Deadly Blessing (1981)

Wes Craven's 1981 horror film tells about a widow who becomes haunted in an Amish community after her late, husband mysteriously dies. Her 2 friends are also targeted and the religious, townsfolk may be the ones plotting their demise. Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct) is featured in one of her earliest films and Ernest Borgnine (Escape from New York) and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) also appear. This isn't bad, Craven sort of provides similar scares that "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Scream" & "Serpent and the Rainbow" inherit featuring a decent cast and great score. I'd give this a view at least once if you're into horror.

There is no denying that "Deadly Blessing" has some effective scenes and that Wes Craven provides some inspired direction. The photography is great and the setting of the rural countryside is ideal. Casting Ernest Borgnine was certainly a feather in the capital of the film. However, I found the story quite hard to follow and a lack of incident. The climax was good though and also the build up to it. Michael Berryman is underused in "Deadly Blessing" and should have been given much more to do. Throughout the movie, there is an eerie feeling of awaiting some kind of supernatural phenomenon and this does happen after a while. A local farmer is suddenly murdered in his barn one night and this is followed by more violent deaths amongst the local community. Suspicion falls upon an Amish family who are rather set in their religious ways. Their harsh and uncompromising look on every day life could almost make them qualify as villains. Wes Craven was reported to have disliked the ending in the way it attempted to explain all that had happened. Personally, I enjoyed it. Not a bad horror film but it pales in comparison with "The Hills Have Eyes" and "A Nightmare On Elm Street."

"Deadly Blessing" is a surprisingly good horror movie from Wes Craven. It has Ernest Borgnine (Marty (1954)), Maren Jensen, otherwise known as Athena on Battlestar Galactica - The Complete Epic Series, and a young Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct). The Hittites (loosely based on the Hutterites/Amish) are an enclosed community, shunning modern technology. One of their own has left the fold to marry Maren. He suffers deadly consequences. As a widow, Maren is comforted by her friends. There's plenty of craziness, a questioning of societal mores. The Hittites somehow to manage to blend Eastern Orthodox sacred music with Catholic practices all the while being good Bible-quoting Protestants. The ending fight scenes are all between women, and the proper young lady Faith (Lisa Hartman) turns out to be androgynous. For some in the audience, Maren's frequent nudity is satisfying in its own way. The climactic scene... well, it makes no sense.Director Wes Craven obviously used "Deadly Blessing" as practicing grounds for his future horror exploits. One example is a very familiar camera angle used in "Deadly Blessing" that he re-used in the original "A Nightmare on Elm Street." It left me smiling throughout the entire sequence. One thing I'll give Craven is he knows how to drum up enough suspense to make you nervously bite your fingernails through pacing and editing alone. There are some genuinely nerve-wracking moments in "Deadly Blessing." The movie boasts an interesting variety of cast members at various times in their careers. "Deadly Blessing" is Maren Jensen's ("Battlestar Galactica") last big-screen role. It features Sharon Stone in one of her first film appearances. Genre-favorite Michael Berryman ("The Hills Have Eyes") appears as a creepy mentally handicapped Hittite. Ernest Borgnine had already won Academy and Golden Globe Awards before taking the role of cult leader Isaiah. Any other actor of his caliber probably would've stuck his nose up in the air and walked away when offered this role in a low-budget horror film. Borgnine instead throws himself into the character and adds a level of class to the movie that takes it to a whole new level.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Early work by horror specialist Wes Craven; his fourth film and first into the 1980's. Also one of Sharon Stone's earliest screen appearances. Unfortunately it stinks. IMDb reviews seem to be biased Craven lovers because this most certainly is not a gem. It's boring. The religious sect next door is supposed to have a deep secret. They don't. They're just ridiculous. Almost no chills in this except for a scene or two and they're very brief. A twist at the end doesn't do much to excite. Very bored with this.4.6 / 10 stars--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener