Convite à Morte

Based,as users have pointed out ,on the "and then there were none "aka "ten little Indians" aka "Ten little n...." model which had already begun to be thread-bare at the time (although "mindhunters" recently used it relatively smartly), "the legacy" was mainly a Katherine Ross vehicle ,whose hair is really beautiful.The rest of the cast is faceless,although they hired Roger Daltrey to attract the rock audience:he has five or six lines to say.

"They have all done something wrong in their life and they have not been punished" discovers the heroine,in the grand Christie tradition.this is not only a thriller,it's also a horror flick with some gory scenes .The mixture is stodgy .The ending does not make any sense .

"Nothing works in this f.... country!" yells the hero after a hot shower and a drive in the English country.

Interior decorator Katharine Ross and boyfriend Sam Elliot are offered a plum assignment in England. When they are run off the road by an enigmatic millionaire, he invites them to stay at his family castle while their motorcycle is repaired...and then the fun begins. The film can be taken as either a straight horror film or an Agatha Christie-style supernatural mystery. There is not much in the way of genuine surprises, but it is interesting figuring out which of the guests at the English estate will be the next to go and how. Ross and Elliot play their roles believably as a suitably bewildered American couple, who cannot understand how they got stuck in this predicament and how the heck to get out of it. The cast is made up of solid, familiar British actors and the cinematography lends a polish that helps this film rise above the usual dreck in this genre. While not edge-of-your-seat, the film moves along briskly and there is just enough gruesomeness to add to the atmosphere. Aside from the leads, Margaret Tyzack is particularly effective as a sinister nurse. Richard Marquand's direction is above-average and he deftly showcases the English countryside, the stately manor and Sam Elliot's birthday suit (THANK YOU, RICHARD!) with equal aplomb.

I finally saw THE LEGACY on DVD, after looking for it for ages. Though I'm a fan of horror and know most of every horror film made out there, for some reason, this one always eluded me. Well, the final result is a mixed bag. The horror elements are not really creepy or memorable. In fact, some of the killings are quite silly (for instance, the guy who is burned alive...). There's almost no creepy feel to it, due mainly to the super slick look of the film, which, by today standards, looks more like a high budget TV movie than anything else. Because there's so little violence or gore, and because there's almost no nudity or sex (except for Sam Elliot's famous nude scene), I wonder why THE LEGACY was even rated R. Without Elliot's nude scene, this would be rated PG-13 today. So, even though I was expecting a horror film, I was unimpressed by the final result.

With that said, I have to say that the story is actually great and is ripe for a proper all out Gothic remake. This story is filled with so much potential for amazing horror moments and elements that the lackluster finish product makes it look even worse than it actually because it is so uninspired. The film can be summarized in a few words: yuppies taking over (a very 1970s concept if there ever was one).

Finally, the music for THE LEGACY is point blank awful. It is, by far, the worst soundtrack I've ever heard for a horror film/thriller. No Goblin soundtrack here or expansive Jerry Goldsmith score. Instead, we have the crappiest "music" that doesn't even try to create tension or any mood aside from treacly upbeatness. It's shows how important an effective soundtrack is in creating that unique feel for horror story. And it's yet another reason why this story should be remade, so the cool story can reach its full potential for mind-blowing horror.

This can't seem to decide if it wants to be a kitch 70s Hammer Horror-em-up, or a glossy romantic US TV movie. Slick moustache man heart throb Sam Elliot clearly thinks he's in the latter, while Roger Daltrey bounds onto the screen like he's auditioning for a part in 'Eastenders: The Pantomime'. To say The Legacy is uneven is putting it mildly, no two characters appear to realise they're in the same film. Shove them all in a grand old mansion in the English countryside, add a touch of supernatural hokum, some surprisingly inventive death scenes, a whole lot of messing around doing nothing, the most pointless random car drive scene in movie history, a cat which has more screen time than half the cast yet has no reason to be involved in the film, and enjoy - but not that much because it drags after an hour or so.

I like this potboiler. There's a soft spot in me for this story, even though it features the occasional lapse in narrative logic, and the special effects--while serviceable--don't guarantee it will leave much of a cinematic impression in many people's memory, years down the line. The Legacy is passed down by a moribund multi-millionaire, Jason Mountolive, to a group of inheritors (most of them European) who have travelled from afar to reunite for Jason's last 'will and testament.' Maggie Walsh and boyfriend Pete work together in Los Angeles as interior decorators (what's the likelihood of that?). They are hired sight unseen by a British client and, soon, 'accidentally' meet Jason, and are invited to stay at his home. At Ravenshurst mansion, the inheritors drop like flies, and Jason begins to get a little warmed over--he appears to be melting, cataracts appear, and he's definitely in dire need of a manicure. Clearly, this horror film was inspired by The Omen and, likewise, features a few Rottweilers that help take care of impending 'business' matters... Time to feed the dogs!!!