The Haunting of Sarah Hardy is a movie I remember watching countless times. My parents recorded this old made for television movie on an old VHS tape when it premiered on cable, and because I was just a kid I was forced to watch it over and over because my sister was absolutely obsessed with it. I was personally never into it, but I remember it wasn’t half bad by my standards at the time. I decided to find out if it still holds up after all these years, and to my surprise it’s still not half bad even if it’s easy to see why it has been forgotten. More on that later as we dig in to this suspense thriller.
The film begins with a funeral scene. A man has died and among the mourners are his daughter Sarah and his wife, the latter of which seems to have a few marbles rolling around upstairs following the tragedy. After the funeral Sarah and her mother return home to their oceanside mansion. They’re rich, in case I forgot to mention that already. Sarah’s mother in a fit of crazy grief makes Sarah say aloud that she wishes it was her mom instead of father who died. Following this the crazy old lady runs downstairs, sprints to the beach, and enters the cold waters to never be seen from again. This of course traumatizes poor Sarah who watches the whole thing unfold.
Several years later the story picks up again on the day of Sarah’s wedding to a kind hearted well-to-do guy named Austin. This is very disappointing to her childhood friend Allen who still carries a flame for her despite never making a move, but he smiles all the same and pretends to be happy for her. A room full of flowers arrive as a gift but without a name attached to them. Sarah and friends quickly brush this off, and she and Austin decide to spend their honeymoon in her childhood home of all places. This is the very place where she and her mother lived up until the suicide, and that fact is firmly in her mind from the second they enter. Suddenly she starts hearing her mom’s voice on the other end of the phone, and even sees her rotted corpse attack her in the greenhouse. Things are certainly not looking up for Sarah Hardy.
The Haunting of Sarah Hardy has fantastic atmosphere with its heavy use of blue hues, cloudy skies, and the sprawling mansion which is seldom well lit. It was filmed on the Oregon coast which is a location I’ve always felt is underrepresented in the horror genre. You almost feel cold just from watching it. The old house certainly feels like it has a history and that there could be some ghosts attached to it. Truth be told this is more of a mystery/thriller than straight up horror film, but the genre elements work well enough. The rotting hand carrying the knife in the greenhouse is memorable, and the phone calls Sarah receives is a constant reminder of her past, and what might be lying in wait within the walls here.
Unfortunately once the mystery is solved the narrative shifts a bit, and the Haunting of Sarah Hardy ditches all horror and becomes entirely a drama. This shift in tone is a little disappointing, but leads to a surprisingly compelling last leg of runtime. It tries to wrap itself up the story too quickly and has the typical ‘shocker ending’ but it’s still a fairly compelling ride. The Haunting of Sarah Hardy isn’t a particularly scary movie; it lacks jump scares and the body count rings in at only 1 (unless you count the suicide at the beginning of the movie, but I don’t). As a made for tv film it has a surprisingly decent budget behind it. The actors are mostly unknown but do a decent job, and the only recognizable face is Meryl Streep. The sets are elaborate, and attention to detail is pretty impressive overall.
If I had to sum up this movie with one word it would be ‘forgettable.’ The Haunting of Sarah Hardy isn’t original by any means, and it’s themes and story have been done before and by much better films at that. It’s a low budget made for TV movie from the early 90s, and it hasn’t aged particularly well. It’s no wonder it hasn’t been re-released. It’s not going to scratch the horror itch for anyone, and it’s too slow of a burn with too little payoff. The Haunting of Sarah Hardy is a decent movie, and I can understand why it would have some fans, but it’s too much a product of its time. You’re best off leaving this one in the history books.
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Entertainment Value
6.0/10
Pros
- Decent story
- Some nice sets
Cons
- Slow pacing
- Light on horror elements
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