DEADLY BLESSING

DEADLY BLESSING

Horror stalwarts Wes Craven and Michael Berryman have collaborated on a few movies over the years. Sandwiched in between the two original ‘Hills Have Eyes’ movies was a delightfully macabre tale that dared to focus on that intriguing American subculture, the Amish. It’s time folks for some rural Horror…

The Hittites are a much disciplined sect. Indeed they make the "Amish look like swingers" according to Lana played by a fresh faced and utterly gorgeous, Sharon Stone. Modern machinery viewed as tools of the Devil, as this simple, isolated community plod along within the structure of their rigid religious belief system.

There has, however, been a defector of sorts. Jim, who was once part of the sect, has married an ‘outsider’ Martha (Maren Jensen). The city gal and Jim reside in their quaint little cottage on the Hittite farm called ‘Our Blessing’. The newlyweds are deeply in love and expecting their first child. It is then that tragedy strikes. Jim is killed in a strange accident involving his contemporary, thus frowned upon, tractor. While it is a mystery how it happened, or indeed whether or not foul play is involved, there is no shortage of weird and wonderful characters that may be linked to Jim’s untimely death.

We have William Gluntz (Berryman) who struggles to control his emotions and instincts. Then there is Louisa Stohler (Lois Nettleton), who has an unrepentant hatred of males! Her daughter, Faith (Lisa Hartman) is a loner whose creative pursuits are at odds with the regimented society. The ‘Elder’ of the community is Isaiah Schmidt (Ernest Borgnine), a passionate and unforgiving leader who is intent on worming out what he believes to be an "INCUBUS" from corrupting his hallowed group.

When Martha’s friends, Lana (Stone) and Vicky (Susan Buckner), visit in order to offer some support to their newly widowed friend, Isaiah’s disapproval reaches boiling point. But when Vicky takes a liking to Jim’s brother John and compromises his impending marriage to Melissa (Colleen Riley), events escalate from the strange to truly ghastly. Is it simply a case of the suppression of natural human instincts creating mass paranoia – or is there really a malevolent entity that needs to be exorcised…?

While there is very little actual gore content within the film, (hence the 15 certificate) the movie does have an abundance of terrifying scenes which showcase Wes Cravens skills as a truly legendary horror director.

They range from the suspenseful to the downright hideous, some of which may well have your toes doing spirals never mind merely curling! In an era when the ‘slasher’ movie was in vogue, it was interesting to witness the horror maestro utilize varying primal fears to create some very memorable scares.

For example; if you suffer in any way from arachnophobia, you may find a certain scene in particular, featuring Lana, a little hard to ‘swallow!

But probably the stand out sequence for me was the ‘snake in the bathroom’ segment. As Martha baths in her tub, she is joined be a slithery unwanted guest. It is a scene that is executed in a brilliantly realistic fashion which is accentuated by some terrific camera angles. Martha’s provocative yet vulnerable pose as she relaxes amidst the soapy suds was mimicked 3 years later to lesser effect by Nancy in Cravens most popular Elm Street original.

The cast are quality, and Borgnine is utterly convincing as the intense head honcho, whose perverse commitment to his beliefs are, at times, overwhelmingly intimidating. Stone, who plays Lana, was not part of the Hollywood fraternity back then. Indeed this was only her second outing as an actress after making the transition from being a photographic model. Some interesting anecdotes by writer Glenn M. Benest in the "Extras" section reveal how Stone was very frustrated at Cravens reluctance to actually ‘direct’ her, instead focusing his energies on honing the horrific aspects of the movie. Still she does a decent job, and appears naturally alluring in every scene.

As always Arrow Video delivers brilliantly with the ‘extras’. A quite wonderful interview with the iconic Michael Berryman is an engrossing watch. Berryman, who is an incredibly intelligent man, reveals just how he inadvertently got into "the business" with the encouragement of War of the Worlds producer, George Pal. He takes us through his illustrious career with sharp humour and some wonderful recollections. His personal appraisal regarding the ‘Hills Have Eyes’ remakes, including his extrication from them, is refreshingly honest and definitely worth listening to.

Also included is the aforementioned chapter, Deadly Desires: An interview with screenwriter Glenn M. Benest. It, again, is a fascinating few minutes, especially considering his comments regarding the movies climax.

Arrow presents the movie in its original 1.78:1 Anamorphic Aspect Ratio and the audio retains its Mono 1.0 format.

True to form, we have a reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork (by Rue Morgue art director Gary Pullin) along with a double sided poster. I always love reading Kim Newman’s thoughts on 1980’s horror, so it’s great to hear a ‘Collector’s booklet’, penned by Newman, is also included.

Yet again those good folk at Cult-Labs have delivered another definitive edition at a price that offers superb value for money. Recommended!!!

Review by Marc Lissenburg


 
Released by Arrow Video
Region 2 - PAL
Rated 18
Extras :
see main review
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