United Artists
Evil has a new home! Step inside a vacation house of horror in this terrifying thriller that does for summer homes what Jaws did for a dip in the surf. Karen Black, Oliver Reed and Bette Davis star in this riveting haunted-house chiller that delivers hidden terrors mounting creepily as the film builds to a climax of pulverizing fright. Marian (Black) and Ben (Reed) find it hard to believe that for only $900 they’ve rented a sprawling country mansion for the entire summer. But as they settle into their isolated estate with their son (Lee Montgomery) and Ben’s aunt (Davis), they find themselves surrounded by an evil, hypnotic living presence that feeds on torture, fear and murder.
REVIEW
Horror films pre-1980, before the age of slasher flicks that had to deliver one kill after another throughout the running time, took their time to build a sense of dread right up until the film’s climax. Look at classic haunted house films like The Uninvited, The Haunting and The Legend of Hell House. These films kept their characters and the audience on the edge of their seats from start to finish, with one or two big scares along the way but the tension just kept building. This is the same with 1976’s Burnt Offerings, which modern audiences may find tedious today. The film features a stellar cast — Karen Black, Oliver Reed and Bette Davis — spending the summer in a sprawling estate. The only other cast members are Lee Montgomery as the son of Black and Reed’s characters, Eileen Heckart, Dub Taylor and Burgess Meredith (who only appear at the beginning of the film), and Antony James as a spectre who haunts Reed’s dreams. With a small cast and a slow burn story, it really is up to the two main stars (Davis is more of a supporting character who pops in to be bitchy every now and then), the writing and directing to keep things interesting.
The story follows the Rolf family as they seek to get away from New York City (scenes in the city were filmed but then edited out) for the Summer — it’s not quite clear how they can afford to take two months off to loll about in the middle of nowhere, especially when Ben thinks $900 is an astronomical fee — but Marian falls immediately under the spell of the house, insisting they accept this offer … even if it comes with a catch: the family will be tasked with taking care of the elderly Mrs. Allardyce, who never comes out of her attic residence. All they’ll have to do is make sure she gets three square meals a day. Marian takes on the task and insists no one else venture upstairs, but it becomes clear something is going on as Marian begins a cleaning frenzy inside the house, and begins dressing differently (a shawl?!) and styling her hair in an up-do … which no one seems to take note of. She becomes more and more protective of Mrs. Allardyce, becoming more distant from her family as odd things begin to happen to them. Ben nearly drowns son David when he seems to briefly become possessed by a broken pair of glasses, then David nearly dies when someone (or some thing) turns on the gas from the heater in his room, and Aunt Elizabeth seems to be growing older and more frail by the day (but no less bitchy). You can probably guess where things are heading, but the film’s climax does offer a few shocks (even if one of them is completely spoiled in the trailer).
Burnt Offerings isn’t a great ‘haunted house’ thriller but it does have its moments. It’s greatest strength is the performance of Karen Black, who had recently worked with director Dan Curtis on the classic TV movie Trilogy of Terror. The trust she had in him to guide her performance makes everything she does extremely watchable and believable. Marian’s demeanor changes are subtle, even if her outward appearance is not. Black never seemed to get the respect she deserved as an actor, but her performance here is masterful. Reed also does a fine job even if he does ham it up a bit here and there. Davis delivers what you would expect, expertly tossing off insulting one-liners with her usual skill, but also allowing herself to become more and more haggard in appearance. Montgomery gives an outstanding performance for a child actor, really making us feel his trauma after the near drowning while also making his forgiveness to his father feel authentic. Heckart, Taylor and Meredith are hoots in their brief screen time (especially Meredith, who shamelessly camps things up), and James is appropriately creepy with one of the most sinister grins on film. Burnt Offerings was directed by Dan Curtis, best known as the creator of Dark Shadows, and his television roots — and the likely small budget — give the film a bit of a TV movie feel. Curtis adapted the Robert Marasco novel with screenwriter William F. Nolan (Logan’s Run), and they both admit on the commentary track that the novel wasn’t very good, and neither of them knew what the title meant. Curtis also changed the novel’s ending on the fly, basically cribbing the end of his own Night of Dark Shadows feature film to give it more impact. In the end, Burnt Offerings may not be the most thrilling thriller ever produced, and its subtle build to the end may bore viewers unaccustomed to this style of storytelling, but it’s well worth watching for Black’s performance alone.
United Artists
VIDEO
Burnt Offerings has been released on various home video formats over the years, but Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray is a nice upgrade from the old MGM DVD.
The image retains the 1970s vintage film quality with a nice amount of film grain, transporting the viewer back to 1976. The image is clear, the film is clean of dust and scratches (Kino hasn’t provided any information about a restoration or what film elements were used to produce the MPEG-4 AVC encoding), the blacks don’t seem to be crushed, and there is a nice amount of detail, accurately reproducing the original cinematography down to the muted color palette (which becomes vibrant once the dead plants in the greenhouse are revived). The video also retains the film’s 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Visually, some stellar work with zero complaints about the quality.
AUDIO
The disc audio retains the original mono soundtrack with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, keeping the dialogue crystal clear, and balanced with the sparing use of sound effects and music (the score was created by Curtis’ Dark Shadows composer Robert Cobert). The track is free of any major hiss, cracks or pops and matches the visual quality of the film. The disc also includes English subtitles.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Burnt Offerings Blu-ray comes with a nice collection of extra features including:
- A vintage audio commentary with director Curtis, writer Nolan and star Black, probably recorded for the 2003 DVD release (Curtis died in 2006). The commentary is insightful into the making of the movie as the three react to what’s on screen from time to time, and talk about what went on behind-the-scenes (like Davis’ feud with Reed).
- A second commentary track featuring Film Historian Richard Harland Smith of unknown vintage (perhaps the 2015 Blu-ray release). Smith’s commentary is also informative about the making of the film and not just an essay of unrelated material, as too many film historians seem to do, so it’s well worth a listen.
- Anthony James: Acting His Face (17:33): A 2015 interview with James (James died in 2020). James discusses a little bit of the film and his relationship with Davis, but focuses mostly on his career and work as an artist.
- Blood Ties – Lee Montgomery on Burnt Offerings (16:29) — A 2015 interview with Montgomery, who is the only cast member still alive, who talks about the film and his relationship with Davis and how upset she was with the pool scene and the boy’s safety.
- From the Ashes – William F Nolan on Burnt Offerings (13:21) — A 2015 interview with Nolan, who died in 2021, who discusses his relationship with Curtis and how he got the job writing the movie.
- Portraits of Fear – Burnt Offerings Family Album (3:21) — A collection of stills, lobby cards and other related promotional material.
- Trailers From Hell: Burnt Offerings (3:21) featuring TFH Kickstarter Patron Steve Senski.
- Vintage Theatrical Trailer (2:30): Very spoilery!
OVERVIEW
If you’re a fan of Burnt Offerings and own the previously released DVD, this new Blu-ray edition is well worth the upgrade. Dan Curtis completists or fans of Black, Reed or Davis should also want to add this to their collections. The presentation of the film is outstanding, and the extras are informative and add value to the package. Recommended. (Note: Kino Lorber also released a Blu-ray in 2015 so it’s not known if this version is just a reprint or if anything has been done to enhance the film as all of the extras are the same, but the earlier edition does not include subtitles.)
Kino Lorber generously provided Hotchka with the Blu-ray for reviewing purposes.
Burnt Offerings has a running time of 1 hour 56 minutes and is rated PG.
United Artists
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