Review of Deadly Blessing (1981) by Filmgrinder S — 27 Oct 2012

A lesser known entry in Wes Craven's filmography, this was sandwiched inbetween the notorious Hills Have Eyes and the franchise busting Nightmare on Elm Street but failed to reach the commercial heights of either of it's near neighbours. A more traditional horror tale compared to his other output this is a much tamer outing than his fans may have wanted.

Set in the mid-west of America it tells of a young farming couple who are at odds with their neighbours, a community of Hittites (a more conservative version of the Amish if that's possible) due to the young farmer having left the community to marry a girl from the big city. When the farmer is killed in what appears to be a mysterious accident his his widow invites two friends from the city to help her overcome her loss and run the farm. The Hittites are further enraged by more unwanted newcomers in their midst and someone starts offing the cast members and putting both groups at odds with each other.

Craven manages to craft a quite atmospheric feeling to the film which is more of a spooky slow burn than most of his back catalogue. The landscape is artistically shot to build the feeling of isolation and the characters interaction is well played. Where is flounders at times is a lack of focus on what it's trying to be - at one turn it's a supernatural ghost story, the next it's aiming to be a slash and stalk flick. As it fails to settle on one direction and make the best of it.

It does contain some very effective scenes however, not least Sharon Stone (in her first film role) having a very close encounter with a large spider in the barn. Regular Craven cast member Michael Berryman turns up playing his usual slightly deranged character but despite being the focus of much of the film's promotional material is only really a supporting character. Craven delivers some decent characterisation and a fair few shocks but then the whole thing becomes a bit of a mess in the final ten minutes when it piles multiple conflicting plot twists upon one another as the identity of the killer is revealed.

Despite that it remains an assured piece of film making that deserved a wider audience than it received on it's initial release and would certainly be recommended for anyone wanting some milder chills on Halloween evening.