What is The Haunting of Sharon Tate about and why is the new Hilary Duff movie so controversial?

9 April 2019, 12:47

The Haunting of Sharon Tate, starring Hilary Duff, tells the story of the Manson murders

The Haunting of Sharon Tate, which tells the story of the Manson murders, was released in time for the 50th anniversary of Sharon Tate's death.

What is The Haunting of Sharon Tate about and who is in the cast?

The film tells the story of the murder of actress Sharon Tate, organised by Charles Manson, that took place in America in 1969.

Sharon was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time.

The film is set to take place in the final days in the run-up to Sharon's death, and it stars Hilary Duff as the title role. It also stars Mean Girls actor Jonathan Bennett as Jay Sebring, and Lydia Hearst plays Abigail Folger.

Why has The Haunting of Sharon Tate proved controversial?

Sharon Tate's sister Debra branded the film 'tasteless' in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in February 2019.

She said: ‘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."

What has director Daniel Farrands said about the film?

The film's writer / director Daniel Farrands has defended the film, and insisted that the approaching anniversary of Tate's death has nothing to do with its release.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: "I wanted to do a story that would change the narrative so that the victims would be able to rise up and take their power back, if you will, from their would-be killers."

And defending his decision to cast Lizzie McGuire actress Hilary Duff as the lead role, he added: "Although she’d been raised and groomed around Disney, she’s a very sympathetic, kind and good-natured person.

"Honestly, it was her smile, the way she smiled reminded me of the way Sharon Tate smiled."

Is there a trailer for The Haunting of Sharon Tate?

You can watch the trailer for the film below:

When is The Haunting of Sharon Tate release date?

The film was released on 5 April 2019.