Ben and Marian Rolf rent a grand old country mansion as a summer getaway for themselves, their twelve year old son Davey, and Ben's Aunt Elizabeth. They feel they can't turn down the rent deal offered to them by the house's owners, siblings Roz and Arnold Allardyce, despite some reservations. First amongst those reservations, they are to take care of the house on their own, which Ben feels is too big a job, especially for Marian and the interior housekeeping. In Marian's words, the large size of the house is a 'waste'. And second and perhaps more important amongst those reservations, the Allardyces' aged mother will be staying in her room at the house, the Rolfs who are to provide a tray of food left outside her room three times a day, which Marian vows to take care of on her own, with no other members of the family to go into that isolated wing of the house so as not to disturb Mrs. Allardyce's peace. Upon their arrival at the house for the first day of their stay, they find a note from Roz and Arnold stating that they had to leave on an emergency, only with the necessary keys enclosed with no address or telephone number where they can be reached. As the summer progresses, the family members individually begin to exhibit unusual and unexplainable behavior, and unusual and unexplainable things start happening around the house. The strongest behavior ends up being Marian's total focus on renewing the house into what she says she wants it to be, or so she implies she is doing. These occurrences threaten both the loving family dynamic as well as the individual lives of the four. The answers to what is happening may be who or what lies behind the closed and often locked door of Mrs. Allardyce's bedroom.
H**R
Fantastic movie
I just had to buy it, what a brilliant film I e watched it many times its a top must to watch, you won't be disappointed
H**E
Writing and Acting
Wasn't expecting much of this film. I had never heard of any of the actors apart from Bette Davis and Burgess Meredith for Rocky but got gripped from the start and the thrill held me till the end. Oliver Reed is fantastic.
B**D
Dated maybe, spooky definately!
The Rolf family view a large Victorian mansion in the California countryside which they plan to rent for the summer. The family consists of Marian (Karen Black), her husband Ben (Oliver Reed), their young son David (Lee Montgomery), and their elderly aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis). The owners of the house are the eccentric Arnold Allardyce and his sister Roz, played by Burgess Meredith and Eileen Heckart. They inform the prospective tenants of the requirement for their rental: the Allardyce's elderly mother will continue living in her upstairs room during their stay and the Rolfs will provide her with food. The old woman is never seen. She does not like to be disturbed so the food is to be left outside her door. However the house is only $900 for the entire summer, a bargain even at 1970's prices! This in itself should set alarm bells ringing but the grateful Rolfs gladly accept.The task of feeding the old woman falls to Marian who gradually becomes obsessed by her and the old house. Ben starts to become depressed and anxious with his wife's behaviour. Strange events unfold and it soon becomes clear the house is slowly exercising a malevolent force over the family. Slow to begin with the film builds up to its climactic if predictable conclusion of rejuvenation through death.Directed by the underrated Dan Curtiss and based on the book by Robert Marasco, Burnt Offerings was released in 1976 and won the 1977 Saturn award for best horror film. Admirers of more recent gore-fest horror productions might find it tame if not dated. Admirers of Gothic Horror most certainly will not. There is, however, something for all tastes here. Don't let its release date put you off. See it and be prepared to be rejuvenated!
S**Y
Great screenplay
I really enjoyed this film. It's well-paced with lots of eerie scenes that keep you guessing until the end. Reed gives a tremendous performance as do all the cast. Worth a watch.
Z**H
Curious little film
What a curious little film and a definite influence on The Shining, both the book and the film.The Rolf family move into a mansion for the summer at a killer price, the only conditions being that they feed the old woman who lives on the top floor. Okay, at this stage, I'm thinking big old mansion, crazy old woman on the top floor, photos of past tenants in the hall, cheap rent, I'll be on my way then, but not the Rolf family, they're clearer made of sterner stuff. The house's malevolent influence transforms papa Rolf into a raving madman, putting young Rolf in danger, whilst mama Rolf sulks in the upstairs room. Sounds familiar?This was a rare cinematic outing for prolific TV director Dan Curtis (he of House of Dark Shadows, The Night Strangler, the hilarious Trilogies of Terror, The Night Stalker and many many more) and it tells. Performances are larger than life, Burgess Meredith doing everything but winking at the audience, Oliver Reed raging about like Jake La Motta, Bette Davis playing the dotty old gran and Karen Black sulking in the sultry way that had become her trademark. Everything is shot through a dreamy filter to give us that Vertigo feel, whilst the soundtrack tells you when to scream and the climax is straight out of the Alfred Hitchcock playbook.It's like spending the evening with an old friend.
G**B
Disc very good quality
Product very good quick delivery, good film quite spooky
T**A
Great old classic horror movie...
Great cult film...the first horror movie I saw at the pictures...when 3 years under age but...got in and had nightmares for weeks!Great to re-vamp the memories.Classic, creepy, spooky, ghostly, spine tingler of a film (albeit dated now but.....)Highly recommended watch...
T**Z
Excellent...!
Superb film, a must see...!
J**M
Modern gothic horror. Eerie atmosphere. An ending that will remind you of Norman Bates's mother.
First review - May 23 2018My second review of the movie - July 26 2020 -Think twice before you agree to rent a large country house for a very generous price. If it's too good to be true, there's probably something bad in the house. Is there a vampire waiting to suck all your blood or is it the house that does the sucking? Oops.... sounds like a spoiler.I just watched the DVD again. Still creepy but the last scenes in the movie are no longer so scary that I had to sleep with the lights on. This is a modern gothic horror having an old house that is owned by an old lady and her creepy children who are themselves in their twilight years. Not everyone will enjoy this movie. One reviewer has said this is a bad movie and a waste of time. This is understandable but I still love the movie. As mentioned in my first review, this is not a movie about a haunted house. You will be disappointed if you want to see ghosts, demons, blood-sucking vampires or monsters who make things go bump in the night. Just a matter of opinion - 'Burnt Offerings' 'out- creeps' the remake of 'The Haunting' even though it lacks CGI.This is generally a quiet movie that does not rely on sudden loud noises or abrupt appearances to make our hearts jump. What gives the creeps is the eerie atmosphere without cobwebs and creaking sounds.The old house is in well maintained and ‘takes care of itself.’ A couple (Oliver Reed and Karen Black) rents the house for the entire summer season for only $900. The creepy owners, an old man and his old sister (Burgess Meredith and Eileen Hackett), assure the couple that there’s no ‘catch’ in the rent offer. The tenants only have to provide food to their mother who will continue to stay in the house during the rental period. She stays in her bedroom all the time. The house needs no looking after – the house takes care of itself – this is the supernatural element in the story. There is actually a 'catch' behind the generous rental fee but not one that the couple can imagine. Karen Black's behavior changes as she settles down in the house. She is sort of infected. Her keen devotion to the rented house is the price she has to pay for staying in the house - the house needs her love just as Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Bathory needed blood to look young.The end of the movie has a scene similar to the scene in Hitchcock's 'Psycho' where Vera Miles gets to enter the bedroom of Norman Bates' mother and meet Mrs. Bates.The ending of 'Burnt Offerings' might leave some heads scratching - what the Hell just happened?! What happened to Karen Black? Did she just........??? The answer is hinted at the start of the movie in the conversation between the couple and the house owners. Some won't like the ending or are confused. Others may like it like I do but even so, after seeing the movie for the first time at the cinema, I wanted to know more. I bought the novel of the same title to look for answers . This was something that I had not done before and have not done ever since - this is what makes the movie special to me. Unlike my scream queen sister, I don't read horror novels with eyes wide open and then scream in the cinema auditorium with mouth wide open when suddenly there's a loud sound or sudden appearance.Excellent performances by Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis and even Burgess Meredith and Eileen Hackett who have only a brief screen time. The only time when I think Burgess Meredith isn't creepy is when he played the Penguin in the campy Batman TV series. Eileen Hackett, in her role in this movie, is another creep factor - her dead serious face, manner of speaking and distinctive voice are hints that she is no angel - something sinister about her. She looked very much and sounded very much like a witchy-looking nurse who examined me in a school medical check-up. I later had a dream that she asked me for blood and scratched my bare chest with her sharp fingernails that made me bleed. 'Blood Offerings'. Yeeks!First review below - May 23 2018.Saw the movie in or around 1976 - 77. It is one horror movie that is difficult to forget. Creepy man, creepy! The star of the show is the mansion. This movie isn't about a haunting in an old house. There are no fanged blood suckers but something is sucking the family that rented the house. The last few minutes of the movie creeped me out and I went to bed that night with the ceiling lights on. Scared to sleep in the dark.Spoiler - Audience who saw Hitchcock's 'Psycho' back in 1960 got a rude shock when the truth about Norman Bates's mother was revealed. Expect a similar type of shock at the end of this movie? Yes but ........yikes!
C**Y
EDICION BLURAY 20 MIN. MUTILADA
Esta edición en blu ray de Llamentol y nada oficial, se trata de un disco BD-R no prensado regrabable. Lo que es peor y parece mentira, es que en la información de la película se ponga que su duración es de 116 min. cuando no es así, siendo una versión mutilada de 97 min. Ésto siempre debe ser preciso y no engañar al comprador porque la versión original verdaderamente dura casi dos horas e incluye entre otras escenas, una nocturna en la piscina de la casa donde la actriz Karen Black sale desnuda aunque no vista explícitamente. Por otra parte el sonido es un 2.0 en castellano e inglés y región libre. La imagen es bastante correcta pero por lo dicho anteriormente es una compra un tanto decepcionante e imperdonable. El film en sí, aunque ya con años a sus espaldas siendo una producción de 1976, es todo un clásico del género de casas encantadas y básico para los amantes del mismo. A remarcar que esta edición bluray de Llamentol está ya descatalogada hace un tiempo y por lo visto no parece que haya otra en España que respete el metraje original. Saludos de Cayetano y gracias por vuestro tiempo en leer mis comentarios.
A**E
les fantômes
Un des meilleurs films d'horreur sans véritable horreur; Il faut l'avoir vu et l'on peut le revoir sans s'en lasser jamais. Dommage qu'il n'y ait pas de sous-titrage.
D**W
Great ending, worth waiting for
I've been watching horror movies even since I was a kid, I love them, I introduce myself as a horrible man. I never heard of this movie, as I am somewhat young to know of it, there is always so much to chase, this movie I know through the reputation of Dan Curtis and his Night Stalker/ Night Strangler, Kolchak show. Even though the DVD was somewhat expensive, well for me I'm not rich so just about everything is expensive, I had to give it a chance for the people that are involved in the production of this film. The movie is a slow burn, I must say that it was very interesting with great acting and a good premise, so many movies or TV show have used this movie as a big influence to what they have done. The movie's suspense builds well and has a climax that actually gave me the chills, which I don't get often as I am a veteran of horror movies, I would recommend this movie to anyone that wants to see a movie that has good plot, great acting and a ending that will leave you at the edge of your seat, please whatever you do, don't watch the trailer that it gives you too much of what happens in the film.
J**.
Der pure HORROR !!!
Nun gut, ich muss zunächst einmal anmerken, dass ich schon in jungen Jahren angefangen habe, Horrorfilme zu schauen und zu lieben. Ich glaube, mitlerweile ein einigermaßen umfangreiches Repertoir des Genres zu kennen und irgendwann kommt jeder Horror-Maniac zu dem Punkt an dem er sich eine wichtige Frage stellt: "Welcher Horrorfilm war eigentlich am unheimlichsten?". Viele Leute können sich dann überhaupt nicht entscheiden. Ich dagegen habe definitiv 2 absolute Favoriten und alles andere war zwar ab und zu unheimlich, vielleicht auch Gänsehaut-zaubernd aber letztendlich nicht so markerschütternd wie die 2 besten. Die Nummer eins ist definitiv "Das Grauen kommt um 10" (OT: When a stranger calls) und die Nummer 2 ist "Das Landhaus der toten Seelen" (OT: burnt offerings). Diese Filme haben mich als Jungendlichen schon nächtelang wachgehalten und jagen mir jetzt schon bei der Erinnerung daran Schauer über den Rücken.In Diesem Film gibt es keine schreienden Teenies, kiffende Hippies, abgetrennte Köpfe oder Hannibal lector's hinter Panzerglas. Das hier ist ein Vertreter der ursprünglichen Kunst des Horrorfilms. In diesem Film kommt das Entsetzen auf leisen Sohlen, von hinten und wirft einen dann plötzlich vom Sessel. Die Schauspieler brillieren. Man kauft jedem seine Rolle sofort ab. Selbst der Schauspieler des Kindes wirkt in keiner einzigen Szene wie ein Anfänger. Und wer denkt, er würde die unheimlichsten Darsteller-Gesichter der Horrorwelt kennen, wird bei diesem Film wahrscheinlich dazu lernen, der Limousinenfahrer verfolgt mich heute noch...Das ist kein Film für lustige Pyjama-Partys. Dieser Film ist etwas für Horror-Fans, die sich in die Handlung einbeziehen lassen wollen, denen längere Dialoge eher willkommen sind und die nicht auf ein paar nackte Brüste hoffen. All diejenigen werden noch lange Zeit von diesem Film erzählen und ihn weiterempfehlen. Der Film ist bedrückend, düster und faszinierend zugleich. Man sollte nur bitte daran denken, dass dieser Film ein Klassiker ist und deshalb damals originelle und überraschende Ideen heutzutage möglicherweise etwas abgenutzt sind.Da der Film in Deutschland extrem unbekannt ist, lohnt sich der Kauf der englischen DVD bestimmt. Ausserdem gibt es die Möglichkeit, bei Gesprächen über gute Horrorfilme dann den absoluten Geheim-Tipp geben zu können ;-)
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