There are a handful of minor films by Wes Craven that I have not seen. My goal with these deep cuts, though, is to fill in those gaps. Ultimately, Summer of Fear, Invitation to Hell, Stranger in our House, all should be reviewed within this series. If you’ve seen them, am I wasting my time seeking them out? What about Deadly Blessing? Is it too late to turn around?
Synopsis:
“After her husband dies under mysterious circumstances, a widow becomes increasingly paranoid of the neighboring religious community that may have diabolical plans for her.”
IMDb: 5.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 33%
Tagline: To the Valley of Beauty Comes the Shadow of Death
The cast is led by Ernest Borgnine, earning himself a Razzie nomination for “Worst Supporting Actor,” as well as character actor Michael Berryman, appearing in the second of four films directed by Wes Craven. A borderline unrecognizable 23-year-old Sharon Stone makes her theatrical debut in the film as one of the leads, Lana. One of the other leads, Maren Jensen, aka Ms. Don Henley in the 80s, retired from acting after this, due to contracting the Epstein-Barr virus, one of the 9 known types of Herpes.
A scene filmed for Deadly Blessing would later be re-attempted and ultimately perfected in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Watch for the first take on the iconic tub scene! Of course, Freddy’s glove doesn’t come up out of the water, but something else does. And the scene is almost recreated shot by shot down to the lighting!
The Hittites, a radical take on the relatively unknown Amish culture (brought to the mainstream with the 1985 film Witness starring Harrison Ford) are at the center of the movie, and the hysteria around them ultimately makes or breaks the film. Who is the mysterious black dressed figure that’s running around and killing everyone? Is it a crazy ass Hittite? That goofy ass Michael Berryman? The Razzie award nominee himself? One of the, to use a Children of the Corn term, Outlanders?
The young Hittites come across as a little special ed, and the cringe worthy term “retard” is thrown around pretty frequently. I might be offended at the simple characterization of the religious cult members if I was Amish. Of course, I wouldn’t see this movie if I was Amish, or any movie for that matter, so I guess it doesn’t really pertain here. But it’s hard to be scared when they come across as harmless idiots.
It’s so hard to believe sometimes when watching some of Craven’s films that he was the guy that not only made A Nightmare on Elm Street, but Scream. Some of his films, including this one, are so devoid of tension, atmosphere, style, or scares, that it’s hard to consider him a master of horror. His films, at times, are cheesy, clunky, clumsy, and have tonal shifts that completely take you out of the movie. And yet he created two of the most iconic franchises in horror movie history! What is the explanation for Craven’s seemingly out of place masterpieces? Did he just strike gold twice?
The acting is a little over done in spots, which the goofy nature of Craven’s flicks sometimes allows for that. Stone is a far cry from her tour de force acting skills on display a decade later. She is arguably the worst of the bunch. Berryman is there for his looks and not his acting skills, which like I stated before, instead of being the menacing inbred killer of movies past, he’s the innocent and borderline feeble religious cult member, which kind of defeats the purpose of having him in the movie. And Borgnine’s crazy wide-eyed portrayal as the head Hittite was ridiculous.
The music by James Horner is fantastic, and he truly adds the only bit of suspense to the movie. It’s not the directing that makes this film passable, it’s the violin-based retro symphonic slasher movie Friday the 13th type music that does it.
The kills are bloodless and unspectacular. There are also repeated yet unnecessary and borderline gratuitous boobies and 80s bush on full display. It feels out of place within the heyday of his post-1984 filmography, but looking back, it was fairly normal for his early films.
There are some surprises and twists along the way that I didn’t see coming, and truth be told, it does hold your interest the entire time, it just isn’t particularly memorable. It’s just average. It’s a lazy first attempt at a generic slasher fueled by the fear of religion with an absurd reveal and a batshit coda. If you like the idea, but hate the execution, go watch the two-part 1988 episode of Friday the 13th – The Series, “The Quilt of Hathor,” and see it done right.
