Review: Burnt Offerings

1976 Dan Curtis Production

    A family spends the summer in a large country house that they think they have rented for a steal. Unfortunately the bargain that they make with the evil abode will cost them more than just money.

    Burnt Offerings is a really cool horror film I must say. With a minimum amount of gore, and no boobies, it accomplishes the task that it has set out to do; scare the hell out of me. Actually, I find this story about a possessed house to be more frightening than the majority of the gore-fest filled crap that is coming out right now. There is something to say about using subtlety and psychological terror to get a point made in a film.

    The screenplay by Dan Curtis and William F. Nolan is set at a pace that eventually moves faster and faster throughout the film. A little event here and a little event there add up to the coming horror that awaits as the film progresses. Strange things start to happen after the family arrives at the house; the pool area suddenly becomes like new, dead plants start to come back to life and Marian’s (Karen Black) behaviour starts to grow more and more odd with the passing of time. Also, I liked Ben’s (Oliver Reed) past memories of his mother’s funeral being brought to him by the evil of the house, like it’s intent on driving him insane so that he can’t stand in the way of it’s possession of Marian. No doubt about it this is a very well written screenplay, which should come as no surprise seeing that it’s written by the creator of Dark Shadows and The Night Stalker, and also by the man who wrote Logan’s Run.

    This is directed by Dan Curtis so it has more of a tv movie kind of feel to it than of a regular film. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing at all, but if you have ever seen any of his other productions this won’t look out of place to you at all. I really love the look and feel of the house and it really seems strangely spooky even before the weird stuff starts to occur. There is just something about it that is off. My favorite scene in the whole film is the last one involving Oliver Reed because it comes unexpectedly and makes me sit straight up every time I watch it. It really is a shocker!There isn’t much blood or guts in this film, except in one scene, which makes that particular incident even more horrifying. If they had used more in the movie I don’t think the ending would have the impact that it does.

    Oliver Reed does an excellent job playing the father Ben and I love watching him in this. The scenes in which he tried to get it on with Karen Black make me want to fan myself quite exhaustively I must say. If you enjoy him in this you ought to look into the Hammer films that he starred in when he was younger, because his performance in this reminds me heavily of those. Karen Black is also really good in this and she’s creepy as hell as usual. There is just something about her eyes which always freaks me the hell out when I see her in a film. She is also in another Dan Curtis film called Trilogy Of Terror, among other things. It’s really cool to see Bette Davis playing  spunky Aunt Elizabeth in this. She’s my favorite character and seeing Davis transform into a sickly victim of the house is really sad because she is so likable.

    Bloofer lady thinks that Burnt Offerings is one spooky film! It is a great possessed house tale that needs to be seen in the dark with a big bucket of popcorn by your side. It will make you never want to rent a house ever again!

Bloofer Lady