Ghost stories have been around forever, and will haunt us long after we are ghosts. Before film, most apparitional tales came from novels or short stories. Yes, there were oral traditions of the spooky place down the block or the hitchhiker on a lost highway, but usually someone put it down in a book. Some of the greatest films about hauntings originate as full cinema creations, with a director’s dark vision on the screen, others come from true cases or urban legends. These ghost stories are novel ideas.
This is by no means a complete list. Almost every Edgar Allan Poe film adaptation has a spectral presence; Charles Dickens’ nighttime visitors in A Christmas Carol are only ghosts of presents we wrap for seasonal coverage; director Lew Allen’s 1944 horror feature The Uninvited isn’t here because I haven’t read Dorothy Macardle’s Uneasy Freehold (1941), which it was...
This is by no means a complete list. Almost every Edgar Allan Poe film adaptation has a spectral presence; Charles Dickens’ nighttime visitors in A Christmas Carol are only ghosts of presents we wrap for seasonal coverage; director Lew Allen’s 1944 horror feature The Uninvited isn’t here because I haven’t read Dorothy Macardle’s Uneasy Freehold (1941), which it was...
- 10/31/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
In the nearly half-century since author Stephen King began entertaining and simultaneously scaring the bejesus out of his countless fans around the world, filmed adaptations of his work have become so much a staple that we’re now deep into the remakes phase of his prolific output. The 2017 feature film version of King’s “It” grossed $700 million worldwide, 27 years after the creepy clown yarn had terrified TV viewers in the form of an iconic miniseries. This year, horror fans will be treated to a 30th anniversary remake of King’s classic terror tale “Pet Sematary.”
Consider this: There are currently nearly 50 King projects in various stages of production and/or development per the film and TV business-tracking site
IMDb, including: the “Shining” feature film sequel, “Doctor Sleep,” a film sequel to “It,” a third season of “Mr. Mercedes” and the second season of the King-Universe TV series, “Castle Rock.”
King...
Consider this: There are currently nearly 50 King projects in various stages of production and/or development per the film and TV business-tracking site
IMDb, including: the “Shining” feature film sequel, “Doctor Sleep,” a film sequel to “It,” a third season of “Mr. Mercedes” and the second season of the King-Universe TV series, “Castle Rock.”
King...
- 2/5/2019
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
By Todd Garbarini
Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) returns in The Night Strangler (1973), a follow-up TV-movie to the previous year’s unexpectedly successful The Night Stalker. Kolchak has been booted out of Las Vegas and settles in Seattle and teams up with his old boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) just as a string of suspicious murders begin to plague the metropolis. It comes to his attention that the victims, young female exotic dancers, are turning up dead after having had their necks crushed, drained of a small amount of blood, and most disturbingly all had instances of rotting flesh on their necks. The murders occur over a period of 18 days.
Through a researcher, Carl learns that a nearly identical series of killings took place in 1952 (21 years earlier) for the same duration, and then 21 years prior to that, all the way back to at least 1889. The police want Kolchak to cease his...
Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) returns in The Night Strangler (1973), a follow-up TV-movie to the previous year’s unexpectedly successful The Night Stalker. Kolchak has been booted out of Las Vegas and settles in Seattle and teams up with his old boss Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland) just as a string of suspicious murders begin to plague the metropolis. It comes to his attention that the victims, young female exotic dancers, are turning up dead after having had their necks crushed, drained of a small amount of blood, and most disturbingly all had instances of rotting flesh on their necks. The murders occur over a period of 18 days.
Through a researcher, Carl learns that a nearly identical series of killings took place in 1952 (21 years earlier) for the same duration, and then 21 years prior to that, all the way back to at least 1889. The police want Kolchak to cease his...
- 11/7/2018
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Its source material (Robert Marasco's 1973 novel) influenced Stephen King's The Shining, it featured one of the most unnerving "what's behind that door?" onscreen mysteries, and its creepy hearse driver has been the stuff of nightmares for decades. Dan Curtis' Burnt Offerings has a lot to offer viewers fond of the haunted house sub-genre. For a long time, fans of the 1976 film have been waiting for it to come out on Blu-ray, and with their recent announcement, Kino Lorber is making sure all those years of patience will pay off. Thankfully, by the time trick-or-treaters knock on your door, Burnt Offerings will be available on Blu-ray and DVD.
Boasting a brand new high-definition transfer, Kino Lorber's Burnt Offerings Blu-ray / DVD is slated for an October release. No special features have been revealed at this time, but we'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on further announcements regarding this much-anticipated home media release.
Boasting a brand new high-definition transfer, Kino Lorber's Burnt Offerings Blu-ray / DVD is slated for an October release. No special features have been revealed at this time, but we'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on further announcements regarding this much-anticipated home media release.
- 4/23/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
This was ground zero. This was where the love affair started; all the sleepless nights, the cold sweats, the screaming. In 1976, at the age of six, my mom took me to the theater to see Burnt Offerings, my first horror movie.
Six years old. Up until this point my viewing memories consisted of Saturday morning cartoons and a matinee memory of seeing a giant octopus engulf a ship (submarine?). Little did I know that I was to be indoctrinated into a universe of monsters, vampires, guys with knives (girls too), killer critters, ghosts, goblins, and, in my inaugural visit to the screen of screams… the Haunted House.
Well, that description is a little off. The house in Burnt Offerings isn’t haunted exactly; it is…alive. A living, pulsing being that every so often needs a new family to love it. Cherish it. And to be consumed by it so...
Six years old. Up until this point my viewing memories consisted of Saturday morning cartoons and a matinee memory of seeing a giant octopus engulf a ship (submarine?). Little did I know that I was to be indoctrinated into a universe of monsters, vampires, guys with knives (girls too), killer critters, ghosts, goblins, and, in my inaugural visit to the screen of screams… the Haunted House.
Well, that description is a little off. The house in Burnt Offerings isn’t haunted exactly; it is…alive. A living, pulsing being that every so often needs a new family to love it. Cherish it. And to be consumed by it so...
- 4/10/2015
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
It influenced Stephen King's seminal horror novel, The Shining, and was the basis for a 1976 film starring Karen Black and Oliver Reed. Valancourt Books is now paying tribute to one of the most notable haunted house stories ever put to paper with their new edition of Robert Marasco's Burnt Offerings, featuring an introduction by Stephen Graham Jones. If you haven't picked up a copy yet, we have an excerpt from the 1973 horror novel in our latest round-up, along with details on how you can be a volunteer at this year's Stanley Film Festival and a look at images from the Great Lakes-set horror film, The Dark Below, which recently wrapped principal photography.
Burnt Offerings: "Ben and Marian Rolfe are desperate to escape a stifling summer in their cramped and noisy Queens apartment, so when they get the chance to rent a mansion in upstate New York for...
Burnt Offerings: "Ben and Marian Rolfe are desperate to escape a stifling summer in their cramped and noisy Queens apartment, so when they get the chance to rent a mansion in upstate New York for...
- 3/24/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 4, 2012
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
James Mason (l.) and Beau Bridges star in Child's Play.
Based on the stage play by Robert Marasco, the 1972 drama-mystery Child’s Play is lesser-known film directed by the great Sidney Lumet (Network, 12 Angry Men).
A young teacher, Paul Reis (Beau Bridges, The Descendants) arrives at an exclusive Catholic boy’s school that he had attended as young man, where he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems. Reis suspects that one of the older professors in responsible for the school’s increasing incidents of cult-like violence and brutality. Could it be Joe Dobbs (Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria), the easy-going, popular English instructor? Or perhaps Jerome Malley (James Mason, Bigger Than Life), the widely disliked and feared Latin and Greek teacher? Or maybe even someone else…?
Screenwriter Leon Prochnik adapted Marasco’s play,...
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
James Mason (l.) and Beau Bridges star in Child's Play.
Based on the stage play by Robert Marasco, the 1972 drama-mystery Child’s Play is lesser-known film directed by the great Sidney Lumet (Network, 12 Angry Men).
A young teacher, Paul Reis (Beau Bridges, The Descendants) arrives at an exclusive Catholic boy’s school that he had attended as young man, where he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems. Reis suspects that one of the older professors in responsible for the school’s increasing incidents of cult-like violence and brutality. Could it be Joe Dobbs (Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria), the easy-going, popular English instructor? Or perhaps Jerome Malley (James Mason, Bigger Than Life), the widely disliked and feared Latin and Greek teacher? Or maybe even someone else…?
Screenwriter Leon Prochnik adapted Marasco’s play,...
- 7/5/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
By Todd Garbarini
In August 1981, at the age of twelve, I viewed my very first horror film, Dan Curtis' 1976 theatrical outing Burnt Offerings, based upon the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert Marasco. I was immediately impressed with the film's spooky quality and the performances by Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith. One area that stood out most was the chillingly icy score by Robert Cobert. I was eager to discover other works directed by Mr. Curtis and it would be nearly 30 years before I would finally see episodes of what is arguably his most popular production, the soap opera/thriller Dark Shadows. Running for nearly five years on ABC-tv from 1966 to 1971 and consisting of 1,225 episodes in total (some of which were in black and white), Dark Shadows is an enjoyably spooky production that was shot on videotape. It stars Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins,...
In August 1981, at the age of twelve, I viewed my very first horror film, Dan Curtis' 1976 theatrical outing Burnt Offerings, based upon the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert Marasco. I was immediately impressed with the film's spooky quality and the performances by Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith. One area that stood out most was the chillingly icy score by Robert Cobert. I was eager to discover other works directed by Mr. Curtis and it would be nearly 30 years before I would finally see episodes of what is arguably his most popular production, the soap opera/thriller Dark Shadows. Running for nearly five years on ABC-tv from 1966 to 1971 and consisting of 1,225 episodes in total (some of which were in black and white), Dark Shadows is an enjoyably spooky production that was shot on videotape. It stars Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins,...
- 6/19/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Some horror films are of such enduring power and undeniable craftsmanship – films like Psycho, The Exorcist, Carrie and The Shining – that they find a new and devoted fan base with each subsequent generation while others reside almost exclusively in the traumatized memories of the generation who first encountered them. 1976’s haunted house yarn Burnt Offerings would be an example of the latter, a staple of Gen-Xer’s childhoods whose reputation as a supremely frightening film has dimmed over the years.
With Tim Burton’s revival of Dark Shadows currently in theaters, some fans will naturally want to take a look back at producer/director Dan Curtis’ original supernatural soap opera but thinking of Curtis’ contributions to the genre (‘70s horror wouldn’t have been the same without him) made me curious to revisit his adaptation of Robert Marasco’s 1973 novel.
Curtis’ work was almost exclusively for television (besides Dark Shadows,...
With Tim Burton’s revival of Dark Shadows currently in theaters, some fans will naturally want to take a look back at producer/director Dan Curtis’ original supernatural soap opera but thinking of Curtis’ contributions to the genre (‘70s horror wouldn’t have been the same without him) made me curious to revisit his adaptation of Robert Marasco’s 1973 novel.
Curtis’ work was almost exclusively for television (besides Dark Shadows,...
- 5/11/2012
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Review by Chris Wright, MoreHorror.com
When most of us think about a solid golden age haunted house movie, we stream "Amityville Horror". Before that, there was "Burnt Offerings" which was released three years before that in 1976. This movie is largely forgotten by many and overshadows by many others in this genre. Also based on a book by Robert Marasco, "Burnt Offerings" gives us chills, fantastic acting, spooky atmosphere and truly scary moments out of any 70's haunted house movies.
The plot of this movie is simple: The Rolf family are caretakers of a fancy old home in the middle of nowhere as a summer home but the catch is the house takes lives to keep itself alive. A simple yet original plot for a movie that is done so well. The acting is superb from all the actors. The low tone music adds a strikingly eerie presence to the movie.
When most of us think about a solid golden age haunted house movie, we stream "Amityville Horror". Before that, there was "Burnt Offerings" which was released three years before that in 1976. This movie is largely forgotten by many and overshadows by many others in this genre. Also based on a book by Robert Marasco, "Burnt Offerings" gives us chills, fantastic acting, spooky atmosphere and truly scary moments out of any 70's haunted house movies.
The plot of this movie is simple: The Rolf family are caretakers of a fancy old home in the middle of nowhere as a summer home but the catch is the house takes lives to keep itself alive. A simple yet original plot for a movie that is done so well. The acting is superb from all the actors. The low tone music adds a strikingly eerie presence to the movie.
- 2/25/2011
- by admin
- MoreHorror
Salvaged from the unpublished Starlog #375. Posted here for the record. The science fiction universe sadly salutes these fantastic talents who died earlier this year.
Bob May (January) The beloved man inside Lost In Space’s irrepressible Robot. (interviewed in Starlog #57, #201)
Charles H. Schneer (January) The veteran producer who shepherded all of Ray Harryhausen’s movies from It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) to Clash Of The Titans (1981). Those classic genre films included Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles To Earth, The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, The Three Worlds Of Gulliver, Mysterious Island (1961), Jason And The Argonauts, First Men In The Moon, The Valley Of Gwangi, The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad and Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger. Sans Harryhausen, he also produced I Aim At The Stars (a.k.a. Wernher Von Braun), Hellcats Of The Navy and Half A Sixpence. (Starlog #151, #152, #153)
Arthur A. Jacobs (January) In 1958, producer...
Bob May (January) The beloved man inside Lost In Space’s irrepressible Robot. (interviewed in Starlog #57, #201)
Charles H. Schneer (January) The veteran producer who shepherded all of Ray Harryhausen’s movies from It Came From Beneath The Sea (1955) to Clash Of The Titans (1981). Those classic genre films included Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles To Earth, The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, The Three Worlds Of Gulliver, Mysterious Island (1961), Jason And The Argonauts, First Men In The Moon, The Valley Of Gwangi, The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad and Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger. Sans Harryhausen, he also produced I Aim At The Stars (a.k.a. Wernher Von Braun), Hellcats Of The Navy and Half A Sixpence. (Starlog #151, #152, #153)
Arthur A. Jacobs (January) In 1958, producer...
- 9/30/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (David McDonnell)
- Starlog
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