Burned in Boomer Memories: “Burnt Offerings” 1976

 

Anthony James steals the show as the creepy chauffeur of "Burnt Offerings."

Horror classics Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist had kept the supernatural genre going when Burnt Offerings was released in ’76. Later in the '70s, there was The Amityville Horror and then The Shining, which Stephen King allegedly admits was inspired by the earlier Burnt Offerings. The "haunted house" genre was then a staple on TV: The House That Would Not Die with Barbara Stanwyck; Crowhaven Farm with Hope Lange; and Something Evil with Sandy Dennis, for starters.

A normal family with Karen Black & Oliver Reed as parents? The only thing that would make the "Burnt Offerings" Bunch complete was cast Clint Howard as the son!

In Burnt Offerings, Oliver Reed and Karen Black play Ben and Marion Rolf, who are looking for a refresher from city life, and for their marriage. With their son David and Ben’s Aunt Elizabeth, they take an offer that they can’t refuse: a grand, if somewhat shabby mansion for the summer, for $900. There’s a catch, natch. They must care for the owners’ aged mother who never leaves her room. As Marion is only required to leave three trays a day in Mom’s parlor, it’s an easy gig. However, Black’s housewife is soon consumed as the house’s caretaker. And writer hubby Reed is overwhelmed with more primal urges, like anger and fear.

While her hubby's "rough housing" with their son in the pool, Karen Black's
Marion is lost in her housekeeping duties!

Burnt Offering’s basic premise resembles The Shining. Dad’s a writer who doesn’t write and soon goes off the deep end; the son is the one who keeps his bearings. And the haunted house seems to want to consume the family. Robert Marasco’s novel Burnt Offerings came out in ’73 and was well-reviewed, but obviously Stephen King took that premise in The Shining to much greater heights.

This is as close as Oliver Reed's Ben gets to writing in "Burnt Offerings."
Even Jack Torrance in "The Shining" managed to tap out a few lines! 

Some movies or TV shows, which were terrifying to me as a kid, now look pretty corny as an adult. Burnt Offerings is one of those thrillers, but I still find it watchable for the cast chewing the scenery and creepy moments. Not surprisingly, both the corn and the chills were trademarks of Dan Curtis, of Dark Shadows fame, who directed and wrote the screenplay.

Love when Bette Davis' "Aunt Elizabeth" announces, "I need a 'beauty parlor!'"
Maybe two of them! Worse is yet to come...

The big problem with Burnt Offerings is that it tells a familiar story in a straightforward but very basic way. We’ve seen it all before, but there are moments, especially the flashback funeral scenes, the disturbing “rough housing” in the pool, and the shock ending.

Oliver Reed's animal "magnetism" is on full display in "Burnt Offerings."

You know it's a '70s flick when the family/victims drive up to their “dream home” in a brown station wagon. As the dysfunctional family, Oliver Reed and Karen Black, not often cast as the hero and heroine, have their psycho persona sides exploited here. Reed’s animalistic side seems almost rabid, and he is often sweaty and glowering. Amusingly, Black is more believable as a kooky haunted house keeper than as a mother. As Karen becomes more possessed by the spooky mansion, Black even begins to dress like a cast member of Dark Shadows!

I wonder how Karen Black would have fared at "Dark Shadows" Collinwood?

Bette Davis does what she can with the feisty auntie role, but acts up a storm in her big death scene! Davis was just a year away from being the first woman inducted to the AFI and her comeback in better film and television work was just around the corner. Davis’ lack of vanity is still admirable, looking like the wrath of God in her very long death rattle.

Bette Davis was probably just 'dying' to get out of "Burnt Offerings"
and away from her quirky co-stars, Karen Black and Oliver Reed.

As the son, David, Lee H. Montgomery, plays his role well, but as the voice of reason between two gradually crazed parents, Lee is also the voice of whining. Old pros Burgess Meredith and Eileen Heckart make the most of their small roles as the odd brother and sister who share the mansion with their unseen mother.

Burgess Meredith & Eileen Heckart are the odd brother & sister who rent the family
 their house for the summer in "Burnt Offerings."

Best of all is Anthony James as the creepy chauffeur, who most people remember best about Burnt Offerings. Haunting Reed’s Ben from his childhood, James is dressed all in black, with sunglasses, and a chilling grin. Despite no dialogue, James steals every scene he’s in!

Anthony James' special delivery for Bette Davis' death scene in "Burnt Offerings."

I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say the home maintenance of Burnt Offerings wouldn't fly on HGTV!

Home sweet home! "Burnt Offerings" offers bargain thrills!

FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. Check it out & join!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865/

If someone says they'll be right back in a horror movie, they won't. Even Karen Black!