Pesadilla diabólica

A lot of horror movies rely simply on sudden jolts of sound to make you jump. I recently watched Friday the Thirteenth (2009) and it was literally all it had. Which is fine, no one can deny it gets the job done. The problem with it is that the movies become inseparable and which one is scarier can only be judged really on which made you jump the most.

Burnt Offerings instead creates an atmosphere. It creates it masterfully through character decisions and great use of music. There was a stage early on when I realized nothing eventful had even happened as yet and despite this my heart was pounding. Sure enough a moment later some frightening action took place and I realized for the first time in a long time a horror movie had alerted my sub-conscience and not my mind. These days in horror movies it's far too easy to predict when the event is coming (it's generally when the filmmaker is trying to make you think NOTHING is coming).

Burnt Offerings is more than watchable in this day and age. The lines are nowhere near as cheesy sounding as a lot of other pre-1980 films make them sound today and the acting, whilst not perfect, is anything but bad. The suspense will have your heart pounding and it's all building up to something so terrifying it deserves far more recognition among horror buffs. Not to be missed.

I saw Burnt Offerings at a local last run theatre in '76 when I was about 12 and it scared the hell out of me. It is a film that proves you don't need gallons of gore and cheap jump scares to be an effective horror film.

It's been a long time since I've seen it but I will never forget several key moments in the story that left a lingering effect after leaving the theatre,namely the creepy chauffeur with his dark sunglasses and a demented smile fixed on his face. Every time he appeared on screen my spine just stiffened. He speaks not a line of dialogue (at least to the best of my memory) but he is as nightmarish as any mask-wearing mad slasher. The reaction of Oliver Reed perfectly captured my own sitting that theatre. For a PG-rated film it is quite scary. It's a slow burn, building gradually as the family slowly succumbs to the evil of the house. It is never explicitly stated what the source of the evil is and is really about how it is working on each family member,especially the Oliver Reed character. There is one particular scene (I will not spoil it here) involving Reed, his mother played by Bette Davis, and the chauffeur that had me clutching the arm rest of my chair. It is a film that should be rediscovered by horror fans. It might lack all the tropes of modern horror films but it is all for the better. Be patient and let the story unfold and adjust to the pace....it is worth the effort.

I enjoyed this movie immensely. The creepy score, the precarious atmosphere, and the Erie flashbacks of the chauffeur with that huge grin. It was a great ghost story. Some say a bit slow paced, but It just added to the tension. Ben was played well by Reed. A man with many problems, compounded by this house from hell. And Karen Blacks performance from loving wife and mother, to the caretaker of the "old lady". Betty Davis comes off a bit aloof, but that also work well in the story. And the scene with the house "shedding", very creepy. Now for the ending. One of the best I have ever seen. I would even put it up against the original "Wicker Man".

I've been a big fan of this movie for years, ever since I was about 12. And I've watched as time and time again people have complained about this movie, and I just didn't get it. Now I'm grown up and I see the flaws, but I still don't care. I love Oliver Reed and Karen Black and don't think it could have been acted better. Watching her grow more an more attached to the house is very interesting. The best part I thought was when she surprises her son who drops a crystal bowl that smashes on the floor, and she kneels there, holding the fragments in her hands, sobbing hysterically, almost like a child had died. The boy, Lee Montgomery, I've never had a problem with. The kid from the Shining, now HE was annoying. hehe. And above all, I LOVE how the movie ends. Although it's predictable, it was VERY welcome. Movies with sad, creepy endings that leave you with a shiver always work for me.

Burnt Offerings came along with other late 70s slow burn creepers like The Hearse and The Changeling. It has the slimmest of plots being like an early blueprint for The Shining. It crawls along at a snail's pace with very little happening besides episodic slices of marital strain under the guise of the evil house that possesses and ultimately eats people. Filmed through pantihose, this is one of those hazy deals that must have been created to provide a surreal, dreamlike effect but I dunno.... Bette is sort of wasted, Oliver makes it a vanity project and comes through exceedingly well and Karen is of course superb and losing her mind. Your patience will reward you make no mistake, as it is the last third of this movie where it really swings into top gear and will get under your skin. Slow burn indeed. Oh and last but not least, that smiley chauffeur....