Daniel Farrands' The Haunting of Sharon Tate bears the dubious distinction of being one of the lowest-rated horror films of 2019. The story about Hollywood actress Sharon Tate's ill-fated encounter with the Manson Family which resulted in her grisly murder of her and her unborn child failed to resonate with audiences among critics and general audiences alike.
The film stars Hilary Duff as Sharon Tate and Jonathan Bennett as her close friend, former lover, and confidant Jay Sebring. For more on how the film failed to strike a chord, here are ten Things You Need to Know About The Haunting of Sharon Tate.
Plot Inspiration
According to the filmmakers, The Haunting of Sharon Tate was borne from a premonition the actress had one year prior to being murdered by The Manson Family. Tate told Fate Magazine that she'd had a nightmare about an unidentified home invader and witnessing something or someone tied to her staircase.
Tate added that she had a strong inkling that it was either her or her best friend Jay Sebring who had been tied to the stairs and that he or she was cut open at the throat. The movie recreates this premonition and explores Tate's paranoid mindstate.
Tate's Family Objections
Prior to the release of the film, Sharon Tate's sister Debra publicly rebuked the project in an interview given to People Magazine. Among the many reasons for lambasting the film, Debra claimed the film was "classless" and "exploitative."
Debra Tate continued by saying "It doesn't matter who it is acting in it—it's just tasteless. It's classless how everyone is rushing to release something for the 50th anniversary of this horrific event." Debra continued by saying "I know for a fact she (Sharon) did not have a premonition... tacky, tacky, tacky."
Historical Inaccuracy
Much of the criticism of The Haunting of Sharon Tate entails how historically inaccurate the plot is and how many liberties were taken in the attempt to disturb viewers. The plot imagines gratuitous violence to indulge a so-called nightmare Tate may or may not have had.
According to Debra Tate in an interview with Deadline, "it's been exploitative since day one. It's been the case since the media went crazy and has perpetuated mistruths making things even more salacious. It's now morphed into something more fictionalized than truth at this point."
Slow-Motion
According to the film's editor Dan Riddle, several scenes from the film had to be stretched and elongated in order to reach the running time of a feature film. To achieve this, a cheap method was used in the editing process.
Riddle claims that several scenes meant to run at a normal speed of 24 frames per second had to be played in slow-motion so that the film could qualify as a feature-length release. The serial killer film is currently listed as 94 minutes long, but it likely would have come in under 80 minutes if played at normal speed.
ADR Required
In another clue proving a poor production experience, Automatic Dialogue Replacement (ADR) was needed during postproduction on The Haunting of Sharon Tate.
On July 11, 2018, actress Lydia Hearst posted a trio of Instagram images of herself performing ADR as her character in the film. That means she had to re-record specific lines of dialogue that weren't properly captured during principal photography. Hearst plays coffee heir Abigail Folger in the film, who is ultimately slaughtered by the Manson Family along with Tate, Jay Sebring, and Polish friend Wojciech Frykowski.
Hilary Duff's Involvement
The Haunting of Sharon Tate marked the horror film debut of actress Hilary Duff, who spent just two weeks filming her entire performance in the film. About her opportunity to portray Sharon Tate, Duff called her role an "incredible opportunity" and a "true honor" on Instagram.
In the film, Duff plays Tate when she s eight and a half months pregnant with Roman Polanski's baby. In reality, Duff filmed the movie while pregnant with her daughter, Banks Bair.
Cast Reunion
Believe it or not, the film marks the second time Hilary Duff and actor Jonathan Bennett worked together in a movie. However, their onscreen reunion in The Haunting of Sharon Tate came nearly 15 years later.
In 2005, Duff and Bennett both appeared in Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Duff was just 18 years old at the time, playing one of 12 Baker children. Bennet was 34 at the time and played a husband and son-in-law. In their reunion 14 years later, the two play best-friends and close contemporaries based on real-life murder victims.
Poor Reviews
The Haunting of Sharon Tate was one of the lowest-rated and poorest-reviewed horror movies of 2019. The film currently boasts a 19% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an 8/100 Metascore, and a 2.8/10 IMDB-rating.
Variety's Owen Gleiberman was particularly harsh on the film, claiming that "the movie's petty folly—its failure of imagination and morality—is that it goes out of its way to turn the Manson murders into schlock horror." This is par for the course for director Daniel Farrands, whose previous film, The Amityville Murders, faced identical criticism en route to culling a dismal 7% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Accolades & Dishonors
Because and in spite of its poor reviews and negative word of mouth, The Haunting of Sharon Tate received numerous accolades and dishonors.
The film earned four nominations from the 2019 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival Awards, including Best Picture and wins for Best Horror Film, Best Director, and Best Actress (Hilary Duff). However, the film also earned 2020 Golden Raspberry nominations for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property. Hilary Duff was named Worst Actress for her performance in the film.
Box-Office
In keeping with its poor performance, The Haunting of Sharon Tate was a box-office failure when released in April of 2019. According to Box-Office Mojo, the film earned a paltry $19,717 in tickets sold internationally.
While the domestic box-office numbers have yet to be released, the film earned an additional $48,787 in domestic home-video sales. According to The Numbers, the film has so far grossed $41, 080 in domestic DVD sales, and an additional $7,707 in domestic Blu-ray sales. All told, The Haunting of Sharon Tate has made $68,504.