Rating: 3.5/5
A family — mother, daughter, son, aunt — moves out into the country to rent an old mansion for the summer. The place is decadent, yet the owners ask for a cheap price. The only exception — the owners’ 85-year-old mother will stay in the house with them
“It’s practically immortal — I sincerely believe that,” says Eileen Heckart, one of the owners, regarding the house and its upkeep
Karen Black, the mother, is eager to take the offer, but the father, Oliver Reed, is skeptical, especially of the owners leaving their owners behind. Nevertheless, they agree to take up the offer
Soon after they arrive, the son falls and cuts his knee while playing outside — something Burgess Meredith, one of the owners, tries to hide from the family
The mother becomes obsessed with caring for the house, polishing old pictures, and tending to the older woman whom no one has seen since they moved in
The father, roughhousing with his son in the pool, goes too far and nearly drowns the son, seemingly intentionally. The following day, he is riddled with guilt, unsure of what happened to him. Stranger still, the pool looks completely renovated, apparently brand new
Like, this is obviously the inspiration for The Shining — not that this invented the house that needs blood to survive, but the family dynamics and general structure are too similar to be ignored
The quiet intensity of the final sequence is so smart, deferring its final reveal until the last moment
I enjoyed this one a good bit!
Stray Thoughts
- Trying to make Oliver Reed look like an average dad when he has that face
- The kid brings Twister to the house — who exactly does he expect to play Twister with him?