Good start, but then it gets ruined

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I like this a lot. Admittedly there is something of the 'made for TV' look about some of it but then the same as everyone appears to be over acting at first, both these factors seem to work in the film's favour as we progress. The mundanity and flatness of some or the early shots and the performances of Karen Black and Oliver Reed seem stilted initially but as the film proceeds we find that we have been misled, things are much worse than we thought. Even the early appearance of Bette Davis is not good but when trouble hits her, oh my does she perform! Others have spoken about the likely influence upon The Shining but I will just say, simple 'haunted house movie' or not, this is well worth watching. There are several amazing sequences but, for me, that terrible pool sequence with Reed and the boy dramatically tilts the picture and turns this into something very special.

I was 4 years old when this came out... I think I first saw this one 3 to 5 years after it was released, something like that. I remember this one chilled me to the bone at that time and when I was a teen I saw it a handful of times when they decided to show it on TV (which wasn't very often). I finally obtained this classic - added it to my collection - and I've got to say it is still one of the great haunted house movies on the market. I watched it again and it still gave me the chills.Some viewers say they didn't like David (Lee Montgomery's character) and I have to say at times they had him acting bratty BUT one has to remember David is being effected just like the others - all of their personalities started changing (David included).I won't say much anything about the plot, you can read that for yourself, but I'll say the what you read does not do this film justice. It's more than a haunted house film - this one goes deep into the psyche of the characters and for the viewers.It is slow subtle horror, one of those that keeps building up to a smashing ending... all is concluded tidy.9/10

Now I was never a fan of this house making people going crazy theme and I couldn't understand why. I thought yeah maybe it's just not my cup of tea. I saw "Rose Red", "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer", "The Shining (1980)", both of "The Amityville Horror" movies. Except for Amityville Horror remake I found them all pretty forgettable. The idea of each of this movies behind it was good but the execution was seemingly more focused on visuals and putting in a lot of stuff that didn't really was important to the story. Well I now understand why those movies really didn't do it for me as I now have watched the movie who used the theme in an effective way without needing to stoop to stunning visuals nor putting in stuff that really isn't important for the story. Even though I could predict a lot of things (the pictures on the closet were not family members but previous "victims" of the house, the old lady was not a lady of flesh and blood, I knew Marian was slowly taking over the old lady's role and I knew that was going to be her in the chair when her husband came to check on the old lady). Still I couldn't have predicted it all without seeing movies using a similar theme so I really am not going to downgrade the movie for that.I was thinking about Psycho too when watching this movie, but in the end it was pretty much different. Actually liked this one much more than Psycho. Simple but effective. The only thing is the duration, could have been shorter. Karen Black and Oliver Reed are splendid in their roles, and even though not so much to do Bette Davis is always an asset to a movie. Weird to see her as normal and not the crazy person I'm used to. Had I never seen a similar movie before I would probably rate it a 9/10, now I would go for 7,5/10. So for all the ones not having seen this and loving one or more of the movies I mentioned in the first paragraph, I would recommend to also watch and (hopefully) give some credit to "Burnt Offerings". I dunno if Burnt Offerings story came first or The Shining but Burnt Offerings movie was first and for me a case of OK this one put the idea to good use so for me no need to use later movies who don't do it as well.

Ben and Marian Rolf (Oliver Reed, Karen Black) rent a somewhat rundown old mansion in the country for the summer. They move in along with their son and Ben's elderly aunt (Bette Davis) and soon strange things start taking place. Ben grows increasingly violent while Marian becomes obsessed with the mysterious old woman who lives in a room on the top floor that no one but her has contact with. The more their personalities change, the more the house itself changes. It literally renovates itself, feeding off the negative energy of the family.I love Dan Curtis' work. He was pretty much the most consistent voice for horror output in the '70s, primarily on television. He made a lot of entertaining TV shows and movies. He does a good job directing here but the movie has some issues. The biggest problem with the movie is its length. You would think with his experience in television that Dan Curtis would understand the value of telling a story succinctly. But no, this is nearly two hours. There are no twists that you won't have figured out by the end of the first hour so this really should have been cut by at least 20 minutes.Now for the positives. First and foremost, the wonderful location shooting at Dunsmuir House in Oakland, CA. I've said before and I'll say it again: I love movies from the '70s shot on location, particularly in small towns or rural areas. There's an authenticity about it that movie sets and (God forbid) CGI effects can't match. Also love the foggy lens thing. Not sure how that was accomplished but it's very effective and gives the movie a unique style. Another huge plus is the creepy music throughout. The cast is good. Oliver Reed plays the father-going-crazy thing better than most. Not quite Nicholson but better than Brolin. Karen Black does okay. She was never the greatest actress but had a distinctive look that helped her greatly in horror films. Bette Davis is very good but gets way too little to do. Her last scene is pretty scary. Lee Montgomery is the son who gets very excited when he finds a case of Ding Dongs in the kitchen. In addition, there's Burgess Meredith in a small role early on. He's always good. Dub Taylor is also in this briefly doing his cornpone thing. It's out of place but harmless, I guess.There are some genuinely scary and surprising moments in this film. It has a creepy atmosphere that manages to elevate it above many similarly-themed movies over the years. The last 20-30 minutes is especially good and the ending is memorable. It's worth a look for Curtis fans or fans of '70s horror in general.