A Judgment in Stone (1986)

An English woman, psychotic and sexually repressed, murders her sadistic father, then moves to America. She soon secures a job as a maid for a wealthy family. Soon her severe psychosis and ... See full summary »

Director:

Ousama Rawi

Writers:

Ruth Rendell (novel), Elaine Waisglass (screenplay)

Stars:

Rita Tushingham, Ross Petty, Shelley Peterson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rita Tushingham	...	Eunice Parchman
Ross Petty	...	George Coverdale
Shelley Peterson	...	Jackie Coverdale
Jonathan Crombie	...	Bobby Coverdale
Jessica Steen	...	Melinda Coverdale
Jackie Burroughs	...	Joan Smith
Tom Kneebone	...	Norman Smith
Peter MacNeill	...	William
Donald Ewer	...	Mr. Parchman
Joyce Gordon	...	Aunt
Aisha Bicknell	...	Young Eunice (as Aisha Tushingham)
Gary Krawford	...	Larry
Wanda Cannon	...	Bernice
Layne Coleman	...	Pastor
Betty Harris	...	Teacher

Storyline

An English woman, psychotic and sexually repressed, murders her sadistic father, then moves to America. She soon secures a job as a maid for a wealthy family. Soon her severe psychosis and her attempts to keep her sexuality from asserting itself combine to cause trouble for all concerned.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | psychosis | steaming open a letter | teasing | taunting | 

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Taglines:

She cooks. She cleans. She kills.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Directorial debut, and only film ever directed by, Ousama Rawi.

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Connections

References Mark of Cain (1986)

User Reviews

Interesting Psychodrama

The Housekeeper is a reasonable adaptation of A Judgement in Stone with some dramatic license here and there. Rita Tushingham stars as an illiterate anti-social who murders her father and gets a job as the housekeeper to a wealthy family. She befriends the local busybody and religious freak and they develop a disturbing friendship that leads to murder.

It's not too hard to see where The Housekeeper is going early on. You know the titular character will lose her mind and blood will be shed but this film is interesting enough to leave you wondering how this will all go down and it's still pretty grisly once it does.

Tushingham is wonderful as Eunice and Jackie Burroughs plays to the cheap seats as Joan, the religious freak who gets Eunice mixed up in her own insanity. Everyone else is fine at best.

Details

Country:

Canada UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Housekeeper

Filming Locations:

Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castlehill-Kodiak, First Choice Canadian Communication Corporation, Global

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1