Vous aimerez ma mère

"You'll Like My Mother" has Patty Duke as Francesca, a pregnant widow who travels from California to the snowy backwoods of Minnesota in the dead of winter to meet her mother-in-law. She gets more than she bargained for however, and finds herself not only stranded there, but in great danger.

One of many seemingly forgotten horror-thriller offerings from the early seventies, this inconspicuously-titled chiller is severely underprivileged in terms of audience, to the point that it's been mistakenly labeled as a television film (it wasn't). Its snowy backwoods setting is phenomenal, and the film reaps a chilling and claustrophobic atmosphere from it throughout. Adding to the ambiance is the main setting—a secluded, ornate manor house—which acts as an oppressive force in and of itself, concealing family secrets as well as housing key scenes in the film.

The film sets it self up for sinister happenings from the outset, with Patty Duke innocuously asking her bus driver about her husband's family. "Kinsolving?" he asks, as if he believes her to be mistaken. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I know the Kinsolvings," he unconvincingly adds. It's minor, subtle moments like these—many of which are found in Duke's and Rosemary Murphy's performances—that make the film so unnerving. The audience knows something's not quite right from minute one, and the film is an exercise in ratcheting atmosphere and tension from there on out. Duke is likable as the doe-eyed, well-meaning widow, and Murphy is ice-cold as her unreceptive (among other things) mother-in-law. The increasing tension between the two actresses is nearly palpable.

Overall, "You'll Like My Mother" is an under-seen thriller marked by solid performances, eerie use of landscape and cinematography, and a consistently suspenseful plot. A worthwhile effort, and one of the better (and more unusual) snowbound horror films to come of the late twentieth century. 9/10.

There are a couple of things to recommend this picture. First there is the snow: a LOT of snow, which adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere. Also a truly creepy performance by Richard Thomas (pre Waltons) as Kenny. Just the way he refers to himself in the third person is more effective than a hundred stabs of a knife. A good rental but not as bloody as genre fans might like.

Patty Duke is lovely and appealing as Francesca Kinsolving, a very pregnant young woman whose husband Matthew was killed in Vietnam. She makes the journey from L.A. to snowbound Minnesota, where the Kinsolving family homestead is. She's hoping to make some sort of connection with Matthews' mother, about whom he spoke so highly. But when she gets to the estate, the mother (Rosemary Murphy) turns out to be an odd duck, and a forbidding character. What's more, this woman has a daughter, Kathleen (the memorable Sian Barbara Allen), who has her own problems. Francesca realizes that she's not welcome there, but becomes a prisoner anyway when bad weather prevents her from leaving.

It's understandable that people might think that this was a made-for-TV affair, but in truth it *did* play in theatres. The director is Lamont Johnson, who had lots of television credits, but did a couple of theatrical features as well. He gives this decent story (script by Jo Heims, based on the novel by Naomi A. Hintze) some respectable suspense, and utilizes the real life Glensheen Historic Estate to great effect. The wintry atmosphere also helps a lot. Refreshingly, although Hintzes' tale has some twists to it, it's not overly complicated, and it's surprisingly absorbing, doing a good job of keeping the viewers' attention.

Another heavy asset is Dukes' character. She's vulnerable, but she's not a dummy, and realizes early on that she would be better off leaving if possible. You do sympathize with her and feel a certain suspicion towards Mrs. Kinsolving, who is played with effective frostiness by Ms. Murphy. Allen likewise does a very creditable job. Richard "John-Boy Walton" Thomas has fun with his cocky and creepy character, who's not given a proper introduction until well into the picture. And Robert Redford lookalike Dennis Rucker is likable in his small part as friendly bus driver Red Cooper.

The music by Gil Melle is on occasion a little unusual, but it works. And the cinematography by Jack A. Marta is excellent.

Only the conclusion fails to be particularly satisfying.

Seven out of 10.

"You'll Like My Mother" is reminiscent in terms of subject matter to the British, Hammer-produced thriller "Die! Die, My Darling", as both movies deal with a recently widowed women acquainting their mothers-in-law only after the husbands' deaths and almost literally ending in hell. And since "Die! Die, My Darling" was such an absorbing and creepy little thriller; I really wanted to check out this movie as well, particularly because this is an "Americanized" 70's version with exploitation undertones and complementary raw atmosphere. Francesca, eight months pregnant and widowed since seven months as she lost her husband Matthew when his plane crashed in Vietnam, travels all the way up to Matthew's parental house to pay an unannounced visit to his mother. From the very first minute, Mrs. Kinsolving turns out to be hateful and cynical person who hasn't got the slightest intention to get friendly with Francesca or the baby. But there's more, as Matthew mute and mentally underdeveloped sister Kathleen – whom Francesca never heard about before – seems petrified of the mother and slips bizarre little newspaper clippings into her hands like she's trying to warn her about something sinister. With the snowy weather getting worse, Francesca and her unborn child are trapped in a mansion with a potentially very dangerous psychopath. "You'll Like My Mother" is a very tense and unnerving 70's thriller with a solid script that gradually becomes more convoluted through effective twists and a couple of powerful moments that are simultaneously disturbing and saddening. Particularly halfway through the movie, the story becomes unusual and nightmarish (all comparisons with "Die! Die, My Darling" abruptly end at that point as well) and you'll need a very strong nerve system to make it through some of the sudden twists. This movie is another perfect example to show you don't necessarily require a big budget to deliver a spine-chilling thriller. "You'll Like My Mother" contains no special effects or particular gimmicks, but thrives exclusively on dreary atmosphere and offbeat plotting. It's an incomprehensibly underrated 70's highlight with great acting performances (Patty Duke is sublime as the mother in distress) that urgently needs a much wider audience.

When her Army husband is killed in combat, a pregnant Patty Duke travels to the remote Minnesota home of his family, whom she's never met, for a visit. Meeting with icy acceptance from mother-in-law Rosemary Murphy and stranded by a blizzard, Duke begins to discover terrifying--and deadly--secrets about her husband's family.

I wish had known about this film before I had been in Duluth many years ago. The movie was shot in the Congdon Mansion, and it would have been fun to visit the building, even if I was not allowed inside.

Well played, Scream Factory, for giving this one a release. I had not heard of it, and based on the few IMDb reviews, it seems I am not alone. Despite being a Universal film, it seems to have been very understated, with few "names" attached. Was it made for TV originally? I am surprised by how well the protagonist takes her situation -- a more modern version would have her being terrorized.