate it practically would’ve have gone a long way. 3/4 clovers.

Fitz of Horror– 🍀🍀 There were a few intense scenes of frantic violence but for the most part there were no real “money shots”. Most of the violence was implied just slightly off screen and the results of that were just mostly blood covered people. Don’t get me wrong, this worked with this film but when we talk FX in a violent movie I want the money shots.

The Big Picture

Gothic Bob–  🍀🍀🍀 Having read about these murders so much in my life, I’m always interested in seeing someone’s take/visual recreation of it. I understand this film will probably take a lot of flak for the content & accuracy but there’s a deeper suggestion here. Also, I’m not a sadist but I do think in pictures (like they say some with autism do) when I read about stuff like this and it’s always interesting to compare what you imagine to what others do.  I feel like Daniel Farrands set out to recreate it, accurately, even for brief moments throughout the film. It’s terrifying to think what the victims went through and Farrands doesn’t get too caught up in the emotions or motivations, at least not without being elusive or provocative. Somehow you even end up having fun at one point (yes, seriously). The Haunting of Sharon Tate is a dynamic spectrum, an aggregate approach to this maniacal butchering. It quickly develops Tate’s character… getting you invested, a crash-course simulates the nightmare, then somehow leaves you hopefully cheering for something you know can never be. This haunting left me hanging like a marionette with cut strings, dangling over a canyon. Well done entertainment. 3/4 clovers.

Fitz of Horror– 🍀🍀🍀 Let’s face it, the only reason Charles Manson is so famous for instructing others to kill in his name and the story has lived in infamy since is because is hit Hollywood too close to home. A semi-famous actress who also happened to be Roman Polanski’s wife was sadistically and brutally murdered along with her friends was even more shocking in the sense that it happened to famous people. It’s a perfect Hollywood film formula that still apparently has a new and unique life today. I have always been intrigued by the cult status of these murders and Charles Manson himself and I really liked the fact that Daniel Farrands chooses to focus on the victims leading up to the horrific event instead of Manson himself. At first feeling like a quasi-documentary then evolving into a haunting possibility that Tate herself had uncanny if not cosmic foresight that may have given her the ability/curse to see the grizzly events that would eventually take place. That being said, there were a few “cop out” scenes that tuned out to be visions or dreams that would have been truly powerful moments had they been in the actual moment. Overall I liked this film quite a bit more than I thought I would mainly because of the unique take on the story and the fact that Farrands didn’t use a Charles Manson character to carry his story. The film also manages to expertly blend fact with fiction in a way that doesn’t try to change history but enhance it for modern day viewers and those not familiar with the murders.

Here’s the trailer.