HAUNTS
(1977)
Directed by Herb Freed
Twilight Home Entertainment VHS
Reviewed 02.03.05
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
As soon as I saw the blank black
screen, emulsion lines, and copious
scratching, I knew Haunts
was going to be good. Don’t
ask me how. It was just one of those
things. What I didn’t plan
on was being so...pleasingly unsettled.
Let me explain.
Obscure scare films with 20+ years
under their belts rarely, and I
mean RARELY, manage to raise an
arm hair, much less spring you off
the couch. So when I sat down to
absorb this killer-in-a-ski-mask
psycho-sex slasher with the manic
Cameron Mitchell in tow, I was expecting
lots of laughs and a few cheap thrills.
Midway through, I was feeling uncomfortable,
jumpy, and baffled by Cam’s
unlikely method of restraint. What
happened?! Who switched the rule
book? How could such a gritty, controlled
fright-exercise go M.I.A. for so
long? I’m no Merlin, so who
knows. But that’s beside the
point, of course. Haunts
is here now and it’s pretty
intense.
Ingrid is a loner with a very troubled
past. It seems she witnessed some
kind of sex-murder act as a kid,
involving both parents, and was
also molested as a child. Not too
pretty, huh? She leads a closeted
life in the sticks, engaging in
bizarre farm work (milking a goat
while fantasizing about bedroom
antics) and singing in her church
choir. When word gets out that there’s
a creepy ski-masked killer on the
loose, it’s only a matter
of time before he’s on Ingrid’s
trail. After an off-screen rape
by scissor-point, it’s pretty
clear that Ms. Ingrid needs some
help. Can her uncle Cameron Mitchell
save the day? Or is he somehow involved
in her past insanity? Anyway, things
slink along until the film switches
gears and uproots everything. Maybe
Sheriff Aldo Ray should stop puking
in the toilet and lend a gun.
With a combination of tame-yet-uncomfortable
subject matter (no gore, no nudity,
no explicit sex) and capable filmmaking
from Herb Freed (Graduation
Day), Haunts kicked
out its low-budget limitations for
world class uneasiness. The tight
editing, quiet atmosphere, and “real”
acting (most people seem to be playing
themselves), worked in tandem with
the grittiness of the film stock;
a nice example of the whole slightly
inching above the sum. I could’ve
done without some of the padding,
as the film tended to drag a bit
towards the end, but overall, I
was surprisingly taken. And a little
scared.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Here’s a pleasant reminder
of the frequent greatness in flawed
old VHS tapes. I can’t imagine
this film having the impact it did
without the white emulsion lines
and welcomed scratching. The worn
print, over-hued colors, and random
film noise all complement the gritty
aspects of the film itself; that’s
the way I like it. Check out that
cut-to-clamshell cover too. The
mono sound was nice and loud.
EXTRAS
Twilight Home Entertainment, eh?
First impressions last a lifetime,
Twilight. No logo introduction?
You're on my s-list.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Looks can be deceiving. Haunts
was a grubby shocker, affecting
and heavy on small town spooks.
There’s more here than the
routine junk-drivel; far from perfect,
but worth looking into. |
Bowl, life, art
Dirty Cam
Drink, life, art
Cock-a-doodle-don't
|
