Burnt Offerings
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Movie Reviews of Burnt Offerings
Movie Review: still holds up
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie scared the hell out of me as a child. When the commercial for this movie would air on TV (as it did every year growing up), I would leave the room - that's how scared I was. The chauffeur sent chills up my spine, and I could not stand looking at him. In fact, even into my early twenties I was still afraid to watch it in its entirety (up until that time I had only seen the commercial or small clips of the movie). I almost felt like Oliver Reed's character (as I was to find out after finally working up the nerve to sit down and watch the movie).
Why do I like this movie so much? It's the creep factor. I like horror movies, but I don't care much for slasher flicks. It seems most (unsophisticated) viewers need blood and gore and extreme visual effects to scare them. I'm talking about the "Friday the 13th/ Halloween/ Nightmare on Elm street" crowd. I've seen these movies, and although they can be "scary" and suspenseful, I'm not impressed. I find those movies really boring (in the end, they're more campy than anything else). And it's not a generational thing, as these aforementioned movies are of my generation. For me personally, true horror gets under your skin and creeps you out.
That is the reason why my other two favorite horror movies are "The Shining" and "The Ring". These movies are filled with creepy unexplained things (much like the halls of congress! But I digress . . .)
Admittedly, my friend who is the same age as me thinks Burnt offerings is cheesy and not scary at all. Maybe it's because my friend never knew this movie existed (and first saw it through modern, adult eyes); it seems most people who love this movie were scared of it as children (like me). Either way, different strokes for different folks. I personally think this is a good movie to have in your horror library, but that's just me.
Common complaints I hear:
"It's slow".
Well, to the ADD generation, yeah I can see that. Most people who grew up during or after the 1970's (like I did) can't concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds. I'll admit it is a little slow, but not so much that I can't enjoy it. After all you do need SOME time to show the character changes and degeneration of family cohesiveness (such as it is)
"The acting is bad"
Uh, that seems to be endemic to horror movies in general. The acting in this movie is certainly better than "Scream" or "I know what you did last summer" (I realize that's not saying much, but still). I think everyone in the movie did a good (or at least very adequate) job in portraying their roles.
"It's cliché/predictable"
Again, that is common in horror movies (actually, in most movies!). The haunted house and/or doomed family is a classic theme - you can't blame the book or the movie for that. To its credit, this movie provides a slight twist to the traditional haunted house theme.
"Nothing happens/the plot is boring"
Not quite true. This movie relies on the buildup of suspense to help make its point. You can't really have the last 15 minutes of this movie happen in a vacuum - Sorry. Maybe if you use cheap tricks and filler (like a cat jumping out of a closet or a skeleton with cobwebs in the bathtub, which is what people seem to eat up nowadays), but I'm glad the producers didn't take this route.
As far as the complaint about scene regarding the wife's frigidity by the pool (and how it was unnecessary), I disagree. It's an old Victorian-era house and with it comes old Victorian morals. This ties in with the change in the wife's outward appearance, further evidence that the house is consuming her at the expense of her husband (this is something you get an inkling of but don't fully realize the extent of until it's too late, at least not the first time you watch it (for those who say it's predictable, hindsight is 20/20))
This movie still scares me. All in all a good movie.
Movie Review: A breathtakingly, nightmarishly frightening movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched this movie once as a teenager and it scared the hell out of me, and i am not easily scared. Blood, gore, men in masks with claws or ax-murderers are in my opinion not scary but psychological terror - which this movie has plenty of - really pins you down - because it is more real. And this movie is just that. It is like a two hour nightmare where things gradually built up until the truly frightening climactic ending. And boy, the last 10 minutes of the movie are genuinely scary. They dont make movies like that anymore - you know, where they rely on the acting, score and camera movement to create that kind of an atmosphere, mood and just that nightmarish horror. They make them all cgi or predictably bloody, but not this one. It is frightening from deep within. I liked how the changes in the characters, brought upon by something unknown, foreign - the house or whatever in it - are gradually introduced and very subtle so as to not create a checklist type of script, where you see them "changed" one by one and know who's next. I also like that 70s hazy screen style they put over the frames as it does help give this movie that nightmarish feel.
I especially enjoyed seeing Bette Davis in this movie. There is a scene later on where she is tormented by something evil and you hear and see her struggling in bed, scared into paralysis but she doesnt die - that would be too predictable and easy; no, she is slowly, over the course of a day or two, tormented by something unknown and the fear and dread in her eyes that are brought upon by something no one can see or hear - boy that was scary and frightening. It was like you could feel the horror through her eyes. It also made me realize how much acting skill was required as the scene was shot with nothing really but Bette Davis on the bed and the score, which was introduced post-production. Now THAT is acting and film-making. THAT is truly creating an atmosphere of desolation and sheer terror without actually showing one drop of blood or having anyone else, but the subject under terror, in the room. No monster, no special effects, no murder weapons or knives - nothing. Just creating dread and fright through acting and atmosphere building.
What did annoy me, but that is minor really, where the ways in which the characters were sometimes seemingly incapable of expressing any kind of rational judgment, like when you stand in front of the house and you see the smokestack coming down and you know it will hit you, why keep looking at it and scream, instead of just running? And also, this is supposed to take place in California during the summer and if you know anything about California during summers then it is that it doesnt rain, especially not violent thunderstorms over a course of days. In that sense it was kinda scripted in order to probably introduce tension I guess, but overall really, it didnt matter. The location of the movie was irrelevant - it might have been anywhere.
Calling this movie a haunted house movie is misleading and understating, because it makes it look like some Halloween flick, but it is way more serious, more terrifying than that. So overall this is one chilling, terrorizingly nightmarish movie. I still remember the incredibly morbid, negative, and deeply scared feeling I got watching this 15 years ago and then again now.
Movie Review: Pleasant Nightmares...
Summary: 5 Stars
A tale about a family house-sitting a beautiful Victorian home over the remmus months with just a couple of "catches" to it... the mysterious woman in the attic room with her "collection", and the fact that the house is alive. All they have to do is set a tray for her three times a day, and all is well. The vacationing residents were more than welcoming to Ben and Marian Rolf, and their rambunctious young son, David. Aunt Elizabeth {Bette Davis} comes to stay for a few days, and so begins the slow descent into madness...
At first, all seems idyllic, then upon finding a pair of broken spectacles at the bottom of the pool, Mr. Rolf is temporarily possessed by a rage, nearly drowning little David in playful roughhousing gone bad. Contention and animosity build among the family, and Mr. Rolf's nightmares return with increasing frequency and intensity, featuring a ghoulish hearse chauffeur at Rolf's mother's funeral grinning as the seeming personafication of The Grim Reaper, terrifying him into petrification.
Marian becomes increasingly obsessed with the history of the house and its shadowy occupant at the top of the stairs, immersing herself with sepia photographs of eras gone by, the music box's haunting tune, and gradually assumes the elegant accoutrement of The Lady of The House.
Poor Aunt Elizabeth falls ill with a strange contorting malady, and is payed a visit by the man in black. A seeming "sacrifice" to the house which thereby begins to rejuvinate itself, in a very vampiric dynamic.
Noticing the acclimation of his wife to The House, Ben finally has enough and decides to leave with David on a tempestuous evening, wherein despiration besets him to ram the car repeatedly into an apparent spontaneous obstacle formed by foliage, and is even accosted by vines while attempting the escape!
Thereafter, Ben suffers a nervous breakdown, and Marian becomes his virtual caretaker until "Davey" again nearly drowns when the forbidden deep end of the pool seemingly draws him in, at which point fatherly instincts take hold of his mind, and he thereby "snaps out" of his stupor, as she also seemingly returns to her common senses, and they all decide to depart together, but not before making sure 'The Old Lady'* is cared for... and it was this final act of concern which spells their doom. Setting foot again inside the blighted house overwhelms Marian, and they all thereby become permanent residents of its enchanted fetters.
The climactic ending scene is quite impressive, and really should be witnessed to be truly appreciated.
I suppose some people just cannot appreciate old-fashioned hospitality, and the inherent charms of such a magnificent dwelling.
This film emmanates an eerie, dream-like quality rarely achieved for "Haunted House" movies, retaining a subtle sense of malevolence with a palpable formless presence permeating the entire story. Director Dan Curtis {Dark Shadows, Trilogy of Terror} consistently manages to achieve such banefully grim presentations with pleasantly malefic fluorish. Thoroughly enjoyable with an evocative feel.
* Personally, 'The Old Lady' reminds Me of My very own paternal Grandmother, who grew up in such a home, and displays many similar propensities.
Movie Review: Quality haunted house thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Burnt Offerings (1976) is one of my favorite haunted house movies of all time. My personal favorites, in order, are The Haunting (1963), The Innocents (1961), The Changeling (1980), The Legend Of Hell House (1973), Burnt Offerings (1976), Rose Red (2002), The Others (2001), House On Haunted Hill (1958), and The Amityville Horror (1979). Burnt Offerings stars Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, Lee Montgomery, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart and Anthony James.
The story is basically this: a family (the Rolf family) rents a Victorian mansion in California for the entire summer for only $900.00 total. The owners of the house, the Allardyce's, ask that in addition to the $900.00 rental fee that the Rolf family provide food to the Allardyce's elderly mother, who still lives in an upstairs room and supposedly wants privacy all the time. Mrs. Rolf (Marian, played by Karen Black) takes on the responsibility of caring for the elderly mother of the Allardyces. At the same time, Marian becomes very intrigued with the mansion and its Victorian contents, such as a music box. Soon an evil force or presence takes over and victimizes the Rolf family. Their aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis) dies suspiciously. Mr. Rolf (Ben, played by Oliver Reed) does some strange and evil things as his behavior borders on evil. There is something evil about the house itself. This evil is possessing and controlling the Rolf's. At the end of the movie, the house actually kills Ben and their son David (played by Lee Montgomery) while Marian actually turns into the elderly woman in the upstairs of the house. The house sort of rejuvenates itself after any death that occurs. Photos exist of all previous occupants of the house. It's strange, twisted, bizarre and quite entertaining.
Bob Cobert's musical score is effective. The acting is great. Karen Black is a great actress. She's also very versatile. Her facial expressions are classic not only in this movie, but a lot of her movies. She's perfect for the role of Marian. There's something about Karen Black's looks that gives her a look of wickedness. She's good looking and somewhat scary looking at the same time. Oliver Reed does a great job acting as well. Burgess Meredith plays Arnold Allardyce and is quite creepy in this role. Speaking of creepy, Anthony James will creep you out in his role as the chauffeur.
This movie is very good overall. It has some flaws, such as plot holes, etc., but the creepiness kind of makes up for it. I highly recommend this movie if you like haunted house thrillers.
Movie Review: Great Offerings!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is a true classic and for good reason. The acting is extraodinarily believable, especially by the late late Oliver Reed (Gladiator) in probably his best performance, and the late great Betty Davis. Karen Black (Trilogy of Terror, Airport 1975) is as always very reliable and beautiful in an admittedly odd way. The direction is well-paced so that you know great evil is coming, but it's slow to get there; it's always just around the next corner. This creates great suspense and the climax is unforgettable and sad as we really grow to care about these characters, unlike most in the horror films of this era. In addition, the script is very literate and the characters develop and grow and so does the house.
The film failed to find an audience during its time for, in my opinion, several main reasons. One, it was marketed as a "thrill-a-minute horror film" which it is not. Character, story development, and atmospheric direction are front and center and cheap, bloody thrills are not present (until the very end). This left audiences feeling disappointed. Two, it compares poorly to the popular special effects and make-up bloodfests that were out during it's time, yet, it's placed in that same genre unfairly. Three, reviewers panned it for the most part as they were busy with the more popular bloody films of the times which garnered much attention. This film was ignored as the sublties of atmosphere and acting were not the big news back then. John Carpenter's original The Fog suffered for the same reasons.
This film should find a place on your shelf of DVD's. It is extremely well-made and perfect for a stormy night. It has aged very well, just as Karen Black herself has (see her recently in House of 1,000 Corpses), and much is due to the film's dependence on a literate script, solid believable performances by all actors, and confident direction that focuses on character and atmosphere rather than the bloodshed and special effects (which don't always age well) that were dominant at the time.