Before Wes Craven went on to become one of the supreme auteurs of the horror genre with films like Nightmare on Elm Street and the
Scream series, the filmmaker grabbed enough cult status to keep his name
relevant with Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes. These were great
films - visceral, nasty and both as unrelenting as anything produced in the
1970's.
In 1981, Craven's approach for the Amish themed thriller
Deadly Blessing takes a more restrained but still includes many of his classic
touches fans have been able to see in his work over the past 40 years. Scream
Factory has just released the Collector's Edition of Deadly Blessing, and
folks, it's pretty special because this is the first time it's ever been
released on Blu-ray and DVD in the US.
Trios of woman (Sharon Stone, Lisa Hartman and Susan
Bruckner) live in a farmhouse near a crazy Amish sect called the Hittites. This
particular group is headed by a sadist named Isaiah Schmidt (Ernest Borgnine,
Marty, The Dirty Dozen and The Wild Bunch). Schmidt barks about the existence
of the Incubus, a demonic creature taking the lives of heathens going against
the group or daring to leave.
Borgnine and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, Cut and
Run) turn in the best performances in Deadly Blessing. In his role as William
Gluntz, Berryman comes across as a slightly smarter version of Lenny Small from
Of Mice and Men. Known best for being the snorting, grunting menace, Pluto,
from The Hills Have Eyes, here Berryman actually shows some acting chops as a
simple-minded, misunderstood Hittite who gets into a whole heap of trouble with
the Incubus. Borgnine is a powerful presence here, which isn't a stretch for
the legendary actor. He's also got a kick ass beard!
The looks of Deadly Blessing is almost that of a TV movie
which coincidentally he did a few of around the early 80's. Craven really
succeeds in just creeping the viewer out - not with gore or the extreme
violence portrayed in some of his previous works, but with mood, a sense of
dread and spiders. Yes, arachnophobes, this is movie will make your skin crawl
as there are plenty of our eight-legged friends among the cast. Snakes may also
slither their way into the story but I won’t go much further than that.
Scream Factory and Red Shirt Pictures join forces yet again
with some excellent interviews with Creature Designer John Naulin, Susan Bruckner
and Deadly Blessing writers Glenn Benest and Matthew Barr and actor Michael
Berryman. The best features are without a doubt the commentary with Wes Craven
and the interview segment with Michael Berryman. Berryman is an absolute gent
and full of great stories. He is so far from the characters he portrays so
often in movies - as he comes across intelligent and quite funny. Trailers and
TV spots are also on hand for what proves to be a pretty packed disc.
This was the first time I’d gotten to see Deadly Blessing
and I’m really surprised at how entertained I was. To me, Deadly Blessing is
one of Craven’s top five films and certainly receives a top-notch release by
Scream Factory. Fear the Incubus!
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