Up the ancient stairs, behind the locked door, something lives, something evil, from which no one has ever returned.
Directed by Dan Curtis
Reviewed by Deep Red
Based on the 1973 novel by Robert Marasco
Marian and Ben Rolf, Karen Black and Oliver Reed, their son David (Lee Montgomery) and Ben’s aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis) move into a huge house for the summer. They rent the property from brother and sister Arnold and Roz Allardyce, Burgess Meredith and Eileen Heckart, under condition that the Allardyces mother continues to live there in an upstairs room and that they provide her with meals.
This film has a wonderful cast and the acting is top-notch. I don’t want to give anything away regarding the plot as if you haven’t seen it it’s well worth discovering for yourself. It’s not your typical haunted house tale either, it has an intelligent central idea that’s delivered with bags of atmosphere and a malignant presence that’s maintained throughout.
If you enjoyed Carrie [1976], The Omen [1976], ’76 was a very good year, and The Amityville Horror [1979], you might want to add this to your list of classic horror films.
Superb! Very impressed.
