Burnt Offerings (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
'Burnt Offerings' (directed & co-written by Dan Curtis) is a 1976 mystery/horror film starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, Lee Montgomery, Eileen Heckart & Burgess Meredith. Ben Rolf (Reed), his wife Marian (Black) & their 12 yr. old son David (Montgomery) arrive at a sprawling old country manor to rent for the summer. They are welcomed by the odd siblings Roz & Arnold Allardyce (Heckart, Meredith) who offer the mansion up for a pittance; $900 for the whole summer. There ARE some conditions. For one, they must care for the entire property themselves. Strange.
And secondly, and they must feed the owner's aged mother, Ms. Allardyce, who lives as a recluse in an isolated wing of the house, 3x per day. They move-in with Ben's spirited Aunt Elizabeth (Davis) and, soon Marian becomes scarily obsessed with attic-bound Ms. Allardyce & the creepy house. The owners leave abruptly on an 'emergency' failing to leave behind a way to be reached. Thereafter, unusual & nefarious things start happening to the Rolf family and, Ben feels that the manor is not only affecting the family dynamic, but actually absorbing their life forces {yes, you read that correctly}. After the curious death of Ms. Allardyce, Ben decides to leave the manor ... but then realizes they are trapped on the property. Chaos ensues.
This film exhibits the tried-&-true motif of an innocent family being greatly affected/altered by an evil haunted house. In this case, said house feeds on its tenants to regenerate itself {aghhh!}. There are a few decent jolts to be had. I enjoyed the cast. And the estate is thoroughly creepy {LOVE locales such as this}. I just feel like every aspect of this film could've been just a liiittle bit better to be all-the-more effective. Case in point, how do you cast the great Bette Davis and then give her little to do? Also, the plot is effective, but way too thin for a 116 minute run time; with a slowww pace, to boot.
But as I said above, I still got enough chills & enticing moments throughout to warrant an exceptionally tepid recommendation. Not a great movie, but it is diverting. And as an aside, I enjoyed learning the fact that legendary Bette Davis took issue with several of her cast mates {shocker!}; particularly Karen Black, for her supposed unprofessional behavior; and also Oliver Reed, for his drunken escapades late at night -- which kept her awake. Fun times.
And secondly, and they must feed the owner's aged mother, Ms. Allardyce, who lives as a recluse in an isolated wing of the house, 3x per day. They move-in with Ben's spirited Aunt Elizabeth (Davis) and, soon Marian becomes scarily obsessed with attic-bound Ms. Allardyce & the creepy house. The owners leave abruptly on an 'emergency' failing to leave behind a way to be reached. Thereafter, unusual & nefarious things start happening to the Rolf family and, Ben feels that the manor is not only affecting the family dynamic, but actually absorbing their life forces {yes, you read that correctly}. After the curious death of Ms. Allardyce, Ben decides to leave the manor ... but then realizes they are trapped on the property. Chaos ensues.
This film exhibits the tried-&-true motif of an innocent family being greatly affected/altered by an evil haunted house. In this case, said house feeds on its tenants to regenerate itself {aghhh!}. There are a few decent jolts to be had. I enjoyed the cast. And the estate is thoroughly creepy {LOVE locales such as this}. I just feel like every aspect of this film could've been just a liiittle bit better to be all-the-more effective. Case in point, how do you cast the great Bette Davis and then give her little to do? Also, the plot is effective, but way too thin for a 116 minute run time; with a slowww pace, to boot.
But as I said above, I still got enough chills & enticing moments throughout to warrant an exceptionally tepid recommendation. Not a great movie, but it is diverting. And as an aside, I enjoyed learning the fact that legendary Bette Davis took issue with several of her cast mates {shocker!}; particularly Karen Black, for her supposed unprofessional behavior; and also Oliver Reed, for his drunken escapades late at night -- which kept her awake. Fun times.