If you thought Rosemary’s Baby was a horror movie that left you feeling unnerved about the supernatural, and you wanted to follow that up with an even more bizarrely weird trip into psychological horror, then The Haunting of Julia—originally released as Full Circle—is here to take you on a ride that will make you question your own sanity. Directed by Richard Loncraine, the film stars Mia Farrow as Julia Lofting, a grieving mother who never quite gets over the trauma of her daughter’s death—and let me tell you, the movie doesn’t let us forget it either. Prepare yourself for a film that can only be described as a dysfunctional ghost story mixed with amateur detective work, a dash of broken family drama, and an alarming amount of creepy children playing with creepy toys. You might want to bring a bottle of wine (or a lot of it) for this one.
Plot: Grief, Ghosts, and Everything in Between
The plot of The Haunting of Julia (just to make sure we’re on the same page, this title is far more appropriate than Full Circle) is one of those haunting slow burns that takes its sweet time to get to the point—and when it does, you’re honestly left scratching your head. Julia, played by Mia Farrow, is an American woman living in London, who is haunted by the tragic death of her daughter Kate. Spoiler alert: It’s Julia’s fault. She accidentally kills Kate while trying to save her from choking. So, already, we’ve got a mom who’s wracked with guilt and a ton of unresolved trauma. That’s the kind of baggage no amount of moving into a new house is going to fix, and yet Julia thinks it will.
In typical horror-movie fashion, Julia rents a fancy, fully-furnished house in Holland Park, which, of course, is a complete setup for supernatural nonsense. She begins noticing weird things in the house—strange noises, appliances malfunctioning, and an increasingly growing suspicion that her ex-husband, Magnus, is stalking her. And that’s when she starts seeing a mysterious little girl in the park across the street. You might think, “Oh, it’s just a grieving mother imagining things.” You would be right, except Julia can’t shake the feeling that this girl looks exactly like her deceased daughter Kate. (Who’s shocked by this? Not me.)
Then, the movie decides to throw in some supernatural elements. Julia, possibly channeling her inner Nancy Drew, starts investigating the mysterious happenings in her house and in the park, and what follows is a bizarre and often confusing journey into ghost lore, repressed memories, and some seriously creepy occult rituals. Honestly, at some points, I was half-expecting Julia to stumble upon a time machine hidden behind a closet door. It just gets that out of hand.
Why Are We Still Talking About This?
Let’s get this straight: The Haunting of Julia is many things, but it’s not the scariest movie you’ll ever see. It’s slow, methodical, and aims for a cerebral terror that often feels more like a snore fest than a heart-pounding experience. Sure, there’s an eerie atmosphere—Mia Farrow excels at playing a tortured soul (just look at Rosemary’s Baby), but her character here isn’t so much “haunted” as she is “forever overthinking things.” By the time we get to the big reveals, you’re just relieved that it’s over.
For the most part, the film’s pacing gives you ample time to process what’s going on and be very, very confused by it. Julia’s journey to uncover the truth about the creepy little girl haunting her takes forever. The house is constantly dripping with tension, but it’s a tension that never quite seems to go anywhere useful. The ghost of the little girl, Olivia, isn’t so much a true horror figure as she is a plot device that, like a bad dinner guest, just won’t leave.
The most troubling part of the movie is the fact that, like many horror films with traumatic grief at their center, it never really lets you feel the terror that Julia is supposedly experiencing. Instead, you’re stuck in a hazy atmosphere of confusion—what is real? What’s a hallucination? And why is everyone in this film taking so long to do anything useful? It’s almost like watching someone slowly unravel a sweater… and then they keep unravelling it even after you told them it was fine. I swear Julia spends half of the movie just talking to random people, but somehow never quite getting to the point of what’s bothering her.
A Very Grieving Ghost: The Eerie Importance of the Child in Horror
In what must be the most obvious metaphor in horror history, the “ghost” that haunts Julia is essentially a reflection of her own internal trauma. At the heart of the film is the mother-daughter bond, and the idea of a mother facing the tragic loss of her child. But the problem here is that we never fully connect with Julia’s grief on a visceral level. We understand that her daughter died, we get that she’s hurting, but Julia’s emotional arc just doesn’t seem to go anywhere. The film spends more time on its ghosts and creepy rituals than it does on developing Julia as a character, and that makes it hard for us to care when things start to get seriously spooky.
It’s interesting that The Haunting of Julia focuses on the idea of a mother’s grief manifesting in a supernatural way, with Julia’s daughter coming back from the dead in ghostly form, but the film doesn’t give enough context or depth to the emotional stakes. Instead of focusing on the character-driven aspects of grief, it relies on too many stock horror tropes (ritualistic murders, evil children, spooky voices), without ever letting us feel the terror of loss in the way that other horror films like Hereditary or The Babadook succeed in doing.
The Ending: A Haunting, but Mostly Just… Baffling
Without giving away the whole plot, the ending of The Haunting of Julia is just pure… confusion. Julia’s confrontation with Olivia, and the way she eventually dies (yes, you read that right), comes off as a bizarre, unearned payoff. The film seems to think that a bloodbath at the end will somehow make up for the previous 90 minutes of nothingness, but instead, it just feels like a rushed attempt at shock value. The final confrontation feels like it was written by someone who saw an “emotional conclusion” as an afterthought. We’re supposed to be scared of this mysterious child ghost, but by the time we get to the bloody climax, you’re more likely to be laughing at how ridiculous it all is.
Conclusion: The Haunting of My Patience
In the end, The Haunting of Julia is a film that takes an interesting premise—grieving mother meets ghost child—and turns it into a meandering, sometimes frustratingly slow, exploration of grief that loses its focus halfway through. The atmosphere is spooky, sure, but that’s like buying a haunted house and realizing it’s actually just a poorly designed movie set. With a convoluted plot, underwhelming performances, and an ending that should leave you scared, but instead just has you shaking your head, The Haunting of Julia is the perfect example of how not to make a supernatural horror film.
It’s not scary, it’s not particularly well-written, and it’s definitely not the kind of film that will leave you emotionally shaken—unless, of course, you count the emotional strain of trying to stay awake through its long, drawn-out pacing. If you’re looking for a movie to remind you that not every film about ghosts and grief is a winner, this one’s got you covered.
