Tuesday, October 9, 2018

October Horror Movie Challenge: Deadly Blessing (1981)

Ah,  Deadly Blessing. As kids my brothers and sisters LOVED this movie.  No kidding. The ads were so damn creepy.



A young Sharon Stone forced to eat a spider by an Incubus? Hell yeah! That's nightmare fuel for decades.   And a real spider was dropped into her mouth for this scene.  How's that for dedication?

Ok, where to start on this movie?  Well, it features a young Sharon Stone in one of her very first roles.  It also features Battlestar Galactica's Mara Jensen in her very last role before disappearing from public life.  Also appearing is 80s horror mainstay Michael Berryman, TV star Lisa Hartman, and the last film for Susan Buckner before she left public life as well.

The movie features a group of people called the "Hittites" (no relation to the ancient Mesopotamians) who are supposed to be some sort of ultra-Amish.
Our demon-de-hour is an Incubus, but one that decides to possess women.  I guess "incubus" sounds cooler than "succubus" in this case.

Anyway. Lots of creepy stuff. Murders happen. Mara Jensen takes a famous bath with a snake. And it a fashion that predicts A Nightmare on Elm Street, we think we have the murderer and everyone goes back home.  Except for Martha (Mara Jensen), who pulled into hell by the Incubus in his full demon form.

Ok. Let's be honest. The movie doesn't hold up.  In truth, it wasn't that good to start with, but my memories of it are tied up in watching it with my family.

Sharon Stone is great really.  You get a feeling for the sort of actress she will become later.  Maren Jensen is fine, but I think had she not be diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Syndrome she would have naturally left acting.  She was good, but didn't have a lot of range.


Maybe one of the most iconic horror movie posters of all time.  Well, at least in the top 10.

Watched: 6
New: 2



1 comment:

JB said...

Wow. Deadly Blessing. I was definitely too young to watch this one, but I remember well the ads for it, and was, in fact, creeped out for years by the whole spider thing...actually feel it contributed to my deep arachnophobia that I still carry (I don't recall exactly fearing spiders prior to that).

What a blast from the past. Had no idea the film featured Sharon Stone.