Deadly Blessing (1981)

This film is set in Amish Country, at a local farm, where a woman's husband is mysteriously killed by his own tractor!

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers:

Glenn M. Benest (story), Matthew Barr (story),

Stars:

Maren Jensen, Sharon Stone, Susan Buckner

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maren Jensen	...	Martha Schmidt
Sharon Stone	...	Lana Marcus
Susan Buckner	...	Vicky Anderson
Jeff East	...	John Schmidt
Colleen Riley	...	Melissa (as Coleen Riley)
Douglas Barr	...	Jim Schmidt (as Doug Barr)
Lisa Hartman	...	Faith Stohler
Lois Nettleton	...	Louisa Stohler
Ernest Borgnine	...	Isaiah Schmidt
Michael Berryman	...	William Gluntz
Kevin Cooney	...	Sheriff
Bobby Dark	...	Theatre Manager
Kevin Farr	...	Fat Boy
Neil Fletcher	...	Gravedigger
Jonathon Gulla	...	Tom Schmidt

Storyline

A former Hittite (a member of an Amish-like sect) dies in a mysterious tractor "accident", and his widow is left to face the frightening Hittites who view her as "the incubus" and may have sinister designs on her.

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Plot Keywords:

tractor | incubus | farm | widow | wainscoting | 

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Taglines:

Pray you're not blessed

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Éxtasis mortal

Filming Locations:

Ashtabula, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Inter Planetary

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Susan Buckner and Douglas Barr were both in the same TV series, When the Whistle Blows, before going on to this film.

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Goofs

While Martha is taking a bath, supposedly naked, a black bikini is clearly seen through the bath bubbles.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In the rolling hills of a sinful farm community, untouched by time, a gruesome secret has been protected for generations.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits start rolling before the narrator's dialogue is finshed.

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Connections

References Psycho (1960)

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Soundtracks

"Maggie May"
Written and Performed by Rod Stewart

User Reviews

You got my blessing.

After the mysterious death of her husband, soon after leaving a strict religious sect known as the Hittites. Martha is left as a lonely widow expecting a child, and inherits the country house. Soon two of her friends Vicky and Lana come to comfort her and hopefully bring her back with them, but she prefers to stay. The local Hittites headed by Isaiah see her as the blame for the death and including one of their own, and claim her to be the incubus. Soon strange things begin to happen, and she gets the feeling it might be the sect behind it, but far more sinister work seems to be abound.

Craven's lost treasure in his film collection just might be his curiously under-seen 1981 cult film "Deadly Blessing". Finally with its DVD release in Australia, I got the chance and really enjoyed this stylishly skin crawling and at times inspired psychological shocker. Everything about Wes Craven's well-mounted set pieces is genuinely haunting and visually striking with its spontaneously unexpected and innovative jolts. Tight, pressure-boiling suspense is atmospherically tailored to the dreamy, offbeat air and Craven's judgement is immensely on song. He paints the surreal mood with great use of tinted colouring, well-lit lighting and an eerily original and alienating rural location choice. Going a long way to making the whole set-up quite effective was James Horner's alarming music score, which ripples with ripe and tight thunderous cues. Glenn M. Benest and Mathew Barr's busily symbolic story builds upon the groundwork to only end up all over the shop with its supernatural and psychological elements that seem too uneven and illogical. Boy does it become out-of-control, and strange leading to the climax. It does throw one surprise after another! However the ambiguously outrageous and tacky shock ending, now that was a real eye opener that totally felt out-of-place within the subtle context. Listen to the amusing DVD commentary to understand the reasoning for its inclusion. Robert Jessup's elegantly scenic cinematography is well observed and swiftly handled. The three beautiful lead females were convincingly accessible; a headstrong Maren Jensen, joyful Susan Buckner and a drop dead gorgeous, but fragile-minded Sharon Stone. Ernest Borgnine's steadfast, godly turn as the sect leader is superbly prominent. Michael Berryman is unforgettable. Lisa Hartman and Lois Nettleton are enjoyably lively, and Jeff East and Kevin Cooney also appear. Also Craven manages to squeeze a neat little reference to his very good TV movie "Summer of Fear".