Dan Curtis Productions, 1976

starring: Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Lee Montgomery and Bette Davis

directed by: Dan Curtis

the plot: When the Rolf family is offered a summer caretaking job in the California countryside, they can’t believe their luck. The Allardyce mansion is spacious and luxurious, if a bit rundown, and the only thing Ben (Reed), his wife Marian (Black), and their son David (Montgomery) have to do is spruce up the home and take care of the elderly Mrs. Allardyce who lives in the attic. Ben’s aunt Elizabeth (Davis) comes along, too, and at first, it seems like the perfect summer getaway. But a change slowly comes over the family. Ben becomes prone to fits of anger and Marian begins spending all her time staring at the photos outside Mrs. Allardyce’s room. David nearly drowns in the pool and Aunt Elizabeth is fatigued and can barely drag herself out of bed each day. Ben realizes that no one has seen or heard Mrs. Allardyce, but Marian rebuffs his attempts to talk to the woman. Soon, Ben notices the terrifying truth: the house rejuvenates itself each time someone in the family has an argument or suffers an injury. 

why it’s good: Here in the Video Vault, we believe without a doubt that our childhood homes were haunted, and so haunted house movies have always held a special place within the Vault. There are few haunted house flicks better than “Burnt Offerings,” which, oddly enough, doesn’t contain any ghosts, demons, or monsters. Instead, the house itself is the entity to be reckoned with, and since dusty antiques and disused furniture rank low on the terror scale, director Dan Curtis relies on a strong cast and some seriously creepy set pieces to carry the film. A lot of the credit goes to Reed and Black, both of whom slowly and subtly lose their marbles throughout the film. There’s almost no overt violence in “Burnt Offerings.” Instead, Reed, Black, and the rest of the cast either yell at or spurn one another, as if the house is more interested in forcing the family to destroy itself than overtly attacking them. And then there’s the grinning chauffer, a demonic vision that first haunts Reed’s character’s dreams and then appears in real life. It’s one of the movies creepiest bits, and it’s impressive Curtis can do so much with so little. Curtis had plenty of practice, though—he spent most of his career producing the gothic soap “Dark Shadows” and directing made-for-TV movies (including “Trilogy of Terror”). “Burnt Offerings” is one of his few big screen productions. It’s an impressive piece of inventive, atmospheric horror, and a clear forerunner to everything from “The Shining” to 2009’s “House of the Devil.”

why you should own it: If you love haunted house flicks and gothic thrillers, “Burnt Offerings” is a must-have. MGM’s DVD features commentary by Curtis, Black, and the film’s co-writer William F. Nolan. Just don’t watch it while you’re house-sitting.