Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A man, a woman, their tweenage kid, and an aunt move into a gigantic house on Long Island for the summer — the deal is, it’s super inexpensive to stay, but they need to be caretakers and do a few repairs.
As you suspected, dear reader…things get weird. Shit hits the fan. And strange things are afoot…
Halloween film #11 is Burnt Offerings.
You know it’s a flick worth watching when a stunt person risks life and limb for the art of cinema and 1976’s Burnt Offerings is no exception – – a stunt man reportedly almost died while shooting a particularly tricky sequence.
Premonitions. A creepy limo driver yucking it up at a funeral. Spooky night swimming. Attic happenings. Familial drama. Enough hallucinatory/haunting shots to disorient you and maybe lull you into a comfortable zone-out.
The movie looks great, the performances are committed, but modern audiences might find it a bit… slow.
More of a chiller than a thriller or a pointless jump-scare-a-minute affair.
Atmosphere really goes a long way.
A truly striking thing about Burnt Offerings is how expensive the entire film looks. Also notable, the staggering amount of sweat beading off the actors.
It must have been a hot August in Long Island in 1975.
After a speedy search, it appears the fine people of Lawnnng Eye-lannnd were rocking highs near 100 degrees in early August ‘75. So… I’ll let it slide.
Burnt Offerings was filmed 4 years before Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining came out. An obvious influence on the text (published in 1977) and the film.
Stephen King lists it as one of his favorites.
Also one of Stephen King’s favorite things of that era… cocaine:
There is a campier version of Burnt Offerings that would make a great horror-comedy.
If you snooze or doze off make sure to set your alarm to wake up for the final 10 minutes.
By far… the best part.
Burnt Offerings is proof that when a deal looks too good to be true… it is.
Currently streaming on Hulu.
You could probably just drink a Coke instead. Skip it.
Recommendations for further viewing: The Shining (1980), Hausu (1977), Poltergeist (1980), The House on Haunted Hill (1959)