DEADLY BLESSING (1981 - HORROR / MYSTERY ) ***1/2 out of *****
(So... if the Amish look like swingers in comparison to these assholes, why would anyone in their right minds want to live next to them?)
CAST: Maren Jensen, Susan Buckner, Sharon Stone, Ernest Borgnine, Jeff East, Doug Barr, Lisa Hartman, Lois Nettleton, Colleen Riley, Michael Berryman, Kevin Cooney.
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and compelling reasons to keep your ass in the city, as far away from farm country as possible - straight ahead...
IT'S LIKE THIS: Poor Martha (Maren Jensen)... she's an L.A. big city girl who has moved to rural Pennsylvania out of love for country-boy husband Jim Schmidt (Doug Barr) - and soon runs afoul of his horrible relatives. And we're not talking "horrible" in the usual way - we're talking "horrible in the bible-thumping, fire-and-brimstone, you-will-burn-in-hell-for-living-the-modern-life-and-wearing-jeans" kind of way. You see, folks, Jim's family are, um, Hittites - who are like the Amish, only much, much, much, much, MUCH more repressed. If you can even imagine such a fucked-up scenario.
Yup, turns out the Hittities don't believe in nothing but the old ways, which means: (1) they follow the Bible to a "T"; and (2) nothing else. Which also means they have no electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, or clothing that doesn't look like it's a Halloween costume. And Lord forbid anyone who thinks about stepping out of the box and joining the Modern World, because those people are immediately shunned. Which is exactly what happened to Jim when he decided to go to college in L.A. and defy his family, led by whackjob father Isaiah Schmidt (Ernest Borgnine), who looks as scary as, well, Ernest Borgnine. Can't say I blame Isaiah for being concerned, though... I mean, seriously: what else could possibly happen to a nice guy who was raised by even more repressive versions of the Amish, when he gets to La-La Land? The words "eaten alive whole" come to mind...
Fortunately, Jim lucked out and met the sweet and lovely Martha at college, and now that they have graduated, they have decided to marry. Jim has brought his new wife back to, uh, Hittiteville to take over the farm he inherited when he turned 21 or something. Problem is, Isaiah and the rest of the Hittite clan are pissed off that Jim brought home an outsider for a wife - and have shunned him (and Martha) even more. They have also taken to threatening Jim and Martha to try to drive them off the land, which the Hittites want to reclaim for their own. And that's just the backstory, folks....
Our story kicks off in full when Jim gets murdered in their barn one night after a lovemaking session with Martha. We're meant to think it was an accident, but come on: gigantic tractors don't start up themselves and run over sexy farmers on their own, folks. Clearly, some human intervention was at play here. Or was there? Hmmmmmmmm.... Could there be something to the local whispering about an evil entity called the "incubus" prowling the surrounding land?
Whatever. The point is Martha is devastated by Jim's "accidental" death. Think about it: you are a hot chick who just gave up glamorous L.A. city life for a hot country boy and moved to the ass-end of Pennsylvania with him, surrounded by his colossal asshole relatives - and barely two days after your goddamn wedding, he... DIES!? What the fucking fuck? I would demand a re-count or... something. Anyhow, it's a good thing Maren has some loyal friends from Los Angeles who show up when she needs it most because, well, right now she, um, needs it most.
Cue the arrival of hot L.A. bombshells Vicky Anderson (Susan Bruckner) and Lana Marcus (Sharon Stone) to lend some moral support to their pal Martha. Vicky is your basic "rah-rah-rah-sis-boom-bah" cheerleader girl who was probably running for Student Council president in the womb and could charm even a rattlesnake suffering from a pounding hangover. Lana, on the other hand, is your textbook brooding artistic chick with dark depths and a full flask always conveniently located no more than a few feet away. I have a feeling her issues have issues of their own. I'd like to know what bizarre sorority house the earthy Martha first met these two in. I've seen friendships between cats and parakeets that were more believable...
The arrival of Vicky and Lana at Martha's farm does not go unnoticed to the constantly-spying Hittites. Then again, is it so surprising that a religious sect full of men who cannot have sex before marriage, cannot masturbate, and cannot get to the farm animals because they have been locked up by that damn Isaiah, instantly notices the two sexy blondes (and their even hotter brunette pal) parading around in skimpy shorts and low-cut blouses? Methinks not. It's like taunting a pack of starving pit bulls with dripping, juicy prime rib. Anyone else think this is going nowhere good?
Sure enough, even stranger things begin to happen. William (Michael Berryman), one of the Hittite teens who love to spy on Martha through her bedroom window, gets knifed by a dark figure while - you guessed it - during the Pervo Peeping Bill number again. Then Lana gets trapped in the barn and chased around by what looks like a banshee wearing a black robe. During the cat-and-mouse tussle with the killer, she stumbles across William's body and barely manages to escape with her own life.
The local sheriff (Kevin Cooney) advises Martha to take Vicky and Lana and get the fuck out because someone clearly wants them gone from the farm. Martha, being a tough, independent woman, says she will not be run out of her own home and plans to stay put. Even with a killer loose and the nearest house about a mile or so away. And with a phone that works sporadically, at best. And a truck that looks like it is going to fall apart at any minute. I don't know whether to admire Martha - or slap the living shit out of her.
Is the sheriff right? Are Martha, Vicky, and Lana in danger from something or someone that wants the farm and land? Is Isaiah or one of his minions behind the whole thing? Is it the "incubus" that everyone seems to quaking in fear of? And what happens when Vicky has a chance encounter with John (Jeff East), Jim's brother who is still part of the Hittite sect? Will they have a forbidden romance just like Martha and Jim's? Or will Isaiah refuse to lose another son to a "modern harlot"? And why is Lana suddenly having scary nightmares with dark figures, cobwebs, and spiders falling into her mouth? Is it a warning? Or does she need to lay off that flask?
Time will tell. Just remember that these chicks had a chance to get when the getting was good. How about them apples, bitches?
BUT, SERIOUSLY: Horror auteur Wes Craven is most famous to modern audiences for giving us three modern horror classics: the original NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET in 1984, and then SCREAM 1 & 2 in 1996 and 1997. These films were slick, entertaining, and thorough crowd-pleasers. Craven took a break from SCREAM 3 (which, frankly, was more of a horror comedy than an actual horror film), then returned in the passable SCREAM 4, which was conclusive proof that the series had run its course and had tapped the well dry. Still, Craven deserves credit for helming the terrific first entries in two of the best franchises in the horror genre.
Craven's name is so attached to the very commercial NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and SCREAM series that people often overlook that he started his career in the 1970s with gritty, edgy horror fare that was decidedly not mainstream. In 1972, he directed LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, a graphic and disturbing revenge film that was remade a couple of years ago into an even more graphic and disturbing update. Then in 1977, he helmed THE HILLS HAVE EYES, a grisly cult hit that was an early entry in the "In-Bred Cannibals Terrorize Stranded Tourists" sub-genre - which was also remade a few years ago.
LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and THE HILLS HAVE EYES were so different from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and the SCREAM movies, that you'd be forgiven for thinking they'd been directed by two different directors. Basically, Craven's body of work can be divided into two distinct parts: the early section in the 70s when his output was characterized by graphic violence and a gritty, grindhouse vibe in rural settings, and then the later section which covers his work from 1984 onward, which were characterized by a more polished look, relatively sophisticated suburban or urban settings, and more audience-friendly plots.
In between these two sections, however, is a lone film that serves as a bridge between Craven's gritty earlier fare, and his more handsome latter ones. The film is DEADLY BLESSING, and was released in 1981 to a decent profit. This film combines elements of Craven's 1970s films (rural setting, weird characters, a gritty look) and his films from the mid-80s and onward (very attractive stars, suspenseful and crowd-pleasing setpieces, surprise twist endings). Indeed, DEADLY BLESSING has gradually developed a loyal cult following over the years, as fans of Craven and the SCREAM movies have realized this movie was practice for his more popular work later.
The movie's overall premise of city dwellers in deadly conflict with the superstitions and traditions of backward country folk isn't exactly new, but making the latter a repressive religious sect similar to - but more stringent than - the Amish, is a fairly fresh (for the time) perspective. This same conflict would be explored again three years later in Harrison Ford's classic thriller WITNESS, albeit in a more benign way. Here, Craven is more focused on creating an eerie atmosphere that paints everything in this bucolic setting in a distinctly sinister way. Perfectly appropriate for a film that is more of a horror film than a thriller.
Craven's ability to construct fluid, scary setpieces that keep audiences on edge is first shown off to good effect here. DEADLY BLESSING is full of them: (1) Jim's encounter with the tractor in the barn that leads to his death; (2) William spying on Martha, then becoming victimized himself by the killer; (3) Martha taking a bath, unaware that the killer has placed a snake on the bathroom floor; (4) Vicky and John encountering the killer while making out in her car in the middle of a dark field, and her subsequent attempts to escape; (5) the revelation of "whodunit" and Martha's desperate battle to the death with the killer; and the best of them all: (6) Lana's terrifying first encounter with the killer while trapped in the barn. This particular setpiece is actually even better than most of the ones that would come later in NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and SCREAM. It is even more remarkable because it is the only one that takes place during the daytime - and, yet, it is the scariest one of all.
The cast is full of beautiful, talented faces. The trio of female leads are all solid and engaging. Maren Jensen (from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA fame) makes Martha an appealing mix of soft and hard, and she ably expresses the character's multiple internal conflicts - not just about what has happened to her husband, but also whether to stay and fight for his legacy or head back to L.A. with her friends.
Speaking of her pals, Vicky Anderson's sunny disposition is expertly played up by Susan Bruckner, who is the textbook "California Blonde." Lana Marcus, on the other hand, is meant to be a cooler, pensive, more distant personality, and the elegantly gorgeous Sharon Stone takes ownership of the role. This was Stone's first speaking part and her first real role. Before DEADLY BLESSING, she only had modeling experience and a dialogue-free, one-shot cameo in Woody Allen's STARDUST MEMORIES from 1979. Stone acquits herself well here, considering she had no real acting background and was required to play a wide range of intense emotions and scenes. The nice vulnerability that she would show much later in bigger, higher-profile productions like BASIC INSTINCT, SLIVER, INTERSECTION, THE SPECIALIST, and CASINO first reveals itself here. It's not surprising to note that, out of all the talented young folks just starting out in DEADLY BLESSING, Stone is the one who went the farthest with her career.
Lois Nettleton, Colleen Riley, and Lisa Hartman round out the solid female supporting cast. Hartman, who would later wed country singer Clint Black and make a name for herself on the TV show DALLAS, is particularly impressive. Like Stone, this was her first real role and she similarly knocks it out of the park. Ernest Borgnine, the most experienced castmember, shows his considerable mettle as Isaiah, the Hittite clansman who may or may not have basically ordered a Jihad of sorts on Martha, Lana, and Vicky. He lends the film some solid gravity and class. Finally, Jeff East and Doug Barr as equally compelling as John and Jim, Isaiah's sons who bristle under the oppressive rule of their father and the Hittite sect.
Then there's that famous (or infamous) twist ending. The single most divisive factor between those who like DEADLY BLESSING and those who don't is that ending which, admittedly, first seems to come out of nowhere. However, when you think back on the atmosphere of the film, the tone of the story, and all the hints planted here and there, it kind of makes sense. The version released in England omits the final twist and (SPOILER) simply ends after the first killer is revealed, and everyone thinking the nightmare is over. Lana says goodbye to Martha in front of the farm the next morning, and rides off with the sheriff to catch her flight back to L.A. The British version doesn't show what happens afterwards, when (SPOILER) Martha goes back into the house to see (SPOILER) what is waiting for her inside... Let's just say that our dear lucky Lana made the right choice of leaving when she did - she ends up being (SPOILER) the sole survivor of DEADLY BLESSING. Great, scary ending that deserves more credit than it often gets. I loved it. Poor Martha, though...
Bottom line: DEADLY BLESSING is solid horror flick with mystery overtones that marks a transition from Wes Craven's earlier grindhouse-style flicks and his sleeker, more commercial movies that would start a few years after this film. It is well-deserving of its increasingly popular status and growing cult following. It's safe to say that, without this movie, there would not have been a NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or SCREAM.
