I had never heard of this film until I stumbled across a few minutes of it one late night on TCM. And of course leave it to Netflix to find me a copy. The viewing experience of the entire film was somewhat of a disappointment, however. There were some interesting pieces here, but not enough of them to put together a compelling (albeit low budget) horror film. The story concerns some evil goings on at an old house owned by a church. A new pastor takes over and is ordered by local law enforcement to clean the place up as it has become a trash-strewn make-out site. The only regular inhabitants live in a cottage next door. They are an old woman and her mute, but apparently dangerous son. The new pastor, as well as an older one, heads out to the property to have a look around. And boy, do we find some strange goings on here....
It turns out that the house is haunted by the ghost of a witch who was executed some 300 years earlier. She is some angry witch, too! She was in league with Satan, and still carries a grudge to this day. Anyone who tries to move into the house is usually killed violently. And that's a problem since another new pastor and his family will be moving in soon! There are sure a lot of pastors in this story. And this new one and his entire family basically serve as made-to-order victims for this witch. Policemen, home improvement workers, clergymen, you name it all get whacked by this witch! Almost the entire cast dies if I recall. And there are a few really gory deaths.
After an eye-catching opening sequence where two pranksters are killed, this film quickly becomes a cheese fest. The acting is less than adequate for one thing, and the cast has few recognizable faces. Albert Salmi as the head cop is about the only guy I recognized. He had a brief role as Danny Noonan's dad in Caddyshack. The photography is generally clear and bright, but the action isn't blocked in a way that we can always tell what happens to people. The music at times seems upbeat and inappropriate. Sometimes it too closely resembles the opening tune from The Shining. I don't recall ever seeing much of the witch except her demon-like hands and her silhouette as she's approaching some victims. But we do get a close-up of something much more hideous. That being the bra-less boobs of the new preacher's wife as she stands by a window. Unfortunately she's an older woman who looks noting like one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta or similar cougar-themed shows. Its just a really curious shot when we'd rather see her two daughters up close like that. I'd give the entire venture about 4 of 10 stars.
The Hound.
It turns out that the house is haunted by the ghost of a witch who was executed some 300 years earlier. She is some angry witch, too! She was in league with Satan, and still carries a grudge to this day. Anyone who tries to move into the house is usually killed violently. And that's a problem since another new pastor and his family will be moving in soon! There are sure a lot of pastors in this story. And this new one and his entire family basically serve as made-to-order victims for this witch. Policemen, home improvement workers, clergymen, you name it all get whacked by this witch! Almost the entire cast dies if I recall. And there are a few really gory deaths.
After an eye-catching opening sequence where two pranksters are killed, this film quickly becomes a cheese fest. The acting is less than adequate for one thing, and the cast has few recognizable faces. Albert Salmi as the head cop is about the only guy I recognized. He had a brief role as Danny Noonan's dad in Caddyshack. The photography is generally clear and bright, but the action isn't blocked in a way that we can always tell what happens to people. The music at times seems upbeat and inappropriate. Sometimes it too closely resembles the opening tune from The Shining. I don't recall ever seeing much of the witch except her demon-like hands and her silhouette as she's approaching some victims. But we do get a close-up of something much more hideous. That being the bra-less boobs of the new preacher's wife as she stands by a window. Unfortunately she's an older woman who looks noting like one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta or similar cougar-themed shows. Its just a really curious shot when we'd rather see her two daughters up close like that. I'd give the entire venture about 4 of 10 stars.
The Hound.