Deadly Blessing
| Deadly Blessing | |
|---|---|
 Poster for Deadly Blessing |
|
| Directed by | Wes Craven |
| Produced by | William Gilmore Patricia Herskovic Max A. Keller Micheline H. Keller |
| Screenplay by | Glenn M. Benest Matthew Barr Wes Craven |
| Story by | Glenn M. Benest Matthew Barr |
| Starring | Maren Jensen Sharon Stone Susan Buckner Jeff East |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Cinematography | Robert C. Jessup |
| Editing by | Wes Craven |
| Distributed by | United Artists (USA, theatrical), Embassy Home Entertainment (video) |
| Release date(s) | 1981 |
| Running time | 100 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Deadly Blessing is a horror movie directed by Wes Craven, released in the United States on August 14, 1981.[1] The film tell the story of a strange figure commiting murder in a contemporary community that is near to another that believes in ancient evil and curses. It stars Ernest Borgnine, Maren Jensen (in her last screen appearance),and Sharon Stone in an early screen appearance. Though not liked in its day, it became a cult classic and one of Craven's early films.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Martha (Maren Jensen) and Tom Schmidt (Jonathon Gulla) live in an isolated farm named 'Our Blessing', where most of its population are of the Hittite religion. Jim used to be a Hittite himsef but left the community when he got married. Martha tells matron Louisa Stohler (Lois Nettleton), who is the mother of Faith (Lisa Hartman) that she is pregnant. That night, Tom searches in the barn after hearing strange noises from inside, but is murdered when a mysterious figure runs him over with his tractor. This is seen as a mechanical accident.
Friends Lana Marcus (Sharon Stone) and Vicky Anderson (Susan Buckner) visit Martha after Tom's funeral. Some time after Martha refuses to sell the farm to Isaiah Schmidt (Ernest Borgnine), the leader of the Hittites, and slams the door in his face. When William Gluntz (Michael Berryman) goes to the house at night to search for his shoe he accidentally left earlier when sneaking around, he is stabbed through the back by an unseen figure.
Martha is now being accused of being the incubus. Lana enters the barn the next day to look for something in the haystack but all the doors and windows suddenly close, trapping her inside. In a panic, she searches for a way out but encounters a figure dressed in black. When escaping out the now open barn door, William's corpse swoops down at her, hanging from a rope. The police clean up the mess as the sheriff (Kevin Cooney) advises the three friends to move out of town, as someone may be after them. However, Martha decides to stay where she is and buy a gun for protection. Multiple events follow, such as a snake being put into Martha's bathroom while she's taking a bath by an unseen figure who creeps in her house. She manages to get out of the bath and kill it.
John Schmidt (Jeff East), Martha's brother-in-law is unwillingly engaged to Melissa (Colleen Riley). However John feels attracted to Vicky. John is eventually expelled from home and the community when he retaliates against his father who begins hitting him. John meets Vicky outside the cinema and she lets John drive her car, giving him a sense of freedom. They stop at the side of a road and begin to engage in sex but they are attacked by an unseen figure who stabs John multiple times and sets fire to the car, which eventually blows up with Vicky still inside.
Lana has a nightmare in which a pair of hands take hold of her head, forcing her to open her mouth as a spider falls in. When she wakes up she finds blood in a juice bottle as Martha finds a scarecrow tied in her room with a flower that was buried with Tom. When Martha hurries to Tom's grave she finds him dug up. Martha also discovers it was Louisa and Faith who committed the murders as they attack Melissa. Martha is chased back to her home where she engages in a quick battle with Faith. During the struggle, Faith's shirt is ripped open, revealing her to be a man who has been in love with Martha. Lana and Martha have to fight Louisa and Faith. When Martha shoots Faith she is confronted by Louisa with a shotgun. Fortunately, she too is shot by Lana. However, Faith has survived her gunshot and tries to kill Martha once more but she is killed when Melissa stabs her in the back. Isaiah turns up and tells them that the incubus is now dead. The day after, Lana leaves Martha to go back to LA. When Martha enters her home a ghost of Tom warns her about the incubus. The film ends immediately after the real incubus bursts through the ground and pulls Martha back with it.
[edit] Cast
Maren Jensen as Martha Schmidt
Sharon Stone as Lana Marcus
Susan Buckner as Vicky Anderson
Jeff East as John Schmidt
Colleen Riley as Melissa
Douglas Barr as Jim Schmidt
Lisa Hartman as Faith Stohler
Lois Nettleton as Louisa Stohler
Ernest Borgnine as Isaiah Schidt
Michael Berryman as William Gluntz
Kevin Cooney as Sheriff
[edit] Production
The film was shot on location in Waxahachie, Texas. A real spider was dropped into Stone's mouth; she initially rejected participating in the scene until it was defanged. Michael Berryman had previously worked with Craven on The Hills Have Eyes as similar character.
[edit] Reception
It was Sharon Stone's second movie. Academy Award-winner Ernest Borgnine was nominated for a Razzie award for "Worst Supporting Actor" for this movie.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
This article about a 1980s horror film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
