Psychose phase 3

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!!!

The first time I ever saw this one, I must have been barely in my mid-teens. And I didn't like it very much (hey, I preferred my horror filled with slimy monsters and lots of blood & gore back then). But some things about this movie stuck with me over the years (especially the infamous 'tracheatomy-scene' did, amongst other things). And I just knew that was a good thing. So you could say I was ready for a more "mature viewing" of this movie. And yes, it's actually pretty good! I didn't mind it was a bit slow during the first half, because it builds up a good atmosphere wrapped in a fine mystery. Some people in their user-comments called it a "haunted house movie", but that couldn't possibly be further from the truth, as far as I'm concerned. It's a film about the supernatural, yes, but the only 'haunted house'-related thing it does have, is indeed one big, creepy looking mansion on an isolated location on UK grounds. Margaret Walsh (played by a beautiful looking Katharine Ross) is summoned to the UK for an architect-assignment. Her friend Pete (Sam Elliot) accompanies her. Circumstances lead her to the aforementioned mansion, where she is obliged to stay the weekend. Then 5 other guests arrive and they all seem to know why they are there, but Margaret doesn't. It's up to her and Pete to find out, because it doesn't take long before the guests start dying one by one. And something inside the mansion isn't willing to let her go... That's really all you need to know before going into this movie. The death-scenes aren't particularly gory, but they were sort of original at the time (1978), and there's even a catch to them... Very happy I did finally re-watch this film, as I seem to have slightly misjudged it in my teen-days.

An excellent little movie, though it might be wasted on anyone likely to get disappointed by 1970s special effects or confused by the intrusion of a plot. It's a well-made supernatural re-working of Agatha Christie's "And then there were None" (Originally "Ten Little Nigger Boys") and starts when the descendents of a 17th century witch gather at an English country house in the hope of receiving part of the family legacy. Instead, they get a dose of poetic justice delivered from beyond the grave. Don't expect to be scared out of your skin, just entertained for a while.

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.

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.