Haunts (1976)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

More than one reviewer has likened this film to Polanski's classic "Repulsion". That is true after a fashion, but "Haunts" begins with the pretence to being a thriller or even a slasher film; there is a psychopath on the loose who is raping and murdering women in small town USA. This town is so small in fact that although it has a sheriff it appears not to have even one detective, yet bizarrely it sports its own TV station.The heroine is Ingrid, who is both a stunning blonde and an old maid. There is a false lead or two, but the bad guy is tracked down by the sheriff who does a fair job of policing, when he isn't throwing up after overindulgence in alcohol or slapping the ne'er do well who has put his daughter in the club. Or perhaps that should be sheriffing? What happens next you will have to discover for yourself, dear reader, but if you can work this one out there is a job waiting for you at Oxford University, explaining to next year's intake how to crack Fermat's Last Theorem.

Herb Freed(Graduation Day;Beyond Evil)directs this psychological melodrama(..with elements of a slasher) regarding the effects on a small town, and especially troubled Ingrid(May Britt), as a sexual predator stalks vulnerable women at night with a pair of scissors after raping them. Ingrid is *haunted* by memories from childhood regarding finding her mother dead in a bathtub and possible sexual abuse at the hands of "reliable" Uncle Carl(Cameron Mitchell, whose role is minor until the enigmatic ending where he supposedly returns to Ingrid's home where memories of his own resurface after being away for a while). It seems that Ingrid is being stalked by the town stud, Frankie(William Gray Espy), who even rapes her in her own bedroom, holding scissors to her throat. Ingrid is a deeply devout Catholic who is suffering hallucinations thanks to her past(..blood is a constant)and seems incredibly uncomfortable around men. Husky voiced, alcoholic sheriff(Aldo Ray)is truly puzzled about the attacks plaguing his once quiet, sleepy little town, and is quite concerned for his citizens, innocent women who might venture out at night alone. Trying to sober up, the sheriff will attempt to find the killer, keeping his deputies on alert, watching the country roads and neighborhood streets at night, hoping to catch him in the act. Meanwhile, Ingrid battles with her conscience and religious convictions after being raped. The film also subtly hints at the idea that her mysterious Uncle Carl might be the one responsible for the attacks. Also, a mannerly, soft-spoken stranger from Baltimore, Bill Spry(Robert Hippard)enters town hoping to date Ingrid, who seems little interested in making relations with any man.Director Freed and collaborative writer Anne Marisse craft a very tricky tale here which takes it's time building the attacks around Ingrid's story. The attacks themselves really are the Macguffen as the film centers around Ingrid, and serve to actually heighten her trauma. Through the surrounding attacks in town, Ingrid, slightly stable on a slender thread, goes off the deep end with the scissor-murders influencing her hostile fantasies. The film seems to have three endings. The police cornering the sexual sadist in a saw mill. Ingrid's confrontation with Frankie as a bound Carl tries to free himself. And, Ingrid's fate and the reactions from the sheriff and Carl relating the truth to the viewer. Freed doesn't hurry himself and the film takes it's time developing so it might can become tedious for some viewers(..such as choir practice and a bar conversation between Spry and a local gal-pal of Ingrid's who is a potential victim). I think one might also find the last thirty minutes tiresome due to the complexities of Ingrid and what is real and imagined. I found it worthwhile and thought Britt's performance was a stunner. The score from Pino Donaggio really adds quality to the tragedy ever so present throughout the film. Freed does an exceptional job incorporating Ingrid's memories within her life at the present, with Donaggio's somber music adding the right touch at reflecting her deteriorating mental state.

I voted 10 because i had a small part in the film (the bartender) and having been a big fan of Aldo Ray - younger gen's won't know that in his time Ray created the same kind of electricity in the film world for his unique approach to acting as did the likes of Dean & Brando (however short lived that electricity may have been)- I was thrilled to be able to chat and hang with him on set. Herb Freed & Anne Marisse were extremely kind and lovely people to work for and with. This was the second film I worked on in Mendocino, CA - the first one still has ghosts attached to it. Many LA film companies used Mendocino, CA as their location. Perhaps the most notable (and certainly the funniest) was "The Russians Are Coming/The Russians Are Coming". Many years later, TV came to town to shoot exteriors for "Murder She Wrote".

I think the other reviewers here and elsewhere (myself included) were thrown off by the fact that the video distributors have incorrectly packaged this as another cheap '70s slasher/exploitation movie, and that's the reason for the negative reviews. This film is meant for a completely different audience. I myself started to become disappointed partway through the film when there was little action, but then I realized that this is not a typical slasher flick, but more of a Stephen King-style psychological horror film about the demons of small town life. That is when I started to enjoy it. Like King's novels, the story builds slowly, and there are several peripheral characters who may seem unimportant to the main storyline but contribute to the overall atmosphere. The movie does not have much gore or any nudity, but this is the kind of film that succeeds almost purely through its vivid, austere atmosphere, which was done so well that some of it reminded me of the work of Ingmar Bergman. The film isn't perfect, but director Freed shows a good eye for detail, and the washout cinematography is striking. I had never seen any of the actors elsewhere, but May Britt's lead performance was very competent. This is definitely not the kind of film for hardcore horror film buffs, as it doesn't fit under that genre category very well. Rather, it is a film for more serious, patient viewers who can appreciate a slower pace without instant rewards. For them, this is well-worth checking out.