Cara dolce Delilah... morta

Dear Dead Delilah (1972)

** (out of 4)

Delilah Charles (Agnes Moorehead) has her family over to her estate when she informs them that she is dying. She isn't too fond of anyone in her family so she also announces that she will be giving the estate over to the state. One catch is that there's a large sum of money on the property somewhere and those who are getting nothing have a shot at finding it. Before long an axe murderer is killing people off.

This horror film also belongs to the "hag" sub-genre, which of course started with movies like WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE, which this film owes a lot to. John Farris would make his directorial debut with this film and it would also be his last. He would eventually become better known for his screenplay for the Brian De Palma film THE FURY. With all of that being said, there are some very memorable moments in DEAR DEAD DELILAH but at the same time there are a lot of bland ones as well.

There are a few highlights scattered throughout the film and that includes the violence. The effects aren't ground-breaking as they were all done with a low-budget but there are some bloody deaths here, which pre-date the whole slasher craze. There is a decapitation that looks pretty good and there's also a shotgun blast to the face, which comes out of nowhere and really works thanks to the editing. I'd also argue that Moorehead was quite good in the lead role as was Patricia Carmichael who plays one of the many suspects.

The issues with the film? Well, the 97-minute running time certainly doesn't help and that's even more true because the film has a lot of dialogue scenes that just get dragged out to the point where you don't even care about what's happening. With so many of these scenes the running time feels twice as long, which really hurts the picture. Some of the direction was a bit stiff to say the least and many of the supporting performances were rather bad too.

DEAR DEAD DELILAH is still worth watching thanks to the violence, which was quite strong for its day.

This is one of the truly great low-budget American semi-exploitation movies of the 70's, comparable (talking purely in terms of quality and shock-value) with other forgotten gems like for example "Blood and Lace", "The House that Vanished", "The Evictors" and "The Town that Dreaded Sundown". They don't necessarily revolve on common themes or substances, but they all feature a genuinely unsettling atmosphere and convoluted story lines you can't possibly predict. You continuously feel that anything can happen in this type of movies, from the most absurd plot twists to the totally unanticipated death of a pivot character. "Dear Dead Delilah" (that title alone!!) opens with a magnificently sinister sequence, supposedly taking place in a godforsaken Tennessee town in the mid-forties. We see how an eerie-looking teenage girl rebels vocally against her mother because she can't go on a date with a boy, but then the camera moves away from her room and we notice how chopped off body parts of the mother are spread around the hallway and the mother lies dead in the bathroom. Several years later the young teenager from the intro, Luddy, is released from the mental institution before the opening credits appear on screen. Almost naturally, you then expect the rest of the film to handle about the now matured woman reverting back to her old murderous habits, but that's exactly where the wicked imagination of 70's horror scriptwriters kicks in. Through a series of coincidental events, Luddy ends up working as a nurse in an environment that is even more demented as her own past. The crazed, wheelchair-bound spinster Delilah takes her into her mansion, just when there's a family reunion taking place to discuss Delilah's inheritance. The mean-spirited woman reveals the family fortune of nearly $500.000 is hidden somewhere on the estate, and this obviously generates a large-scaled treasure hunt as well as a sardonic killing spree. Delilah's greedy and troubled siblings are all looking for the fortune, but encounter an axe-wielding maniac rather than a pile of money. Probably not intended for the eyes of nowadays horror crowds, but "Dear Dead Delilah" is a gloriously nostalgic gem with delightfully insane character drawings, unusual suspense and – most surprisingly – outrageously gory make-up effects. The film is extremely bloody with, for example, an explicit decapitation and someone getting shot in the head. The cast is terrific, with Agnes Moorehead as the crazed matriarch on top, and the ambiance is just … thoroughly creepy! Very much recommended!

Thank you, Mr. Vomitron, for your help in obtaining this purely gold gem.

Luddy Dublin (Patricia Carmichael) is released from prison after 30 years for dismembering her mum with an axe. Now homeless, Luddy is taken in by Ellen (Elizabeth Eis), who lives in a mansion with her rich Aunt Delilah (Agnes Moorehead).

Luddy is soon employed to push Delilah around in her wheelchair.

Enter Delilah's other family members, who are a dubious collection of characters with not-so-hidden agendas. When Delilah announces her plan to give her house and land to the state, it doesn't sit well with these greedy relations. When Delilah also tells them about a hidden treasure in the house, all bets are off!

Obviously, we're supposed to be waiting to see if / when Luddy cracks and goes berserk. However, she's not the only one to worry about!

DEAR DEAD DELILAH is a true southern-fried gothic, filled to the rafters with avarice, multiple murders, and madness. Ms. Moorehead is her usual impeccable self, as is Will Geer...

I thought the acting in this movie was great. Much better than your normal B-horror movies. Moorehead had a full sculpted character with perfect facial expressions, southern accent and dry, humorless yet honest remarks. I couldn't decide if I liked her or hated her, which is probably what she was trying to do.

The character of Luddy was unique, as well. She had an eerie presence to her, probably because of all the eye makeup she was in. Her character gave the movie more intrigue because you don't really understand what her purpose is. The young Luddy was interesting looking with her bad eye. I wonder why they didn't incorporate the bad eye into the older Luddy..??

I even liked Buffy and her line, "That's a big incompatibility between us because I could NEVER imagine drinking a martini without an olive!!" This is the angriest we see her, and it does a great job showing her optimistic, happy-go-lucky spirit amongst the white, spoiled, snobby people she's with. The disgusted glare she gets from Delilah when she puffs on a cigar was one of my favorite parts.

Even the characters of Grace and Marshall were well acted and unique. And Robert Gentry is pretty hot!

The acting and interesting characters make this movie more of drama than a horror. HOWEVER, these immensely gory scenes seem to come out of nowhere just to shake you up. I like this style! It's like a classy AND campy horror movie. Not that pure white-bred, rich, plantation owners in the south are really classy, but it gives you that illusion, anyway.

Rent this if you want to see a horror movie that strays from the usual b-horror path.

'Dear Dead Delilah' is a twisted low-budget whodunnit horror exploitation flick blended with gothic melodrama and a dose of giallo elements thrown into the mix, creating a rather fun ride. The movie boasts some wonderfully gory death scenes, hammy acting and a macabre sense of humour. But what holds it back from being great is the lack of visual style and the sluggish pace where it takes an awfully long time to find its sense of rhythm, but once it gets there then it becomes a lot more entertaining.

The plot = An elderly southern matriarch Delilah Charles (Agnes Moorhead) invites her family to her Plantation estate to search for the money her late father left to her on her property, but soon enough someone starts killing off the family members one by one.

The movie has a rather quirky charm to it and a gritty gothic atmosphere with some enjoyable soap opera elements, effective red herrings and plenty of colourful characters. However, there are quite a few problems with this flick, for starters the clear lack of direction as the movie seems to amble from one scene to the next without any real structure and it takes way too long for something to happen, but once the murders happen, it does almost make up for the long boring dialogue scenes and lack of plot development. This feels more like an acquired taste sort of film that you got to be in the right kind of mood for, I found it okay though, not something I'd seek out to own or watch again though.

The cast here is rather decent with Agnes Moorehead in her final film role delivering an delightful and entertaining performance as the over the top matriarch Delilah, she clearly had fun with the role and so did the audience. Patricia Carmichael was also fun as the housekeeper Luddy with a murderous past and delivers a decent performance. Anne Meacham also delivers a standout and perfectly hammy performance as the erratic drunk Grace.

Overall 'Dear Dead Delilah' is a fine 70's low budget oddity that doesn't quite rank as a lost classic, but there's just enough entertainment value to it.