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Burnt OfferingsRating:
Release Date: 26 August, 2003 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $12.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: Complete Cast (9 total) |
Burnt Offerings Reviews
Pleasant Nightmares...
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.
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* Personally, 'The Old Lady' reminds Me of My very own Grandmother, who grew up in such a home, and displays many similar propensities.
Against Thee Wickedly
I have always been a fan of horror movies and was delighted when I discovered this gem. Unlike many of the modern movies, this is not a film dedicated to graphic sequences and meaningless scare tactics, rather this story concentrates on the more subtle, more sinister, forms of horror. Consequentially, I found it to be more disturbing and more realistic than many of the easily forget-able movies of today.
It all begins when the Rolf family rents an ancient house for the summer with the only conditions being that they must care for "dear mother", a disturbingly silent old woman who dwells in the attic. Happily, they anticipate having their dream vacation. Of course, they cannot see the dark clouds of doom piling on the horizon, ready to rain down their menacing poison. All too soon, inexplicable occurrences begin to transpire and the cheerful vacation soon becomes a living nightmare that seems to have no end. Will anyone be able to survive this house of pain or will it reek its murderous revenge?
I found this to be one of the most horrifying movies that I have ever seen, which is a truly monumental statement. The atmosphere of the dilapidated old mansion, the strong emotions of the characters, and the underlying tone of hopelessness and despair that was purveyed throughout the entirety of the story lent this film a haunting quality. As the quiet desperation of the sorrowing characters built to an unbearable level, I was further drawn into the story. What did that evil house require of this innocent family? Had they stayed too long? Was escape impossible for them now that the house had them in its choking grip?
The emotions and despair of the characters was well portrayed through all of the actors. I was able to feel as they felt and to understand how circumstances appeared through their eyes. I particularly enjoyed the acting of the mother (actress Karen Black) and the way she portrayed her character's subtle possession by the malicious old woman in the attic that was terrifying by her ominous silence and ancient appearance. Throughout the movie she slowly changed from a loving mother and wife as the malevolent spirit of the house began to posses her very soul.
Also, I enjoyed the unusual filming technique that was employed in this movie. The hazy quality made the film see more surrealistic, as though one were caught in this nightmare world with the characters. Consequentially, it helped to further draw me into the terrifying plot.
In conclusion, this is an excellent film. The plot is mesmerizing in its horrific simplicity and will forever haunt the viewer's mind. The acting is superbly done thus causing the viewer to sympathize with the characters and mourn over their plight. If you are a fan of horror, or just enjoy entrancing movies then you will greatly enjoy this film.
(INTERESTING FACTS : Some interesting facts about this movie are that the evil house that our unwitting characters rented for the summer was also the funeral house used by The Tall Man in Phantasm --- another of my favorite movies ---. Also, many of you will recognize the director, Dan Curtis, to be the same director who filmed the excellent Dark Shadows series. For those of you who are interested the title of my review was excerpted from a level of the old - circa 1995 - DOS game Doom.)
I also recommend : If you prefer horror movies then you might like : The Thing, Night of the Living Dead (both versions are excellent), Poltergeist, Phantasm, and The Curse. If you like horror novels then you will love the acclaimed (well, acclaimed by me anyway) Ravenloft Series. Some of my other favorites are the Left Behind Series and Ian by J.F. Baldwin. Obviously, no book other than the Bible has the power to save your soul.
Ravenova "Sorrowing Specter"
More Customer Reviews (43 total)
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