Burnt Offerings

"You know something’s up when Bette Davis is the only sane one." – *the_tank_engine* on Letterboxd

**BURNT OFFERINGS** (German title: *Landhaus der Toten Seelen*), from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, is a film adaptation of Robert Marasco’s novel. Initially met with some criticism and even ridicule upon release, the film is a blend of Gothic, haunted house, and family horror. Today, it might be described as a classic slow burner, one that slowly builds its unsettling atmosphere, punctuated by a few impactful shocks along the way (the swimming pool scene!) before escalating into a turbulent finale.

The Rolf family consists of parents Marian and Ben (Karen Black & Oliver Reed), their son David (Lee Montgomery), and Aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis). For the summer, they rent a remote, slightly dilapidated but impressive villa with a pool. Soon after moving in, disturbing nightmares begin, accompanied by the increasingly manic and violent behavior of the family members. Could it be the house itself, which seems to have a life of its own?