A solid shocker, ruined by a botched story and a ridicolous finale, but already demonstrating the greatness of his director, Wes Craven. A couple of scenes in the movie (like the dream spider sequence with a young and pretty Sharon Stone, and the almost heartstopping snake in the bath scene) are really good and even the movie is good for more than half is length. Alas, the botched explanation of the resolution of the story (really stupid and very similar to another movie of those years - Sleepaway Camp) and the really ridicolous demon apparition at the end of the movie soften the total impact of this otherwise more than watchable thriller with mildly supernatural tones.
88 Reviews
Cool little Craven tale.
suspiria105 May 2004
A nifty little thriller that involves three best friends consoling each other after the murder of one of their husbands. Out in the middle of rural USA the ladies are threatened by the local religious sect (the Hitites) for which the husband was once a part of. It seems one of the Hitites incubi is on the loose killing the yokels and not even the sheriff can stop it. A good cast of recognizable faces (Sharon Stone, Ernest Borgnine, Michael Berryman, etc) and an above average (but not very original) script into a sometimes thrilling film. Did anyone notice that the bathtub scene looks very familiar (think NOES). Suspiria10 says B-
You got my blessing.
lost-in-limbo14 October 2007
After the mysterious death of her husband, soon after leaving a strict religious sect known as the Hittites. Martha is left as a lonely widow expecting a child, and inherits the country house. Soon two of her friends Vicky and Lana come to comfort her and hopefully bring her back with them, but she prefers to stay. The local Hittites headed by Isaiah see her as the blame for the death and including one of their own, and claim her to be the incubus. Soon strange things begin to happen, and she gets the feeling it might be the sect behind it, but far more sinister work seems to be abound.
Craven's lost treasure in his film collection just might be his curiously under-seen 1981 cult film "Deadly Blessing". Finally with its DVD release in Australia, I got the chance and really enjoyed this stylishly skin crawling and at times inspired psychological shocker. Everything about Wes Craven's well-mounted set pieces is genuinely haunting and visually striking with its spontaneously unexpected and innovative jolts. Tight, pressure-boiling suspense is atmospherically tailored to the dreamy, offbeat air and Craven's judgement is immensely on song. He paints the surreal mood with great use of tinted colouring, well-lit lighting and an eerily original and alienating rural location choice. Going a long way to making the whole set-up quite effective was James Horner's alarming music score, which ripples with ripe and tight thunderous cues. Glenn M. Benest and Mathew Barr's busily symbolic story builds upon the groundwork to only end up all over the shop with its supernatural and psychological elements that seem too uneven and illogical. Boy does it become out-of-control, and strange leading to the climax. It does throw one surprise after another! However the ambiguously outrageous and tacky shock ending, now that was a real eye opener that totally felt out-of-place within the subtle context. Listen to the amusing DVD commentary to understand the reasoning for its inclusion. Robert Jessup's elegantly scenic cinematography is well observed and swiftly handled. The three beautiful lead females were convincingly accessible; a headstrong Maren Jensen, joyful Susan Buckner and a drop dead gorgeous, but fragile-minded Sharon Stone. Ernest Borgnine's steadfast, godly turn as the sect leader is superbly prominent. Michael Berryman is unforgettable. Lisa Hartman and Lois Nettleton are enjoyably lively, and Jeff East and Kevin Cooney also appear. Also Craven manages to squeeze a neat little reference to his very good TV movie "Summer of Fear".
Craven's lost treasure in his film collection just might be his curiously under-seen 1981 cult film "Deadly Blessing". Finally with its DVD release in Australia, I got the chance and really enjoyed this stylishly skin crawling and at times inspired psychological shocker. Everything about Wes Craven's well-mounted set pieces is genuinely haunting and visually striking with its spontaneously unexpected and innovative jolts. Tight, pressure-boiling suspense is atmospherically tailored to the dreamy, offbeat air and Craven's judgement is immensely on song. He paints the surreal mood with great use of tinted colouring, well-lit lighting and an eerily original and alienating rural location choice. Going a long way to making the whole set-up quite effective was James Horner's alarming music score, which ripples with ripe and tight thunderous cues. Glenn M. Benest and Mathew Barr's busily symbolic story builds upon the groundwork to only end up all over the shop with its supernatural and psychological elements that seem too uneven and illogical. Boy does it become out-of-control, and strange leading to the climax. It does throw one surprise after another! However the ambiguously outrageous and tacky shock ending, now that was a real eye opener that totally felt out-of-place within the subtle context. Listen to the amusing DVD commentary to understand the reasoning for its inclusion. Robert Jessup's elegantly scenic cinematography is well observed and swiftly handled. The three beautiful lead females were convincingly accessible; a headstrong Maren Jensen, joyful Susan Buckner and a drop dead gorgeous, but fragile-minded Sharon Stone. Ernest Borgnine's steadfast, godly turn as the sect leader is superbly prominent. Michael Berryman is unforgettable. Lisa Hartman and Lois Nettleton are enjoyably lively, and Jeff East and Kevin Cooney also appear. Also Craven manages to squeeze a neat little reference to his very good TV movie "Summer of Fear".
One of Craven's best
Cujo10818 August 2010
This film is underrated as hell. I personally consider it Craven's best film aside from The Hills Have Eyes. Of course, I've always been interested in the Amish culture, so this film taking it a step further with the Hittites was something I was intrigued by before I'd even first watched it. The film is thematically interesting in it's juxtaposition of a strict, patriarchal culture with individuals who hold more modern values. Fertile ground for Craven given his stern religious upbringing. while the movie adheres more closely to the slasher formula, the setting and the implications of the supernatural both help to distinguish it.
The entire film is shrouded in an eerie atmosphere from the get-go. The country setting is beautiful, yet strangely menacing in the confines of the film. We also are treated to a few unnerving sequences, the snake in the bathtub and the spider dream sequence in particular. There's also a lengthy set-piece which takes place in the barn, exceptionally well-done.
Maren Jenson is a gorgeous woman (much more so than Stone), and she brings a grounded quality to her leading role. It's a pity she didn't do anymore films, TV or anything after this. This film marked Sharon Stone's first speaking role, and while she isn't great or even good, I did like her delivery when describing her dream early on. Ernest Borgnine and Michael Berryman are both favorites of mine, and they deliver two more solid characters to their resumés. The underrated Lois Nettleton is here too as Jensen's oddball neighbor.
I also have to admit that I loved the ending, which is often bashed. I thought if fit with everything that had come before, like the dog on the prowl, the spiders, Stone's dream sequences, etc. It felt like a malevolent force was influencing the surrounding area.
This film is a long-standing favorite of mine, and I for one think it deserves more respect. Of course, for that to happen, I suppose more people would need to see it first. Probably Craven's least seen film, which is most unfortunate.
The entire film is shrouded in an eerie atmosphere from the get-go. The country setting is beautiful, yet strangely menacing in the confines of the film. We also are treated to a few unnerving sequences, the snake in the bathtub and the spider dream sequence in particular. There's also a lengthy set-piece which takes place in the barn, exceptionally well-done.
Maren Jenson is a gorgeous woman (much more so than Stone), and she brings a grounded quality to her leading role. It's a pity she didn't do anymore films, TV or anything after this. This film marked Sharon Stone's first speaking role, and while she isn't great or even good, I did like her delivery when describing her dream early on. Ernest Borgnine and Michael Berryman are both favorites of mine, and they deliver two more solid characters to their resumés. The underrated Lois Nettleton is here too as Jensen's oddball neighbor.
I also have to admit that I loved the ending, which is often bashed. I thought if fit with everything that had come before, like the dog on the prowl, the spiders, Stone's dream sequences, etc. It felt like a malevolent force was influencing the surrounding area.
This film is a long-standing favorite of mine, and I for one think it deserves more respect. Of course, for that to happen, I suppose more people would need to see it first. Probably Craven's least seen film, which is most unfortunate.
A fascinatingly confused failed experiment
Maciste_Brother5 August 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Deadly Spoilers
DEADLY BLESSING is amazing mix of incongruous horror and non-horror elements which amounts next to nothing. Here's a quick run-down of what kooky things you'll find in this interesting failure.
Anyway, there's much more wacky stuff I could write about but the list would be too long! DEADLY BLESSING doesn't know what it wants to be. A giallo movie, with someone killing people? A supernatural thriller? A "Modern folks vs Old-Fashion folks" drama? There's a moment in the film when all those elements come together and it's an unbelievable train-wreck. The 5 minute long part of the film starts when Maren and Sharon try to leave the house, only to have someone on the other side of the door trying to get in. From this point on, the film is totally insane. Maren hits Sharon (a must see for those who can't stand Sharon). Then not one, not two but THREE women try to kill Jensen in a matter of minutes. First, it's a butch Lisa Hartman, then it's Lisa's insane mother and after one of the funniest stretch of action ever committed to film, it's now Jeff East's wife who wants to kill Jensen. I've never seen anything like it. Wes Craven must have something against women because that scene makes every women look positively insane (including Jensen, who smacks Sharon for no reason at all). In the end, the whole moment of everyone trying to kill Jensen is so over-the-top crazy/camp that John Waters couldn't have come up with something this brilliantly whacked!
I actually saw DEADLY BLESSING twice on the big screen and saw it again recently and I have to say that the whole movie doesn't make much sense. To describe this flick as confused is an understatement. But as messed up as it is, DEADLY BLESSING is still fascinating to watch mainly because, first, I believe Wes Craven had to make this movie in order to come up with his next project, the uber successful A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Second, there are some excellent moments of creepiness here and there, and third, because one can only wonder what the folks behind the cameras were thinking when they agreed to make this movie. It's probably this reason alone why I saw it twice. I was positively fascinated by the train-wreck on the big screen.
DEADLY BLESSING is amazing mix of incongruous horror and non-horror elements which amounts next to nothing. Here's a quick run-down of what kooky things you'll find in this interesting failure.
- The film starts and ends with some narration that adds absolutely nothing to the film.
- DEADLY BLESSING starts with one of the biggest clichés in horror: get rid of the men, then add some beautiful women to the story who will be tormented for the next 2 hours for our viewing pleasure. In this case, the husband is unceremoniously killed at the beginning of the movie, leaving Maren Jensen to cope with her sudden loss with her two beautiful female friends, played by a very young Sharon Stone and Susan Buckner (whatever happened to her anyway?).
- You'll hear Omen-like music. Why? Dunno.
- The superfast "love" story between Susan Buckner and Jeff East. Come on!
- When Jeff East is stabbed several times when he's in the car, there's no blood on the knife.
- When Susan Buckner's car is dosed with gasoline, she tries to drive away only to die when the car blows up. Why didn't she just step out of the car?
- The retributive killings or the general tone of the film. Women are evil.
- INCUBUS, INCUBUS, INCUBUS!
- The gun pratice scene, with the paint can exploding in slow motion. And what was the point of that scene?
- Blood in milk carton (?!?!)
- Lots of scenes of someone watching Jensen undressing in her bedroom from the outside. I guess she never heard of curtains.
- Jeff East's wife walking around like a zombie because she has psychic powers.
- Lisa Hartman's secret. Arf!
- The Hitites (a representation of the director's views?).
- A snake in a bathtub, where we see Jensen wearing the bottom part of a bikini swimsuit.
- The scarecrow prank.
- The whole barn scene with Sharon Stone, which doesn't make any sense. There's a killer in the barn but Sharon is more terrified of the very HUGE spiders in the barn. Then she comes face to face with a dead Michael Berryman popping out of nowhere and hanging from a rope.
- Sharon Stone's nightmare sequence. This is the best scene in the movie. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the rest of the film.
- The psycho neighbor who hates men.
- Chickens popping out of a burial ground.
- Inane dialogue, like when Jensen says defiantly "You want me to run because you can't find the killer!" Well, yeah.
- Giallo-like killer, with gloved hands and a knife. How fashionable for hicks!
- Lisa Hartman's paintings!
- Sharon Stone stoned.
- Sharon Stone's acting.
- Sharon Stone's wardrobe.
- The ending, which is totally inexplicable.
Anyway, there's much more wacky stuff I could write about but the list would be too long! DEADLY BLESSING doesn't know what it wants to be. A giallo movie, with someone killing people? A supernatural thriller? A "Modern folks vs Old-Fashion folks" drama? There's a moment in the film when all those elements come together and it's an unbelievable train-wreck. The 5 minute long part of the film starts when Maren and Sharon try to leave the house, only to have someone on the other side of the door trying to get in. From this point on, the film is totally insane. Maren hits Sharon (a must see for those who can't stand Sharon). Then not one, not two but THREE women try to kill Jensen in a matter of minutes. First, it's a butch Lisa Hartman, then it's Lisa's insane mother and after one of the funniest stretch of action ever committed to film, it's now Jeff East's wife who wants to kill Jensen. I've never seen anything like it. Wes Craven must have something against women because that scene makes every women look positively insane (including Jensen, who smacks Sharon for no reason at all). In the end, the whole moment of everyone trying to kill Jensen is so over-the-top crazy/camp that John Waters couldn't have come up with something this brilliantly whacked!
I actually saw DEADLY BLESSING twice on the big screen and saw it again recently and I have to say that the whole movie doesn't make much sense. To describe this flick as confused is an understatement. But as messed up as it is, DEADLY BLESSING is still fascinating to watch mainly because, first, I believe Wes Craven had to make this movie in order to come up with his next project, the uber successful A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Second, there are some excellent moments of creepiness here and there, and third, because one can only wonder what the folks behind the cameras were thinking when they agreed to make this movie. It's probably this reason alone why I saw it twice. I was positively fascinated by the train-wreck on the big screen.
Everyone's An Incubus When You're A Hittite...
meddlecore6 October 2020
A group of Hittites have been terrorizing their non-Hittite neighbours in an attempt to run them off their land, so that they can seize it for themselves.
The Hittites are an extreme religious sect that, "make the Amish look like swingers".
They shun anyone who does not follow their hardline path, calling them serpents, while claiming that all non-Hittite women are incubus.
When one of their own leaves the group to pursue an education in the city, and returns with a beautiful wife to claim his inheritance, and farm the land with modern methods...it is no coincidence that he winds up murdered.
However, the death doesn't stop there.
One of the Hittite boys with developmental disabilities also winds up dead, when he is caught peeping on the women next door.
It seems that something more supernatural may be afoot when doors start being slammed by unseen forces, and the women are tormented by snakes and spiders.
The question now, is, whether a murderer might be running rampant, or if some sort of Hittite golem been unleashed?
Perhaps the answer isn't so simple.
Things are left ambiguous enough to keep you guessing...as people continue to die.
And the culprits may just be the ones you least expect.
The truth is revealed in an obvious case of foreshadowing, but they leave enough room for reasonable doubt to keep you questioning things.
While an unexpected twist is spun in at the end to throw you for a loop.
All in all, it's an entertaining little horror mystery with a lot of twists and turns.
And the women are all total babes.
6.5 out of 10.
The Hittites are an extreme religious sect that, "make the Amish look like swingers".
They shun anyone who does not follow their hardline path, calling them serpents, while claiming that all non-Hittite women are incubus.
When one of their own leaves the group to pursue an education in the city, and returns with a beautiful wife to claim his inheritance, and farm the land with modern methods...it is no coincidence that he winds up murdered.
However, the death doesn't stop there.
One of the Hittite boys with developmental disabilities also winds up dead, when he is caught peeping on the women next door.
It seems that something more supernatural may be afoot when doors start being slammed by unseen forces, and the women are tormented by snakes and spiders.
The question now, is, whether a murderer might be running rampant, or if some sort of Hittite golem been unleashed?
Perhaps the answer isn't so simple.
Things are left ambiguous enough to keep you guessing...as people continue to die.
And the culprits may just be the ones you least expect.
The truth is revealed in an obvious case of foreshadowing, but they leave enough room for reasonable doubt to keep you questioning things.
While an unexpected twist is spun in at the end to throw you for a loop.
All in all, it's an entertaining little horror mystery with a lot of twists and turns.
And the women are all total babes.
6.5 out of 10.
Deadly Dull
quitwastingmytime17 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
How goofy is it that the villains in this are obvious stand ins for the super pacifist Amish? The same ones that refuse to kill even in self defense.
I made it halfway through this film before giving up in frustration. Nothing happens except a tractor accident. Then I read the reviews describing a snake in a tub and a spider falling down a throat. Fast forwarded to the scenes. Yawn...big deal.
Of minor interest only for having a very young Sharon Stone.
I made it halfway through this film before giving up in frustration. Nothing happens except a tractor accident. Then I read the reviews describing a snake in a tub and a spider falling down a throat. Fast forwarded to the scenes. Yawn...big deal.
Of minor interest only for having a very young Sharon Stone.
Ahhhh, those wild and crazy Amish!
James-mirarchi29 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
"We are the kindred of god! We have no business with the serpents!" "You are a stench in the nostrils of god!"
The above is just some of the exquisite dialogue that awaits you in 1981's "Deadly Blessing", an odd offering from Wes Craven, whose first (technically) mainstream production features some wholesome TV stars of the past, trapped in an unmitigated miasma of weirdness. Some of the actors are:
Sweet, exotic/Hawaiian-looking girl next door, Maren Jensen from the 70's "Battlestar Galactica"; strapping boy next door Doug Barr, the sidekick from the "The Fall Guy" TV show; Lisa Hartman from her pre-"Knots Landing" days; Jeff East, the young Clark Kent from 1979's "Superman - The Movie"... And the list goes on....
The basic story is (or so it seems): an Amish-like religious sect, called the Hitites, tries to harass and kill the widow of their recently departed kin (not to mention, her city slicker-girlfriends who are visiting) so they can reclaim the "consecrated" land "wrongly" bequeathed to her. Like all outsiders to this sect, she has been branded the "Incubus" (a demon that takes you in your sleep) ... and she must be destroyed!!!
Many viewers find this movie to be wildly incongruent and confusing ... and, you know what, they're all right. Especially guilty is the ending, where the film's three contributing screenwriters must have had some sort of creative mental breakdown. Still, I must also defend the film by saying it has a certain uncanny SOMETHING! This is a horror flick that has a cozy leisurely quality, due, in no small part, to its pastoral setting and TV movie vibe. However, shamelessly applied to this tranquil canvas are a slasher film's prowling camera, leather gloved hands, peeping tom shots of naked women, the foreboding "Supernatural", primitive and ritualistic (almost pagan) motifs - spiders, snakes, and chickens ... etc.
As for the quality of the film-making, it is quite good. Wes Craven creates a realistic intimacy between the young widow and her girlfriends, and is an elegant craftsman in creating suspense - he only flounders toward the film's climax, where he resorts to bombastic chaos, instead of genuine tension; the photography is, simply put, very atmospheric; and, finally, the score by James Horner (which features rich-sounding ceremonial GONGS) beautifully alternates between the idyllic and the sinister - his only misstep is to pepper the soundtrack with ridiculous chanting, taken straight from the "The Omen". Not good.
Since many of the actors were borrowed from television, their performances come off as workmanlike. Not bad, though! Ernest Borgnine, however, shines as he earnestly hams it up as the fanatical leader of the Hitites. A young, slightly Rubenesque Sharon Stone also stands out - not particularly for her acting (it turns out she gives a pretty spacey performance) but for her otherworldly fashion model presence.
As for the film's many twists, they are not satisfyingly calculated ... they are of the slapdash kind ... Almost as if the film's screen writing trio were sporadically taking drugs to heighten their creativity ... "making it up as they went along". Visually, however, the film always works. It's the type of movie that FEELS right, but whose plot motivations are sketchy.
Some of the film's head-scratching moments are:
1. A virginal supporting character is SUDDENLY revealed to be a clairvoyant killer.
2. The protagonist, played by Maren Jensen, discovers that her dead husband's body has been exhumed from its grave and strategically replaced with a horde of frisky chickens that leap out of the coffin and terrify our heroine.
3. A cute, but dowdy, neighbor played by Lisa Hartman, clandestinely paints the Maren Jensen character from across a field while she's doing chores outside her house. She is obsessed with her. Toward the end of the film, the Jensen character discovers the paintings. It is eventually revealed that Lisa Hartman is a hermaphrodite with a crush on Jensen. Also, we discover that Hartman's mother is psychotically overprotective about her half-and-half offspring and will do anything to shield her from heartbreak. The film even intimates that she (not the Hitites) may be the one stalking Jenson and her female houseguests. The final exhausting kicker is when the filmmakers reveal that the Hartman character is the messenger of the "Incubus" ... not the Jensen character, who was initially branded by the Hitites. Got all that?
4. Earlier in the film, the Jensen character eventually locates the missing body of her dead husband (good guy Doug Barr) in the barn/studio of Lisa Hartman. He is reverently propped up in his burial clothes like some embalmed maharajah. This does not make any sense since the Hartman character is obsessed with Jensen, not her husband.
Still, despite all of the film's loopy loose ends, I rather watch something cheesily intriguing like "Deadly Blessing" over tedious Oscar prestige films like "The English Patient" or "The Hours". Any day!
The above is just some of the exquisite dialogue that awaits you in 1981's "Deadly Blessing", an odd offering from Wes Craven, whose first (technically) mainstream production features some wholesome TV stars of the past, trapped in an unmitigated miasma of weirdness. Some of the actors are:
Sweet, exotic/Hawaiian-looking girl next door, Maren Jensen from the 70's "Battlestar Galactica"; strapping boy next door Doug Barr, the sidekick from the "The Fall Guy" TV show; Lisa Hartman from her pre-"Knots Landing" days; Jeff East, the young Clark Kent from 1979's "Superman - The Movie"... And the list goes on....
The basic story is (or so it seems): an Amish-like religious sect, called the Hitites, tries to harass and kill the widow of their recently departed kin (not to mention, her city slicker-girlfriends who are visiting) so they can reclaim the "consecrated" land "wrongly" bequeathed to her. Like all outsiders to this sect, she has been branded the "Incubus" (a demon that takes you in your sleep) ... and she must be destroyed!!!
Many viewers find this movie to be wildly incongruent and confusing ... and, you know what, they're all right. Especially guilty is the ending, where the film's three contributing screenwriters must have had some sort of creative mental breakdown. Still, I must also defend the film by saying it has a certain uncanny SOMETHING! This is a horror flick that has a cozy leisurely quality, due, in no small part, to its pastoral setting and TV movie vibe. However, shamelessly applied to this tranquil canvas are a slasher film's prowling camera, leather gloved hands, peeping tom shots of naked women, the foreboding "Supernatural", primitive and ritualistic (almost pagan) motifs - spiders, snakes, and chickens ... etc.
As for the quality of the film-making, it is quite good. Wes Craven creates a realistic intimacy between the young widow and her girlfriends, and is an elegant craftsman in creating suspense - he only flounders toward the film's climax, where he resorts to bombastic chaos, instead of genuine tension; the photography is, simply put, very atmospheric; and, finally, the score by James Horner (which features rich-sounding ceremonial GONGS) beautifully alternates between the idyllic and the sinister - his only misstep is to pepper the soundtrack with ridiculous chanting, taken straight from the "The Omen". Not good.
Since many of the actors were borrowed from television, their performances come off as workmanlike. Not bad, though! Ernest Borgnine, however, shines as he earnestly hams it up as the fanatical leader of the Hitites. A young, slightly Rubenesque Sharon Stone also stands out - not particularly for her acting (it turns out she gives a pretty spacey performance) but for her otherworldly fashion model presence.
As for the film's many twists, they are not satisfyingly calculated ... they are of the slapdash kind ... Almost as if the film's screen writing trio were sporadically taking drugs to heighten their creativity ... "making it up as they went along". Visually, however, the film always works. It's the type of movie that FEELS right, but whose plot motivations are sketchy.
Some of the film's head-scratching moments are:
1. A virginal supporting character is SUDDENLY revealed to be a clairvoyant killer.
2. The protagonist, played by Maren Jensen, discovers that her dead husband's body has been exhumed from its grave and strategically replaced with a horde of frisky chickens that leap out of the coffin and terrify our heroine.
3. A cute, but dowdy, neighbor played by Lisa Hartman, clandestinely paints the Maren Jensen character from across a field while she's doing chores outside her house. She is obsessed with her. Toward the end of the film, the Jensen character discovers the paintings. It is eventually revealed that Lisa Hartman is a hermaphrodite with a crush on Jensen. Also, we discover that Hartman's mother is psychotically overprotective about her half-and-half offspring and will do anything to shield her from heartbreak. The film even intimates that she (not the Hitites) may be the one stalking Jenson and her female houseguests. The final exhausting kicker is when the filmmakers reveal that the Hartman character is the messenger of the "Incubus" ... not the Jensen character, who was initially branded by the Hitites. Got all that?
4. Earlier in the film, the Jensen character eventually locates the missing body of her dead husband (good guy Doug Barr) in the barn/studio of Lisa Hartman. He is reverently propped up in his burial clothes like some embalmed maharajah. This does not make any sense since the Hartman character is obsessed with Jensen, not her husband.
Still, despite all of the film's loopy loose ends, I rather watch something cheesily intriguing like "Deadly Blessing" over tedious Oscar prestige films like "The English Patient" or "The Hours". Any day!
Rather worthless
Superunknovvn3 June 2006
The most interesting thing about Deadly Blessing" is that it's an early movie of both, Wes Craven and Sharon Stone. You can already see a lot of Craven's director trademarks here: a brunette heroine, a shot in a bathtub almost identical to the one he used in "A Nightmare On Elm Street", a seemingly bright, happy ending before it all gets shocking again. But even though the story and the setting are quite original, the direction and the set up are not. The first hour or so couldn't be more boring until the third act finally delivers some thrills. The bath tub scene and the barn scene are the only real highlights. I watched this movie because I remembered seeing it as a kid and being freaked out by the surprising ending. Well, the ending is still pretty freaky, but today I can even make less sense of it. All in all, "Deadly Blessing" is not completely worthless but it's one of the many forgettable flicks Wes Craven has made in his career. For every classic this man gave us he produced three turkeys it seems. Go watch "A Nightmare On Elm Street" or "The Hills Have Eyes" instead.
Deserves more acknowledgement ...good underrated film.
jtaveras6429 January 2017
Wes Craven was attached to this project which should be enough for me to watch ...
That being said its got excellent cinematography for its time, perfect music score, good acting and sexy beautiful girls ...and what do you know, an original horror plot.
I found this film to have a great ambiance and artsy vibe, the location elevated the film and the death scenes were similar to those of Dario Argento .. (suspiria).
The ending was a bit blotchy, but overall the film was very good with great scares, you can tell while watching it that its something created by the master behind SCREAM!
It truly deserves a higher rating and more acknowledgement ... and even a remake ... (under tim burton or wan?)
Ps. Be wary of the Amish lol
FINAL GRADE B
That being said its got excellent cinematography for its time, perfect music score, good acting and sexy beautiful girls ...and what do you know, an original horror plot.
I found this film to have a great ambiance and artsy vibe, the location elevated the film and the death scenes were similar to those of Dario Argento .. (suspiria).
The ending was a bit blotchy, but overall the film was very good with great scares, you can tell while watching it that its something created by the master behind SCREAM!
It truly deserves a higher rating and more acknowledgement ... and even a remake ... (under tim burton or wan?)
Ps. Be wary of the Amish lol
FINAL GRADE B
A pre-Nightmare on Elm Street work by Craven
Brad_Dharma26 November 2000
I recently viewed this film while being on a Wes Craven kick, trying to watch all of his films. I was very confused by this film because I thought that the Hiites had more to do with the plot than they actually did. The movie actually could have done without them because....well, watch the ending and you will see for sure. I will give Kudos to Craven for the creepy snake in the bathtub scene and the casting of Michael Berryman (Pluto from The Hills Have Eyes). Watch if you absolutely love Wes Craven. Also recommend Last House on the Left.
Ideology
kosmasp9 June 2020
Certain things could have been better explored in the movie I reckon, but overall this is quite the decent effort when it comes to lifestyle (culture) clashing. Also the fact you have so many women in major character roles is really a nice touch. And while some do explore their sexuality (with a minimal amount of nudity involved) and they have "weak" moments, overall this shows just interesting types of human behaviour.
Sharon Stone is promoted very big on this and apparently it was just her second movie (nice background infos about that on the disc and how she was to work with), she is not the actual lead here. She plays a big role nonetheless, but don't just watch it because of her. There is more to discover here. It was one of the earlier Wes Craven movies and it has one interesting bath scene that was later "re-used" by him in Nightmare on Elm Street. The movie itself is flawed yet overall good
Sharon Stone is promoted very big on this and apparently it was just her second movie (nice background infos about that on the disc and how she was to work with), she is not the actual lead here. She plays a big role nonetheless, but don't just watch it because of her. There is more to discover here. It was one of the earlier Wes Craven movies and it has one interesting bath scene that was later "re-used" by him in Nightmare on Elm Street. The movie itself is flawed yet overall good
Early Craven doesn't deliver
Zoooma30 September 2014
Early work by horror specialist Wes Craven; his fourth film and first into the 1980's. Also one of Sharon Stone's earliest screen appearances. Unfortunately it stinks. IMDb reviews seem to be biased Craven lovers because this most certainly is not a gem. It's boring. The religious sect next door is supposed to have a deep secret. They don't. They're just ridiculous. Almost no chills in this except for a scene or two and they're very brief. A twist at the end doesn't do much to excite. Very bored with this.
4.6 / 10 stars
--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener
4.6 / 10 stars
--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener
Well made and interesting, but slightly disappointing
jangu10 May 2001
I have a soft spot for this movie since I saw it years ago. The plot goes haywire in all kinds of directions and nothing much actually happens (it is a little too slow-moving for it's own good). But it is imaginatively directed I think, with nice touches (the bath, the dream with the spider, the barnsequence) and an overall creepy atmosphere. Of course, the acting has it's weak spots with some overacting and some none-acting, but the women are all gorgeus and Maren Jensens husband isn't a badlooking fella' himself but he doesn't get much screentime. The ending, as so many have pointed out, is just a little bit silly/weak and I suspect that there was an alternative one (it seems so much like a tacked-on scene). But I don't understand that so many people really dislike this film. It's not the best from Mr Craven (he has done far worse. "Deadly Friend", "Swamp thing" and "The Hills have eyes 2" are truly embarassing). If it shows up as a late-night movie, give it a try!
Awful By Any Standards
mcjensen-059242 February 2021
The best Craven flick is only so-so. Let's be honest about that. Whether it's Nightmare or Serpent it consists of forgettable characters in crazy situations and some powerful shocking moments. And quite enjoyable! Not this one. This one falls flat by any measuring stick. Lousy even the low bar set for '80's "horror". We get every gimmick and cliche the genre has to offer. Ernest B. was particularly annoying as the over the top religious zealot. Definitely some gorgeous young woman to distract from all the absurd nothing going on with the plot. Last House had awful acting too but there were other elements in that film to keep things interesting and moving forward. Too many contradictions and outright silly moments for me to enjoy. I never expect much from Wes but this doesn't even reach the Good Try category. The best acting here was done by the tractor and the spiders.
Strange on the plains .........
merklekranz2 March 2020
In a once peaceful farming community, a series of unexplainable events creates tension and confusion in a film that begs for a better understood script. Several disturbing scenes are really never tied together with a cohesive plot, and thus the bewildered viewer is left holding an empty bag of hope, and unfortunately things only get worse as the movie progresses. This is not story telling, but merely several undeveloped ideas. The presence of the always interesting Michael Berryman, and a sadistic performance from Ernest Borgnine as the cult elder, cannot overcome some intriguing visuals and ridiculous plot twists. I would classify this as more a missed opportunity than anything else, and it's a real shame because of the wasted potential. - MERK
Mostly just bland, but also definitely bad
I_Ailurophile4 September 2022
Not to be extra dour, but I feel like 'Deadly blessing' tells us everything about itself that it needs to, within a fraction of the length, for us to form a strong impression. And it's not a great one: it bears a fair premise and some good ideas, and is, broadly, competently made. At best, though, this movie just doesn't make much of a mark. At worst, it's a sloppy mess.
What here have we not seen before? I suppose in fairness one could observe that this marks early film roles of a few actors, if not their film debuts. Beyond this: suitable as some ideas are for a narrative, or the basis of one, they don't feel very interesting - at least not as they appear here - let alone remarkable, or unique. Suggested supernatural goings-on, a creepy and definitively patriarchal cult, echoes of the profoundly oppressive sociopolitical views of real-life religious conservatives; a horror-thriller score that's unusually common for James Horner, or even cheesy or imitative; scene writing, camerawork, and characters that are outright genre convention. All these things and more could practically be cut and pasted to or from many other titles without any loss of fidelity or cohesion, including tried and true themes of traditional versus modern values. That doesn't mean that 'Deadly blessing' is bad, but it does mean that it won't stand out in a crowd.
The acting is a mixed bag, but the filming locations are swell; those stunts and effects we see look good. Some of what we do get is at least executed well, but the orchestration of one scene to the next is uneven, oscillating between opposite ends of a spectrum of quality. On the other hand, the movie suffers from a languishing pace, and it's certainly longer than it needs to be. However, if the rest of the movie prior was questionable, in the last stretch it takes a nosedive. The reveal of The Bad Guy is entirely unconvincing, not really seeming to meaningfully fit into the plot we'd gotten so far. More than that, it's also vaguely transphobic - as if one of the writers wanted to be more discretely anti-queer, but didn't know how, or didn't dare be so bare-faced about it, or perhaps was outvoted by his co-writers. The climax feels rushed, and haphazard, and falls flat as it, too, fails to sustain suspension of disbelief. Then, as though said previous reveal didn't throw a wrench in the works, the very ending does so again in another way. The last scene could have been and has been useful in other movies; here, it's all but nonsensical.
It really seems like the sort of horror flick you can "watch" without truly engaging with it, and the view is less of an experience and more like checking an item off on a mundane to-do list. But then, I'm not sure why you'd want to watch it in the first place. Perhaps my expectations were set too high based simply on Wes Craven's name; is he not supposed to be a master of horror? Then again, I thought 'The hills have eyes' was rubbish, so maybe I should've known better.
Look, I hope other folks get more out of this than I do. For my part, I think 'Deadly blessing' is such a godawful trainwreck that I can't in good conscience recommend it. There are far better movies you could watch; try anything else instead.
What here have we not seen before? I suppose in fairness one could observe that this marks early film roles of a few actors, if not their film debuts. Beyond this: suitable as some ideas are for a narrative, or the basis of one, they don't feel very interesting - at least not as they appear here - let alone remarkable, or unique. Suggested supernatural goings-on, a creepy and definitively patriarchal cult, echoes of the profoundly oppressive sociopolitical views of real-life religious conservatives; a horror-thriller score that's unusually common for James Horner, or even cheesy or imitative; scene writing, camerawork, and characters that are outright genre convention. All these things and more could practically be cut and pasted to or from many other titles without any loss of fidelity or cohesion, including tried and true themes of traditional versus modern values. That doesn't mean that 'Deadly blessing' is bad, but it does mean that it won't stand out in a crowd.
The acting is a mixed bag, but the filming locations are swell; those stunts and effects we see look good. Some of what we do get is at least executed well, but the orchestration of one scene to the next is uneven, oscillating between opposite ends of a spectrum of quality. On the other hand, the movie suffers from a languishing pace, and it's certainly longer than it needs to be. However, if the rest of the movie prior was questionable, in the last stretch it takes a nosedive. The reveal of The Bad Guy is entirely unconvincing, not really seeming to meaningfully fit into the plot we'd gotten so far. More than that, it's also vaguely transphobic - as if one of the writers wanted to be more discretely anti-queer, but didn't know how, or didn't dare be so bare-faced about it, or perhaps was outvoted by his co-writers. The climax feels rushed, and haphazard, and falls flat as it, too, fails to sustain suspension of disbelief. Then, as though said previous reveal didn't throw a wrench in the works, the very ending does so again in another way. The last scene could have been and has been useful in other movies; here, it's all but nonsensical.
It really seems like the sort of horror flick you can "watch" without truly engaging with it, and the view is less of an experience and more like checking an item off on a mundane to-do list. But then, I'm not sure why you'd want to watch it in the first place. Perhaps my expectations were set too high based simply on Wes Craven's name; is he not supposed to be a master of horror? Then again, I thought 'The hills have eyes' was rubbish, so maybe I should've known better.
Look, I hope other folks get more out of this than I do. For my part, I think 'Deadly blessing' is such a godawful trainwreck that I can't in good conscience recommend it. There are far better movies you could watch; try anything else instead.
A recently widowed young woman takes on a strict religious community where occurs dreadful murders
ma-cortes21 December 2010
This slasher film efficiently directed by Ohio-born Wes Craven ,is a spine-tingler shocker that contains grisly horror, suspense,terrifying screams,tension and great loads of blood, guts and gore . A previous Hittite ,a member of an Amish-like sect, dies and his widow is left to confront the rigid Hittites who view her as "the incubus" and may have dark projects on her. The widowed woman (Maren Jensen)is visited in her rural Pennsylvania house by two friends (Sharon Stone , Susan Bluckner). She becomes especially suspicious after meeting her very religious in-laws family (Ernest Borgnie and his son Jeff East). Nearly her house live a stranger mother (Lois Nettleton) and her painter daughter (Lisa Hartman).The astonishing things go wrong and the killer goes on terrorizing the hapless travelers. Since the sinister presentation a mysterious murderous executes a series of body-count in that some people turn out to be scabrously and cruelly assassinated , as the first of them in a tractor accident .
This gruesome chiller contains grisly killings, disturbing horror, scabrous violence, shocking,some nudism and lots of blood and gore. The horrible assassinations are extremely gory and nauseatingly violent with abundant shots showing stabbing, hanging, and gruesome deeds.The film displays thrills, chills, shocks, cardboard horror,tension and lots of blood and gore for nauseating execution. The grisly murders are extremely scary and eerie with abundant stabbing shots. From the beginning to the amazing ending the horror and eerie deeds are continued and varied. James Horner musical score is electrifying and frightening .
The motion picture is professionally written and directed by the shock-master Wess Craven . Brought up by strict Baptist parents , Craven didn't even see a movie until he was in school , then he revenged directing ¨Deadly blessing ¨ dealing with an implacable denounce against the rigid religious rules . Becoming an University professor Craven shocked his parents by switching careers at 30 and turning into filmmaking . He realized his first film ¨Last house on the left¨ in 1972 that had graphic torture scenes on adolescents and ran into censorship problems . He went on with ¨The hills have eyes¨ and its sequel , about hillbillies (one of them results to be Michael Berryman who acted in Deadly blessing) horrifying hikers , subsequently directed for TV ¨Summer of fear¨ and ¨Deadly blessing¨ and ¨Swamp thing¨ , ¨until his successful ¨Nightmare on Elm Stret¨ that created the known franchise of seven episodes that would eventually be terminated by Craven himself . And , of course , the popular ¨Scream¨ saga in which Craven directed the first and second part , achieving mainstream success again . Rating : Acceptable and passable horror film realized by Craven in a cunningly stylish way .
This gruesome chiller contains grisly killings, disturbing horror, scabrous violence, shocking,some nudism and lots of blood and gore. The horrible assassinations are extremely gory and nauseatingly violent with abundant shots showing stabbing, hanging, and gruesome deeds.The film displays thrills, chills, shocks, cardboard horror,tension and lots of blood and gore for nauseating execution. The grisly murders are extremely scary and eerie with abundant stabbing shots. From the beginning to the amazing ending the horror and eerie deeds are continued and varied. James Horner musical score is electrifying and frightening .
The motion picture is professionally written and directed by the shock-master Wess Craven . Brought up by strict Baptist parents , Craven didn't even see a movie until he was in school , then he revenged directing ¨Deadly blessing ¨ dealing with an implacable denounce against the rigid religious rules . Becoming an University professor Craven shocked his parents by switching careers at 30 and turning into filmmaking . He realized his first film ¨Last house on the left¨ in 1972 that had graphic torture scenes on adolescents and ran into censorship problems . He went on with ¨The hills have eyes¨ and its sequel , about hillbillies (one of them results to be Michael Berryman who acted in Deadly blessing) horrifying hikers , subsequently directed for TV ¨Summer of fear¨ and ¨Deadly blessing¨ and ¨Swamp thing¨ , ¨until his successful ¨Nightmare on Elm Stret¨ that created the known franchise of seven episodes that would eventually be terminated by Craven himself . And , of course , the popular ¨Scream¨ saga in which Craven directed the first and second part , achieving mainstream success again . Rating : Acceptable and passable horror film realized by Craven in a cunningly stylish way .
Not Bad!
gwnightscream11 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Wes Craven's 1981 horror film tells about a widow who becomes haunted in an Amish community after her late, husband mysteriously dies. Her 2 friends are also targeted and the religious, townsfolk may be the ones plotting their demise. Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct) is featured in one of her earliest films and Ernest Borgnine (Escape from New York) and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) also appear. This isn't bad, Craven sort of provides similar scares that "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Scream" & "Serpent and the Rainbow" inherit featuring a decent cast and great score. I'd give this a view at least once if you're into horror.
Better than Sleepaway Camp
jwbleonard3 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The movie has over acting, relies heavily on overbearing religious stereotypes, and Ernest Borgnine's performance is lack luster to say the the least. But this movie is a Wes Craven film and possesses some really good suspense filled scenes that Craven repurposes and perfects in his later works.
Lol total B movie
jomayevans17 November 2022
Obvious from start who The killers were.. found tge protagonist a little annoying with her stubborn senseless ways.. Best thing about this is watching young Sharon Stone. The end was laughable. But I enjoyed the old 80sness
Obvious from start who The killers were.. found tge protagonist a little annoying with her stubborn senseless ways.. Best thing about this is watching young Sharon Stone. The end was laughable. But I enjoyed the old 80sness
Obvious from start who The killers were.. found tge protagonist a little annoying with her stubborn senseless ways.. Best thing about this is watching young Sharon Stone. The end was laughable. But I enjoyed the old 80sness.
Delightfully bizarre horror!
Nightman8516 May 2007
Early thriller from Wes Craven is a truly twisted tale of rural horror.
When a farmer is mysteriously killed by his tractor, his wife and her visiting friends are terrorized by someone...or something.
Deadly Blessing is a prime example of a horror film that's powered by eerie atmosphere. The story has many different kinds of horror elements feeding into it; psychological horror, slasher film, supernatural, religious horror. The rustic Texas filming locations are perfect to the foreboding nature of this movie. James Horner's weird chant-like music score is effectively creepy. Craven's direction is solid, as the film builds some tremendously suspenseful shock sequences. Yet Deadly Blessing is light on gore, this film relies upon far more skin-crawling terrors like spiders, snakes, and ominous dark figures -with knifes.
Sure, many people complain about the strange left-field ending but over all it doesn't hurt the film as bad as some people make out. After all this is the kind of horror film that runs on 'nightmare logic'.
The cast is pretty strong. Maren Jensen, Susan Buckner, and a young Sharon Stone make for a lovely trio of leading ladies. Veteran actor Ernest Borgnine is intimidating as the leader of a sect of religious fanatics. Douglas Barr is good as the ill-fated farmer, as is Jeff East as his morally confused younger brother.
Deadly Blessing is an undervalued horror film that should appeal to horror fans who enjoy their films firmly on the strange side.
*** out of ****
When a farmer is mysteriously killed by his tractor, his wife and her visiting friends are terrorized by someone...or something.
Deadly Blessing is a prime example of a horror film that's powered by eerie atmosphere. The story has many different kinds of horror elements feeding into it; psychological horror, slasher film, supernatural, religious horror. The rustic Texas filming locations are perfect to the foreboding nature of this movie. James Horner's weird chant-like music score is effectively creepy. Craven's direction is solid, as the film builds some tremendously suspenseful shock sequences. Yet Deadly Blessing is light on gore, this film relies upon far more skin-crawling terrors like spiders, snakes, and ominous dark figures -with knifes.
Sure, many people complain about the strange left-field ending but over all it doesn't hurt the film as bad as some people make out. After all this is the kind of horror film that runs on 'nightmare logic'.
The cast is pretty strong. Maren Jensen, Susan Buckner, and a young Sharon Stone make for a lovely trio of leading ladies. Veteran actor Ernest Borgnine is intimidating as the leader of a sect of religious fanatics. Douglas Barr is good as the ill-fated farmer, as is Jeff East as his morally confused younger brother.
Deadly Blessing is an undervalued horror film that should appeal to horror fans who enjoy their films firmly on the strange side.
*** out of ****
Underrated
michellegriffin-049894 August 2020
Good female friendships on screen are hard to find and Deadly Blessing does a great job of this. Makes me care a lot more when these characters are put in harm's way. The scene with Sharon Stone in the barn is pretty scary, too.
The last minute of this movie before the credits is well done and scarier than anything else seen within.
Aaron137512 May 2009
This movie has elements of other horror movies because at times it resembles your typical slasher movie, at other times something supernatural seems to be afoot, and still at other times it is like a mystery. For the most part though it is highly forgettable, with the exception of the dream sequences and the end which for a movie I rank as rather weak is as good as it gets in the horror genre. Of course, what makes the ending so good is that it sort of comes out of nowhere yet it does not. There are things that are said and things that happen that let one know what has happened, the person is basically warned, but it is still nice and creepy when it does occur. The rest of the movie is more the typical slasher, someone is killing the local Amish like clan and others. This clan starts by trying to get rid of three gals who move into a farm house, most notably a young Sharon Stone. Some gore here and there, the deaths are not to gruesome though which for me is a shame, however there is a scene involving a spider that is rather good, for me I say add more supernatural elements to the film, but then if they did that the ending would have been less of a surprise I guess.
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