Burnt Offerings

Burnt Offerings

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Editorial Reviews

Step inside a vacation house of horror in this terrifying thriller that "does for summer homes whatJaws did for a dip in the surf" (The New York Times)! Starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith and Bette Davis, this riveting haunted-house chiller delivers "hidden terrors [that] mount creepily as the film builds to a climax of pulverizing fright" (Rex Reed)! Marian (Black) and Ben (Reed) find it hard to believe that for only $900 they've rented a sprawling old country mansion for the entire summer. But as they settle into their isolated estate with their son and Ben's aunt (Davis), they find themselves surrounded by a living presencean evil, hypnotic, occult forcethat feeds on torture, fear and murder.

Based on the Robert Marasco novel of the same name, Dan Curtis's eerie movie puts a spin on celluloid haunted-house sagas. The well-adjusted Rolf family (father Oliver Reed, mother Karen Black, aunt Bette Davis, and young son Lee H. Montgomery) rent a huge old summer house only to find that its spirit is in control of the estate. The requisite sinister proceedings appear--including a possessed pool and the vision of a sinister hearse driver following Reed--that disrupt the family's unity. Black also falls under the spell of an elderly woman whom she is required to take care of, but no one ever sees. While it may not be as overtly shocking as other ghost tales, Burnt Offerings has a creepiness that gets under your skin thanks to good performances and the dreamy, soft-focus photography. --Bryan Reesman

Customer Reviews

Quality haunted house thriller

Reviewed by Joker, 2010-01-05

Burnt Offerings (1976) is one of my favorite haunted house movies of all time, ranking sixth behind only The Haunting (1963), The Changeling (1980), The Legend Of Hell House (1973), The Innocents (1961), and Rose Red (2001). It stars Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, Lee Montgomery, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart and Anthony James.

The story is basically this: a family (the Rolf family) rents a Victorian mansion in California for the entire summer for only $900.00 total. The owners of the house, the Allardyce's, ask that in addition to the $900.00 rental fee that the Rolf family provide food to the Allardyce's elderly mother, who still lives in an upstairs room and supposedly wants privacy all the time. Mrs. Rolf (Marian, played by Karen Black) takes on the responsibility of caring for the elderly mother of the Allardyces. At the same time, Marian becomes very intrigued with the mansion and its Victorian contents, such as a music box. Soon an evil force or presence takes over and victimizes the Rolf family. Their aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis) dies suspiciously. Mr. Rolf (Ben, played by Oliver Reed) does some strange and evil things as his behavior borders on evil. There is something evil about the house itself. This evil is possessing and controlling the Rolf's. At the end of the movie, the house actually kills Ben and their son David (played by Lee Montgomery) while Marian actually turns into the elderly woman in the upstairs of the house. The house sort of rejuvenates itself after any death that occurs. It's strange, twisted, bizarre and quite entertaining.

Bob Cobert's musical score is effective. The acting is great. Karen Black is a great actress. She's also very versatile. Her facial expressions are classic not only in this movie, but a lot of her movies. She's perfect for the role of Marian. There's something about Karen Black's looks that gives her a look of wickedness. She's good looking and somewhat scary looking at the same time. Oliver Reed does a great job acting as well. Burgess Meredith plays Arnold Allardyce and is quite creepy in this role. Speaking of creepy, Anthony James will creep you out in his role as the chauffeaur.

This movie is very good overall. It has some flaws, such as plot holes, etc., but the creepiness kind of makes up for it. I highly recommend this movie if you like haunted house thrillers.

Love Haunted Houses

Reviewed by Philip Michaels, 2009-11-13

I just adore movies where the house can knock off an entire stupid family for staying there. Fun to watch and don't touch or break anything that belongs to the House. Bette Davis never looked so horrible as she does near her death.

good, but severely dated

Reviewed by B. E Jackson, 2009-08-17

I guess this wasn't a bad way to hold people over until the Amityville Horror was made.

It's about a family who moves into a giant house for a summer vacation. Strange events soon occur.

The movie succeeds in not giving too much away, so there's always a build up of sorts until the disturbing moments arrive. But the actual disturbing events are only a *little* disturbing- not something truly unnerving.

The limo driver that would make an appearance was alright, though the guy driving it looked like Elton John. You'll understand why a limo driver is creepy when you see the movie. It's a bit difficult to explain. Let's just say the husband/father sees images in his head quite often that have to do with a funeral.

This movie is pretty dated though. It's definitely a mid 70's horror movie. That means the suspense isn't nearly as frightening today as it was back then.

There's a really graphic scene at the end that surprised me involving a giant crashing fall from a window. It has to deal with the old woman living upstairs that never makes an appearance. Will she ever reveal herself? That IS the question.

I noticed much of the storyline focused around the swimming pool behind the house and how many of the strange events would either occur here, or late at night while people were asleep.

I like it, but it's clearly not as good as other movies at the time such as the previous mentioned Amityville Horror.

Still scary today!!

Reviewed by RJT, 2009-07-21

I remember seeing this as a young girl and being very frightened by it, now being an adult....it was just as scary!! Your just waiting for the freaky driver to pop out of your closet after watching this movie....or hear the music box playing. I love a horror that can scare you without the over the top violence and gore. CREEPY!!

A genuinely creepy haunted house movie

Reviewed by M. Ryan Fairbanks, 2009-03-31

Burnt Offerings is a haunted house movie done right. It's creepy, claustrophobic, and features a great cast including horror veteran Karen Black and Oliver Reed.

The story begins when a picturesque couple Marian and Ben along with their son and elderly aunt decide to rent an old mansion for some enjoyment over the summer months. Despite the mansion being a bit run down, the owners offer them a price they can't refuse under the conditions that they maintain the property and tend to the old woman that resides upstairs. The family tries to make themselves comfortable in their new home, but something is a little odd about the house and the effect it has on them. Before long the couple begins experiencing bouts of strange and unexplained behavior. Marian begins spending almost all of her time secluded in the upstairs bedroom with the old woman that nobody has ever seen, and Ben keeps having vivid hallucinations of a creepy hearse driver around the property. Not to mention the house itself in which dead plants mysteriously return to life, a swimming pool that churns itself into turbulent waves, and doors that lock themselves. It soon becomes apparent that phenomenon taking place can be attributed to none other than the spirits of the home's previous inhabitants.

Burnt Offerings is all about the atmosphere. For some it surely comes off as a slow moving, and plotless movie in which there is no real point to be made. However it sports a genuine sense of dread and uneasiness that is rarely achieved. It is comprised of numerous, and strange little happenings that are seemingly unrelated, but you can sense that something dark and ominous is steadily building in the background with a thickening tension throughout. In this respect as well as others, Burnt Offerings is almost remniscient of the Shining, although it doesn't offer as much memorable imagery or music.

Burnt Offerings is a truly scary movie, but to get the full effect you need to watch it without any distractions and let yourself become absorbed into it. It's a great example of how a movie can be very scary with barely any gore at all, and how to build suspense up to a great ending. Highly recommended.