Burnt Offerings (film)

Burnt Offerings
Promotional poster for Burnt Offerings by Tom Jung
Directed by	Dan Curtis
Produced by	Dan Curtis Robert Singer
Written by	Novel: Robert Marasco Screenplay: Dan Curtis William F. Nolan
Starring	Karen Black Oliver Reed Bette Davis Lee Montgomery Anthony James Burgess Meredith
Music by	Bob Cobert
Cinematography	Jacques R. Marquette
Editing by	Dennis Virkler
Studio	Produzioni Europee Associati Dan Curtis Productions
Distributed by	United Artists (1976), MGM Studios (current distributor)
Release date(s)	October 8, 1976
Running time	116 min
Country	United States
Language	English

Burnt Offerings is a 1976 mystery horror film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert Marasco. It was the first movie to be filmed at the Dunsmuir House. It is about a family who moves into a haunted house that rejuvenates itself with each injury and death that occurs inside of it. The film stars Burgess Meredith, Karen Black, Oliver Reed, and Bette Davis and was directed by Dan Curtis. While the film was negatively reviewed by critics, it won many awards in 1977.

Plot

The Rolf family takes a vacation from the city (the specific city is not identified in the film) at a large Victorian mansion in the California countryside. The family consists of Marian (Karen Black) and her husband Ben (Oliver Reed), their young son David (Lee Montgomery), and their elderly aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis). The owners of the house are the Allardyce siblings, brother Arnold and sister Roz, played by actors Burgess Meredith and Eileen Heckart, respectively. The Allardyces appear at the beginning of the film when they inform their new tenants of a particularly odd requirement for their rental: that the Allardyces' elderly mother continue to live in her upstairs room and the Rolfs provide her with food during their stay. The siblings explain that the old woman is obsessed with privacy and will probably not interact with them, so the food is to be left outside her door.

As it turns out, this task falls to the mother who quickly succumbs to the allure of the ornate Victorian house and its period decor. Various "accidents" occur during the summer, including the suspicious death of Aunt Elizabeth. As the film progresses, Ben becomes increasingly depressed and anxious while Marian becomes increasingly obsessed with the house, the old woman in the attic, and all of the Victorian artifacts. It gradually becomes clear that Marian is somehow being possessed or controlled by the house and that a malevolent force is slowly consuming the whole family.

At the climax of the movie, Ben readies his family to leave the house. Before leaving, Ben confronts the elderly Mrs. Allardyce whom he has not seen face to face. Horrified, he finds that his wife has somehow become the old woman in the attic, or perhaps always has been. Ben is thrown from an attic window, landing on the windshield of his car. In shock, David runs toward the house and is killed when one of the chimneys falls on him.

The film ends with the house fully rejuvenated and glistening like new. As the camera pans over the interior of the renewed house, the voices of the Allardyce siblings are heard marveling at the house's beauty and rejoicing over the return of their mother. The house is shown to be filled with pictures of various people, many from years past, some more recent - including those of Ben, David and Aunt Elizabeth.

Cast

• Karen Black - Marian Rolf
• Oliver Reed - Ben Rolf
• Lee Montgomery - David Rolf
• Bette Davis - Elizabeth Rolf
• Burgess Meredith - Arnold Allardyce
• Eileen Heckart - Roz Allardyce
• Dub Taylor - Walker
• Anthony James - Chauffeur

Production

Filming took place at Dunsmuir House located in San Francisco, California. Burnt Offerings was the first movie to be filmed at the Dunsmuir House. According to a commentary with Dan Curtis, William F. Nolan, and Karen Black, Curtis reveals that his rationale for the fog machine was to be able to shoot "motes".

Reception

Critical response

Burnt Offerings received poor reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a "Rotten" aggregate score of 38% based on 12 reviews.

Movie Critic Roger Ebert called the film "a mystery, all right.", concluding "Burnt Offerings just persists, until it occurs to us that the characters are the only ones in the theater who don't know what's going to happen next." Variety stated "The horror is expressed through sudden murderous impulses felt by Black and Reed, a premise which might have been interesting if director Dan Curtis hadn't relied strictly on formula treatment."

In contrast, Chris Wright of MoreHorror.com praised the film's plot, stating "A simple yet original plot for a movie that is done so well. The acting is superb from all the actors. The low tone music adds a strikingly eerie presence to the movie." Rovi Donald Guarisco of Movie Guide called the film "worthy of rediscovery by the horror fans who missed it the first time.", concluding "In the end, Burnt Offerings is probably a bit too methodical in its pacing for viewers accustomed to slam-bang approach of post-'70s horror fare but seasoned horror fans will find plenty to enjoy in this film's subtle charms."

Awards

Despite most of the critical reviews, Burnt Offerings won many awards. The film received 3 awards at the 1977 Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Director (Dan Curtis) and Best Supporting Actress (Bette Davis). At the Sitges Film Festival of 1977, Burnt Offerings won Best Director (Dan Curtis), Best Actor (Oliver Reed) and Best Actress (Karen Black).

Home media

In 2003, MGM released a region 1 DVD of Burnt Offerings. The original video shape is in wide screen (16:9) and also features an audio commentary with Dan Curits, Karen Black and William F. Nolan. The DVD was also poorly received as well. Reviewers criticized the video quality, which appeared to have been shot with soft focus, and the Dolby Digital Mono audio that made the voices muddy and indistinct.

Soundtrack

Burnt Offerings
Soundtrack album by Robert Cobert
Released	June 28, 2011
Genre	Score
Length	01:05:22
Label	Counterpoint

Like most others of Dan Curtis's works, the music for Burnt Offerings was composed by Robert Cobert. In 2011, years before the film's release, the film's original full soundtrack album was released by Counterpoint and is a limited edition of only 1,000 copies. The Album features all of Cobert's original score, plus alternate tracks not used in the film including 2 alternate Music Box Themes. The CD booklet is 20 pages long and is illustrated with photos taken on the set of the film during production.

An original suite of the film's soundtrack can be found on the 2000 album "The Night Stalker and Other Classic Thrillers".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Robert Cobert. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Foreboding Evil"	1:32
2.	"Memories of a Lifetime"	2:06
3.	"17 Shore Road"	2:08
4.	"Mrs. Allardyce's Room"	0:53
5.	"Music Box Theme"	2:50
6.	"Danger at the Pool"	2:53
7.	"Funeral Dream"	1:28
8.	"The Pool After Dark"	0:32
9.	"Rendezvous Gone Wrong"	2:10
10.	"Aunt Elizabeth Investigates"	2:06
11.	"The Chauffeur"	1:04
12.	"The Clocks Restart/The Gas Leaks"	0:50
13.	"Marian & Aunt Elizabeth's Quarrel"	2:06
14.	"Aunt Elizabeth Falls Ill"	4:42
15.	"Music Box Theme"	1:29
16.	"Terror Up the Stairs"	2:19
17.	"The Greenhouse"	0:26
18.	"Rejuvenation and Attempted Escape"	2:44
19.	"The Ride Back"	1:32
20.	"Swimming Pool"	4:52
21.	"Ben Confronts Terror"	1:43
22.	"The Final Horror"	1:29
23.	"A House Reborn/End Title"	3:08
24.	"Marian Rolfe"	0:32
25.	"House Eternal"	1:42
26.	"Family in Danger"	1:35
27.	"Main Title (Outtake)"	3:18
28.	"Music Box Theme (Piano Version 1)"	2:51
29.	"Alternate Music Box Theme #1 (Celesta Version)"	1:06
30.	"Alternate Music Box Theme #2 (Piano Version 2)"	2:21
31.	"Music Box Theme (shorter version)"	2:37
32.	"Main Title (Reprise-Outtake)"	0:45
Total length:		01:05:22

External links

• Burnt Offerings at the Internet Movie Database
• Burnt Offerings at AllRovi