I've always said, the ending makes or breaks a film. Well, in this instance, it breaks it.
We see the boots of a guy hanging out in town, who walks out of a movie theater showing horror/cult movies and proceeds to get mud splattered on his boots by a passing car. Big mistake on the driver's part. Big! This guy holds grudges. Mia Farrow, who lost her sight from falling off her horse while riding, (which we learn later on in the movie) is part of the family, but she is out when the guy comes calling and kills the mother, sister, and father, who incidentally was driving the car that splattered him. When Mia gets back, by walking only in her normal paced steps, she totally misses broken glass and other things obvious to people who can see. She sleeps the whole night not knowing they are in the house and dead. (She thought they went out and got back late at night and slept in awfully late.)
Then, the killer finds he's missing something that would identify him and has to get back to the house to retrieve it. Then the real action begins, or so you think. But the best part of the whole film is the anticipation. Unfortunately, nothing really happens to merit much praise for this film. It's not as good as one might expect. As you're watching it, it feels appropriately eerie and atmospheric. But looking back on it, it feels like a letdown. But, I rate this as high as I did because of Mia's credible performance. And, I did appreciate the sequence when she goes riding with her boyfriend in the sun and the wind, as she feels alive and in love, not knowing what was in the house.
***MAJOR SPOILERS***
To begin with, there's a gypsy clan camping out nearby and we are shown one in particular who was hanging around the house, but it turns out he's not the killer after all. And, also, once Mia manages to get away from the killer and is running from the house, the movie tends to lose the viewer's interest. And, the final five minutes are ridiculous, as her best friend sees the id bracelet with the name on it, but fails to realize one of his friends has that name. And, not only that, but he then sends everyone else off to look for the killer, "but not you, you stay and make sure she's alright" to the actual killer, who goes into the bathroom, where Mia is taking a bath and he proceeds to drown her, and at the last possible second the boyfriend comes in and saves her. There's no natural progression that allows the viewer to believe such incredible goings on. The ending just totally blew it for me. It might would have been more believable and realistic if she had died, but then why did he go in to kill her anyway? Didn't he know he'd get caught? But they limited themselves also by not showing the killer's face until the ending, like it was some fancy technique; when in fact, it made it all seem awkward. Also, one petty detail, I couldn't stand all the men's haircut. Was this shaggy look a 70s thing or what?
This may be a curiosity piece for some, but I bet once you've seen this, you'll feel let down too.
We see the boots of a guy hanging out in town, who walks out of a movie theater showing horror/cult movies and proceeds to get mud splattered on his boots by a passing car. Big mistake on the driver's part. Big! This guy holds grudges. Mia Farrow, who lost her sight from falling off her horse while riding, (which we learn later on in the movie) is part of the family, but she is out when the guy comes calling and kills the mother, sister, and father, who incidentally was driving the car that splattered him. When Mia gets back, by walking only in her normal paced steps, she totally misses broken glass and other things obvious to people who can see. She sleeps the whole night not knowing they are in the house and dead. (She thought they went out and got back late at night and slept in awfully late.)
Then, the killer finds he's missing something that would identify him and has to get back to the house to retrieve it. Then the real action begins, or so you think. But the best part of the whole film is the anticipation. Unfortunately, nothing really happens to merit much praise for this film. It's not as good as one might expect. As you're watching it, it feels appropriately eerie and atmospheric. But looking back on it, it feels like a letdown. But, I rate this as high as I did because of Mia's credible performance. And, I did appreciate the sequence when she goes riding with her boyfriend in the sun and the wind, as she feels alive and in love, not knowing what was in the house.
***MAJOR SPOILERS***
To begin with, there's a gypsy clan camping out nearby and we are shown one in particular who was hanging around the house, but it turns out he's not the killer after all. And, also, once Mia manages to get away from the killer and is running from the house, the movie tends to lose the viewer's interest. And, the final five minutes are ridiculous, as her best friend sees the id bracelet with the name on it, but fails to realize one of his friends has that name. And, not only that, but he then sends everyone else off to look for the killer, "but not you, you stay and make sure she's alright" to the actual killer, who goes into the bathroom, where Mia is taking a bath and he proceeds to drown her, and at the last possible second the boyfriend comes in and saves her. There's no natural progression that allows the viewer to believe such incredible goings on. The ending just totally blew it for me. It might would have been more believable and realistic if she had died, but then why did he go in to kill her anyway? Didn't he know he'd get caught? But they limited themselves also by not showing the killer's face until the ending, like it was some fancy technique; when in fact, it made it all seem awkward. Also, one petty detail, I couldn't stand all the men's haircut. Was this shaggy look a 70s thing or what?
This may be a curiosity piece for some, but I bet once you've seen this, you'll feel let down too.