‘The Haunting of Sharon Tate’ on Amazon Prime: A Hilary Duff Thriller About the Manson Murders

The Haunting of Sharon Tate is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, just in time for the release of Quentin Tarantino’s ninth and highly anticipated film, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, and we’re certain that’s no coincidence. No doubt both Amazon and Sharon Tate filmmaker Daniel Farrands knew knew that after folks exited the theater for Once Upon a Time In Hollywood—which features Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, the actress who was famously murdered by the Manson Family cult—they’d be looking to watch more movies about one of Hollywood’s most shocking tragedies.

The Haunting of Sharon Tate may or may not satisfy that desire. The film does walk the viewer through the fateful night of the Tate murders: On August 8, 1969 three members of the Manson cult invaded Tate’s home—which she shared with her husband, Roman Polanski—and murdered her and three friends who were visiting at the time. Tate was 8 and a half months pregnant when she was killed. Hilary Duff stars as Tate, while Jonathan Bennett plays Jay Sebring and Lydia Hearst plays Abigail Folger, both of whom were real-life victims of the murders.

Unlike Tarantino’s film—which mixes fiction with history to tell a lively, funny, fantastical version of the story in the way that only Tarantino can, The Haunting of Sharon Tate is a deadly serious horror thriller. For folks frustrated by Robbie’s lack of screentime in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, they may be mollified to find that The Haunting of Sharon Tate centers the story on Tate herself. And though it should by no means be taken as a history lesson, the film is at least more accurate than Tarantino’s version of the murders, which makes no attempt to stick to the facts.

That said, The Haunting of Sharon Tate was not liked by critics. The film holds a 15 percent on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, and a 44 percent on the audience score. Most found the film to be not only poorly made, but in poor taste for turning a real-life tragedy into a B-horror film. However, some did point to Duff’s performance as a redeeming quality. (Duff also currently stars in the critically acclaimed TV show, Younger.)

If you’re still looking for more Manson content after The Haunting of Sharon Tate, you might try Charlie Says, a film that got considerably better reviews. Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith stars as Manson, while Mary Harron—who helmed the 2000 psychological thriller American Psycho—directs. Alternatively, you could always try reading a book about the Manson murders. Just a suggestion.

Watch The Haunting of Sharon Tate on Prime Video