Ailing miserly matriarch Delilah Charles (a deliciously wicked and formidable portrayal by Agnes Moorehead) lives on a large plantation estate. Her various greedy and back-stabbing siblings gather together to collect Delilah's sizeable inheritance only to get bumped off left and right by a mysterious axe-wielding killer.
Writer/director John Farris relates the absorbing and enjoyable story at a steady pace, adroitly crafts a brooding gloom-doom Southern gothic atmosphere, and presents a colorful array of seriously damaged and dysfunctional characters. Moreover, it's acted with aplomb by an able and enthusiastic cast: Will Geer as rascally lawyer Ray Jurroe, Michael Ansara as the slimy Morgan, Dennis Patrick as pathetic junkie Dr. Alonzo Charles, Anne Meacham as shrill alcoholic Grace, Robert Gentry as jerky hunk Richard, Patricia Carmichael as troubled housekeeper Luddy, Elizabeth Eis as fetching nurse Ellen, and Ruth Baker as the ditsy Buffy. The startling moments of graphic gore pack a vicious punch. A solid and satisfying little shocker.
Writer/director John Farris relates the absorbing and enjoyable story at a steady pace, adroitly crafts a brooding gloom-doom Southern gothic atmosphere, and presents a colorful array of seriously damaged and dysfunctional characters. Moreover, it's acted with aplomb by an able and enthusiastic cast: Will Geer as rascally lawyer Ray Jurroe, Michael Ansara as the slimy Morgan, Dennis Patrick as pathetic junkie Dr. Alonzo Charles, Anne Meacham as shrill alcoholic Grace, Robert Gentry as jerky hunk Richard, Patricia Carmichael as troubled housekeeper Luddy, Elizabeth Eis as fetching nurse Ellen, and Ruth Baker as the ditsy Buffy. The startling moments of graphic gore pack a vicious punch. A solid and satisfying little shocker.