The 1969 murder of actress Sharon Tate and four of her friends is undoubtedly one of the, if not the, most brutal and horrifying tragedies in Hollywood history. This year, on the 50th anniversary of the Manson murders, four films depicting Tate and the Manson family are coming out, including one directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Margot Robbie. 'The Haunting of Sharon Tate' is the first to be released to the general public - and it sets the bar low. Haunting, as predicted, is nothing more than a sensationalistic, exploitative, and artless slasher film taking advantage of the anniversary.

\t'The Haunting of Sharon Tate' opens three days before the murders, as Tate returns from Europe eight months pregnant without her husband Roman Polanski. The film centers around Tate (Hilary Duff), plagued by visions of her impending murder by “Charlie”, a mysterious man visiting the house regularly and leaving tapes of his music for Tate to listen to. As the film unfolds, we witness Tate becoming more and more convinced her house is being watched. She begins to see women (from the Manson family) outside her window, dead animals in her fridge, and hearing subliminal messaging in the tapes. Her paranoia builds and builds, including a step-for-step premonition of the murders two nights before they happen.

\tThe film is in shockingly poor taste. It uses the Tate and Manson names for recognition and gravity on the anniversary of the murders whilst unashamedly straying as far away from the truth as possible. Writer-director Daniel Farrands seems to take no issue with using a brutal real-life murder as the basis for a cheap supernatural schlock horror. And not only is the entire premise of the film incredibly vulgar, but the film also has the audacity to be one of the worst I have seen in recent years. Duff doesn’t bring the charisma needed for a titular role, and her portrayal of Tate is airheaded and irritating; the rest of the actors are unconvincing and forgettable; and the dialogue sounds scripted and unnatural, sounding awfully like Farrands has never participated in a real-life conversation. Throughout, the plot is reduced to cheap jump-scares set to a cheesy horror score.

Farrands has somehow managed to take a senselessly violent and unjust tragedy and strip his characters of any personality they had in real life, thereby getting rid of any sympathy or sadness the audience may have felt for Tate or her friends and their untimely deaths. Instead, you watch the film with a sense of complete removal and vague amusement as the film, without fail, ticks off cliche after cliche. In fact, if the film weren’t so crass and, frankly, offensive, I might have enjoyed it as an achievement in trashy comedy. However, as it stands, 'The Haunting of Sharon Tate' has very few redeeming qualities. However, it has set the bar nice and low - I am doubtful Tarantino’s upcoming film can be as tasteless as this, and definitely won’t be as artless. My suggestion? Wait a few months, and see that one instead.

That’s where the comedy would have been stupendous, a woman nervous on a date but who can knock several shades of blue out of any man or villain she comes in contact with. She is secret superhero/assassin yes but in order for us to believe her White needed to show us this woman's private persona as well as her public superhero self. Think about the nuances that are created between Clark Kent and Superman for example. White’s performance needed an injection of curiosity and vulnerability badly as it’s these qualities which makes us - the viewers- get on your side immediately. Obviously the director (Daniel J Brant) could have done much better in bringing these qualities out better in White and so is partially to blame.

​​Rueben Williams played a really convincing and comedic version of "the nice guy" simply on a date with no prior knowledge of his dates real job, which she is essentially a hitwoman/bondgirl/anti-hero type. Rueben Williams was a breath of fresh air and utterly enjoyable to watch despite him having a very short presence in the film. He really was very relaxed and created a sense of confidence from the get go. Francesca White is a deeply attractive actress with some serious Zena warrior princess like moves and that her level of fighting expertise has to be commended however as the lead in this film she simply didn’t achieve all that she could have with Cleo.

“Know the rule of law and you can bend it.”
 
After hearing this in the opening couple of minutes, I thought I was in for a treat. What I ended up with was the biggest disappointment since England last played in a major tournament. And like then, perhaps it was my fault for reading too much into what seemed like a hopeful and intelligent start.
 
'Detour' is about young law student Harper (Tye Sheridan) asking career criminal Johny Ray (Emory Cohen) to bump off his stepfather (Stephen Moyer) whom he blames for an accident that has left his mother in a coma. This sounds like an interesting concept in itself, and the opening quote teases all kinds of interesting games for Harper to try and get away with it. Unfortunately as soon as the plot moves forward it pretty much derails.

Very early on, writer director Christopher Smith splits the narrative in two, following two versions of the story based on what Harper has chosen to do at a particular moment. Again another promising idea, even if it has been done before, (most notably in 'Sliding Doors') but the film wastes the opportunity. It neither offers us contrasting narratives, nor does it allow the two timelines to play off of one another. Instead we are giving two slightly different variations of nonsense. It all then plays out in a way that takes away any weight that the moment of this choice could have had, Rendering the whole concept pointless.
 
The single biggest problem with this film is that no character has an ounce, of competence. Their decision making is far worse than my own, back in my heavy drinking days. The villains are too stupid to be a threat and the heros aren’t relatable enough to empathise with. It’s one thing to have characters that are led astray because of a personal flaw they have to work against but here there is nothing but unfathomable stupidity, which could have been funny if the film hadn’t taken itself so seriously. I’d have to enter into spoiler territory to really make it clear how idiotic everyone is in the film. From talking openly and loudly in public places about killing, to leaving incriminating notes in cafés when the police are there. They always end up in trouble with their stupidity, only to get bailed out for plot convenience. 

The cast seem to be trying their best, but are done no favours by a poor script. Cohen offers some fire to the role of Johnny. But I don’t believe for a moment he is capable of committing any crimes without being caught. Any potential menace is lost through the characters moronic actions. Tuco from 'Breaking Bad' is perhaps the best reference point here, showing the difference between a loose cannon, and an idiot.

Sheridan is caught in just as much of a no win situation, I also cannot believe that Harper is able to get into law school. It’s a shame that he is incapable of using his brain, or knowledge of law to get out of any of the sticky situations and it was baffling the way he tried to cover his tracks when any kind of understanding of the law (or how to bend it) would have been enough to solve his problems. The audience seemed to take more notice of the opening lines than he did. The amount that he cares for his mother (which was apparently his motivation behind getting into this situation in the first place) gets completely forgotten in the mix.

​Bel Powley also stars as Cherry. Who only seems to be in the film as a damsel in distress. Everything about the character sums up why female characters need to be written better. She is a stripper, often wearing little and is in need of being saved. None of these factors seem to add anything to the plot, she is given no personality and there is no rational reason why Johnny would have brought her along for the ride.

I have never walked out of a film before, but the only reason I watched all the way till the end is because of needed to review the whole film. I hoped for something positive to be able to conclude with, but somehow the third act was even worse than everything that had come before. Not a single thread was resolved with any satisfaction. None of the pay offs were earned and it all comes together in the most contrived of fashions and the worst case of a Deus Ex Machina that I have seen for a very long time.
 
The best note I can end on is knowing there is no World Cup this year.