- Actors: Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, Eileen Heckart, Lee Montgomery
- Directors: Dan Curtis
- Writers: Dan Curtis, Robert Marasco, William F. Nolan
- Producers: Dan Curtis, Robert Singer
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Colour, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Region: Region 1 (US and Canada DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
- Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
- DVD Release Date: 26 Aug 2003
- Run Time: 116 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00009PY32
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 54,681 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A family rents an isolated house for a summer vacation. Part of the deal is that they must look after the little old lady in the attic. Almost from the start, sinister thing start happening. One of the most effective techniques is the husband's flashbacks to his mother's funeral, in particular, a vision of a grinning hearse driver. Other memorable scenes include a swimming pool that behaves like a storm at sea and the house renewing itself by replacing its tiles. This is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen and it sure beats most popular horror movies for drawn-out suspense and psychological terror. This one stays with you weeks after you've watched it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Always had a soft spot for this well made chiller from the underated Dan Curtis.....Nothing too original story wise and you may get the feeling you have seen some of the plot twists somewhere before.However considering this was made before Amityville Horror and The Shining {two films that certain scenes in particular remind one of )Its storyline holds up rather well.
Above all tho it is the atmosphere and slow building tension to as scary a climax as i have seen in many a horror movie...Still givesme the creeps now ! :O.
Above all tho it is the atmosphere and slow building tension to as scary a climax as i have seen in many a horror movie...Still givesme the creeps now ! :O.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I thought this movie was alright being that it was my first time watching it. It's not anything like the horror movies of today because it obviously relies on an interesting story and creepiness; something Hollywood often does with special effects. This is just a creepy film and runs a bit slow at the beginning but it builds up towards an alright ending. Burnt Offerings is your typical "family buys/rents dream house at bargain price only to regret it" film. Obvious examples being "The Shining" and the "Amityville Horror," both based on books as well. There is also a strange person hidden away upstairs (c.f. Jane Eyre, The Old Dark House, The Ghoul (1975) etc).
The film is a study of family dysfunction, which is exacerbated by the haunted house (see also the first two films mentioned above). Issues explored include child beating, marital stress and breakdown, the importance/impotence of the father figure, and estrangement between all family members.
The most visible manifestation of the "evil" is the ability of the house to clean and repair itself. Unfortunately this is more of a householders dream than nightmare. No more breakages, tidying, "cowboy" building firms, etc. When Ben Rolf appears in a wheelchair, thus emulating Arnold Allardyce at the start, I thought the house was trying to "keep" rather than kill its occupants. The house needed a specific family imprisoned from which to draw its power/feed off. Thus the Alladyces were victims of the house. Their behavior at the start and motivation was of fear and escape. There lays their need to find a replacement family and sudden departure. However, the ending shows the couple to be in league with the evil, my initial impression being wrong.
The conclusion was too open-ended, the origins and mysteries of the house were not fully explained. Perhaps the source novel is clearer. The title, Burnt Offerings, seems a misnomer, nothing is burnt per se. The house itself was the offering; the family had high expectations, only to be fatally disappointed.
The film is a study of family dysfunction, which is exacerbated by the haunted house (see also the first two films mentioned above). Issues explored include child beating, marital stress and breakdown, the importance/impotence of the father figure, and estrangement between all family members.
The most visible manifestation of the "evil" is the ability of the house to clean and repair itself. Unfortunately this is more of a householders dream than nightmare. No more breakages, tidying, "cowboy" building firms, etc. When Ben Rolf appears in a wheelchair, thus emulating Arnold Allardyce at the start, I thought the house was trying to "keep" rather than kill its occupants. The house needed a specific family imprisoned from which to draw its power/feed off. Thus the Alladyces were victims of the house. Their behavior at the start and motivation was of fear and escape. There lays their need to find a replacement family and sudden departure. However, the ending shows the couple to be in league with the evil, my initial impression being wrong.
The conclusion was too open-ended, the origins and mysteries of the house were not fully explained. Perhaps the source novel is clearer. The title, Burnt Offerings, seems a misnomer, nothing is burnt per se. The house itself was the offering; the family had high expectations, only to be fatally disappointed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great 70's horror, very creepy and mesmerizing!
When I picked up Burnt Offerings a few years ago, I had reason to think that I found a horror gem from the seventies and I was right. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Puzzle box
Burnt Offerings!
A real all time classic horror!
Oliver Reed plays a fabulous roll as the tormented husband in a most outstanding way. Read more
Oliver Reed plays a fabulous roll as the tormented husband in a most outstanding way. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Goth Girl
Dated maybe, spooky definately!
The Rolf family view a large Victorian mansion in the California countryside which they plan to rent for the summer. Read more
Published 21 months ago by BarringtonD
Burnt Offerings....dun dun dun...
I saw this at the cinema back in 1974 when it came out and bought it in 2001, I found it quite frightening in `74 but itis tamer compared to todays standards, However it is quite... Read more
Published on 30 Nov 2003
Abit of a disappointment
The book of this is supposed to be really good, so watched with interest, but found the whole thing to be abit 'hammy'. Read more
Published on 6 July 2003 by Chapter One
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