Creepy old school haunted house horror, sounds right up my street, I wasn't put off by hearing it's a slow burner, slow burners can be good, slow burners can be scary, and this is both of those.
Directed by Dan Curtis, this holds an impressive cast of Oliver Reed, Bette Davis and Burgess Meredith, amongst others. Ben Rolf (Oliver Reed), his wife Marian (Karen Black) and son, along with Ben's bubbly, fun loving Aunt Elizabeth, (Bette Davis) are interested in renting an old 19th century house for the summer, meeting an unusual Brother and Sister, Arnold and Rosalyn Allardyce, can't believe how cheap the deal is, thinking there's a catch, there is, they have to look after the Allardyces elderly Mother, the eventually agree to the strange terms.
It isn't long before unusual occurrences happen, starting small, the seemingly dead plants in the greenhouse are showing signs of life, and Marian seems to be particularly "loving" the house, and is the only one who tends the Allardyces elderly mother, not allowing anyone else to speak to her.
Things become more even more bizarre, Aunt Elizabeth seems to be have been stripped of her previous energy, becoming drained and permanently tired, and feeling sickly, and Ben himself has a strange encounter in the swimming pool with his son, and is affected by nightmares and visions of a vivid dream that occurred as a boy.
It's clear the house has some of power and hold over the family, and Ben is increasing alarmed as events take a turn for the worse, Marian, however, has almost become part of the house itself, even more obsessive over the reclusive elderly mother of the siblings.
This is a great slow burner, with a haunting and atmospheric score, there isn't much in the way of jump scares but there's always an overwhelming sense of dread and terror building up, made better by an impressive cast, with Meredith shining in a small role as the creepy, eccentric Arnold Allardyce. This is a must see for fans of old school horror and particular those with a fondness for old, haunted houses, strongly recommended.
8/10.
Directed by Dan Curtis, this holds an impressive cast of Oliver Reed, Bette Davis and Burgess Meredith, amongst others. Ben Rolf (Oliver Reed), his wife Marian (Karen Black) and son, along with Ben's bubbly, fun loving Aunt Elizabeth, (Bette Davis) are interested in renting an old 19th century house for the summer, meeting an unusual Brother and Sister, Arnold and Rosalyn Allardyce, can't believe how cheap the deal is, thinking there's a catch, there is, they have to look after the Allardyces elderly Mother, the eventually agree to the strange terms.
It isn't long before unusual occurrences happen, starting small, the seemingly dead plants in the greenhouse are showing signs of life, and Marian seems to be particularly "loving" the house, and is the only one who tends the Allardyces elderly mother, not allowing anyone else to speak to her.
Things become more even more bizarre, Aunt Elizabeth seems to be have been stripped of her previous energy, becoming drained and permanently tired, and feeling sickly, and Ben himself has a strange encounter in the swimming pool with his son, and is affected by nightmares and visions of a vivid dream that occurred as a boy.
It's clear the house has some of power and hold over the family, and Ben is increasing alarmed as events take a turn for the worse, Marian, however, has almost become part of the house itself, even more obsessive over the reclusive elderly mother of the siblings.
This is a great slow burner, with a haunting and atmospheric score, there isn't much in the way of jump scares but there's always an overwhelming sense of dread and terror building up, made better by an impressive cast, with Meredith shining in a small role as the creepy, eccentric Arnold Allardyce. This is a must see for fans of old school horror and particular those with a fondness for old, haunted houses, strongly recommended.
8/10.