BURNT
OFFERINGS (1976)Director: Dan Curtis
MGM
BURNT
OFFERINGS (1976)After his 60s daytime soap "Dark
Shadows" became something of a cult phenomenon, Dan Curtis became the king
of the 70s TV horror movie. Serving as producer and/or director on a number
of the era's telefilms (THE NIGHT STALKER, THE NORLISS TAPES, DRACULA, etc.),
Curtis' work was usually solid and exemplar of its type. By the mid 70s, Hollywood
was on a scare kick with decently budgeted thrillers, and Curtis would find
himself producing, directing and co-writing his first theatrical film in nearly
five years, BURNT OFFERINGS. Based on a popular book (I had to read it in school!)
by Robert Marasco, BURNT OFFERINGS is not perfect (what film is?), but still
is an absorbing haunted house movie with good plot devices, notable photography
and a first-rate cast.
Married couple Ben (Oliver Reed) and Marion Rolf (Karen Black), along with their 12-year-old son David (BEN star Lee Montgomery) rent an old mansion in country for the summer. One of the catches of the dirt cheap rental is that the owners' 85-year-old mother has stay there, but it's only a matter of leaving meals for a woman that never comes out of her room (or that the audience ever sees for that matter). But the house seems to have an adverse effect on the couple. Ben almost drowns his son in some out of control pool play and has hallucinations of a grinning hearse driver. Marion becomes obsessed with the antique items in the house, and keeps a close, possessive watch over the old woman's room. Young David is almost asphyxiatde with gas, the couple's aging aunt (Bette Davis) becomes increasingly ill and eventually dies, and their strange behavior becomes increasingly extreme. Why don't they leave this house? Quite simply, the house won't let them.
BURNT
OFFERINGS is kind of an update of the House of Usher story, in that the
house is the real living monster and that theme is well drawn out here. Without
elaborate special effects, the PG-rated film is able to convey a sense of unknown
menace, and although the ending is predictable (maybe it wasn't back in '76),
it's still quite eerie, commencing very violently. Reed and Black are good as
always, and Davis is given a smaller sympathetic part, rather than the wicked
bitches she was accustomed to playing at this time in her life. Great support
is provided by Eileen Heckart and Burgess Meredith as the suspiciously eccentric
sister/brother owne
rs
of the house, as well as character great Dub Taylor as a handyman. In 2003,
BURNT OFFERINGS has not dated that badly at all, and is definitely worth revisiting
for those who like old-fashioned type "haunted house" movies.
MGM offers BURNT OFFERINGS on
DVD in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. Although
remastered and looking impeccably clean, much of the film was shot with some
kind of diffusion lense, so some scenes come off soft or hazy in this presentation.
Still, colors are distinct, with natural looking fleshtones and solid black
levels. The mono audio works 
fine
for Bob Cobert's Dark Shadowsesque score, and dialog is always comprehensible.
Optional subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish.
MGM has included a commentary with Dan Curtis, Karen Black and co-screenwriter William Nolan. This supplement was originally orchestrated by film historian Darren Gross, but his voice is not heard in the final product. The commentary is a hoot but tends to jump all over the place with the participants at times watching the movie rather than sharing recollections (Nolan at times seems to be interviewing the other two!). There are still some fun anecdotes to be found (Curtis talks about opening scenes that he shot but cut out, Black reveals that she was a few months pregnant during shooting, etc.), but it would have been great to have more detailed accounts of Reed, Davis, Meredith and others. Also included is the really cool theatrical trailer. (George R. Reis)