The Offspring (1987)

In a small Tennessee town, an historian relates four horror stories to a reporter.

Director:

Jeff Burr

Writers:

C. Courtney Joyner, Mike Malone (additional story material),

Stars:

Vincent Price, Clu Gulager, Terry Kiser

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincent Price	...	Julian White
Clu Gulager	...	Stanley Burnside
Terry Kiser	...	Jesse Hardwick
Harry Caesar	...	Felder Evans
Rosalind Cash	...	Snakewoman
Cameron Mitchell	...	Sgt. Gallen
Susan Tyrrell	...	Beth Chandler
Martine Beswick	...	Katherine White
Ron Brooks	...	Steven Arden
Miriam Byrd-Nethery	...	Eileen Burnside
Didi Lanier	...	Amarrillis Caulfield
Thomas Nowell	...	Andrew (as Tommy Nowell)
Ashli Bare	...	Amanda
Terence Knox	...	Burt (as Terry Knox)
Megan McFarland	...	Grace Scott

Storyline

The uncle of an executed murderess relates four stories of his hometown, Oldfield, to a reporter: an elderly man pursues a romance with a younger woman, even to the grave and beyond...a wounded man on the run from creditors is rescued by a backwoods hermit with the secret to eternal life...a glass-eating carny pays the ultimate price for looking for love on the outside...and Civil War soldiers are held captive by a household of orphans with strange intentions for them.

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Plot Keywords:

tennessee | child strangling | strangulation | cannibalism | library | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to Oldfield, Tennessee. Population: Deadly!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

From a Whisper to a Scream

Filming Locations:

Dalton, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$1,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Conquest Productions, Manson International, Whisper Scream Limited Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 92 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jeff Burr was a young, new filmmaker when he boldly approached Vincent Price and asked him to star in his film. Price was so impressed with Burr's confidence that he readily agreed to take the role. His scenes for the framing story were the last to be filmed.

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Goofs

Tennessee carried out no executions between November 1960 and April 2000, but had it carried out an execution in the 1980s, the state would have used the electric chair. Tennessee did not authorize lethal injection as a method of execution in the 1980s, so the scene depicted early in the film could not have taken place. Electrocution was the only method on the books from 1916 until lethal injection was adopted in 2000.

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Quotes

Julian White: One thing I've learned, my dear, is that one is never too old for nightmares.

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Crazy Credits

Near the end of the credits, we are told "WHEN IN TENNESSEE VISIT OLDFIELD". Oldfield is not a real town.

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Connections

Referenced in The Saw Is Family: Making 'Leatherface' (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Class Tramp"
Written by Jimmie Podrasky (as James Podrasky) and Michael Kaniecki (as M. Kaniecki)
Performed by The Rave-Ups
Courtesy Fun Stuff Records

User Reviews

Very cool.

No, this has absolutely nothing to do with the band, even though they share the same name and even the same exact logo. I found this to be something special. Even though I had never heard of it and I just saw it at the video store and saw that Terry Kiser was in it.

What we get here is little anthology of nasty tales told from a librarian, about the sinister history of a small Tennessee town. Now, I found the first story (with Clu Galagher) to be just a bit too sick, it's still pretty entertaining and his character plays a loser to such perfection that it's actually funny to watch him. I won't say much in the way of that one, but I will say that involves incest, necrophilia, and some really awful singing of some even worse lyrics.

The second one, I believe was my favorite. Terry Kiser plays a white trash moron by the name of Jesse Hardwicke who is on the run from some nasty creditors. When he is shot by one of the previously mentioned creditors, he manages to crawl his way to a boat where he passes out and drifts through the swamps. He's discovered by a hermit-type who brings him back to health and also gives him the gift of eternal life. Jesse, being an ungrateful IDIOT, has ideas to take the old man's voodoo skills and use it as a way to cash in. When the old man refuses to give in, he tries to kill the old man. Big mistake. That's all I'm going to say about that one. But let me say this, this little tale has the most shocking, disturbing, and disgusting ending of any of the rest. In fact, it tops more endings than any other horror flick I can think of for that matter, on that level. Just see it.

The third story, I really wasn't too crazy about. It has to do with a circus guy who eats glass. It didn't do much for me.

The last in the act is pretty chilling. Set back in the civil war, a few yankees stumble upon a house inhabited by young children whose parents were all killed during the war. What happens here is pretty sick and so shocking that I won't say what happens.

As far as anthologies go, this is one of the best I've seen. It edges out "Creepshow", "Creepshow 2", "Cat's Eye", and "Deadtime Stories". I'm really hoping that it gets a dvd release.