The Haunting of Molly Hartley



After her mother tries to kill her, 17-year-old Molly Hartley moves down to Georgia from Boston to start a new life from herself. Unfortunately, when she was young, her parents made a Deal with the Devil to save her life, on the condition that, on Molly's 18th birthday, the Devil will claim her in return. And Molly's 18th birthday is coming right up...

Released in 2008, this teen thriller combined '80s-style "Satanic Panic" fears with a Teen Drama coating. It was largely skewered by critics for its formulaic and clumsy plot, Bad Acting, and reliance on cheap scares, and barely made a dent at the box office.

Tropes:

 * Adults Are Useless: Your dad refuses to believe what's going on until it's too late, your mom is locked up in an insane asylum, and your guidance counselor.
 * Alpha Bitch: Susie.
 * Arbitrary Skepticism: Molly's dad simply refuses to believe that the cult is coming for his daughter, even though he made a Deal with the Devil to save her. And how did he not notice that Molly's ?
 * Chekhov's Gun: Alexis mentions early on that her grandmother works at a hospital.
 * Deal with the Devil: Molly's parents made this in order to prevent their premature baby from dying. In return, on Molly's 18th birthday, a Satanic cult will come to claim her.
 * Doomed Moral Victor:
 * Evil Overlooker:
 * Face Heel Turn: after finding out about her curse. This Face Heel Turn is later subverted by a second, bigger one:.
 * The Fundamentalist: Alexis, one of the saner (or at least, more sympathetic) examples. Even her was pretty damn well justified, considering what happens after.
 * Gainax Ending: Molly.
 * Genre Shift: The first half of the movie entertains the idea that nothing supernatural is happening, and that Molly might be going insane. By the end of the film, this is out the window.
 * Haunted Heroine: Guess who?
 * Hey, It's That Gal/Guy!: Cora Corman is targeted by the Devil, Joe DuBois is her dad, and Nate Archibald.
 * Holier Than Thou: Alexis.
 * Jump Scare: Pretty much the film's stock method of building suspense.
 * Mirror Scare: Played painfully straight.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance:
 * Supernatural Proof Father: Taken to extremes. See Arbitrary Skepticism.
 * The Mole: turn out to be part of the Satanic cult that's trying to claim Molly.
 * : Molly at the end.
 * Wild Teen Party