Burnt Offerings (1976)

Haunted house chiller from Dan Curtis has Oliver Reed and Karen Black as summer caretakers moving into gothic house with their young son. The catch? The house rejuvenates a part of itself ... See full summary »

Director:

Dan Curtis

Writers:

Robert Marasco (novel), William F. Nolan (screenplay),

Stars:

Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith

6 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Karen Black	...	Marian Rolf
Oliver Reed	...	Ben Rolf
Burgess Meredith	...	Arnold Allardyce
Eileen Heckart	...	Roz Allardyce
Lee Montgomery	...	David 'Davey' Rolf (as Lee H. Montgomery)
Dub Taylor	...	Walker
Bette Davis	...	Aunt Elizabeth
Joseph Riley	...	Ben's Father
Todd Turquand	...	Young Ben
Orin Cannon	...	Minister
Jim Myers	...	Dr. Ross
Anthony James	...	The Chauffeur

Storyline

Haunted house chiller from Dan Curtis has Oliver Reed and Karen Black as summer caretakers moving into gothic house with their young son. The catch? The house rejuvenates a part of itself with each death that occurs on its premises.

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Plot Keywords:

haunted house | mirror | child abuse | vacation | family relationships | 

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Taglines:

Up the ancient stairs, behind the locked door, something lives, something evil, from which no one has ever returned. [UK]

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pesadilla diabólica

Filming Locations:

Dunsmuir House & Gardens - 2960 Peralta Oaks Court, Oakland, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA), Dan Curtis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The haunting flashbacks that Ben Rolf has about the creepy chauffeur were based off of an actual childhood experience of Dan Curtis. Curtis recalled as a young child being at his mothers funeral and seeing a chauffeur laughing outside of the funeral parlor which disturbed him deeply. He wrote the memory into the film and the chauffeur became a most eerie character.

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Goofs

The gray in Marion's hair has completely vanished when she and Ben are out on the porch at night and she has the tea tray.

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Quotes

David Rolf: I hate this place! I want to get of here. I HATE IT!

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Connections

Referenced in Ooga Booga (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Memories of a Lifetime"
Written, composed and conducted by Robert Cobert

User Reviews

Great 70's horror.

My 10 out of 10 vote for this movie really stems from the first time I'd seen it. I was an 8 year old at the drive-in with my parents. The assumption was I would watch the first movie of this double bill and fall asleep before the scary movie started. I cannot remember the first movie but I can tell you I will never forget this one. I played like I was sleeping in the back seat but watched the whole movie without my parents knowing. I had nightmares for months to come. Images of the creepy Chauffeur driver and the foggy lighting and lens effects really stuck with me. And the last scene was terrifying. I'm much older now but when revisiting this horror classic I'm reminded of that night in the backseat of my parents car...I still get chills. I also had the same experiences with "Seizure" "From Beyond the Grave" and "The Sentinel".