Deadly Blessing (1981)

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers:

Glenn M. Benest (story) &
Matthew Barr (story) ...

Release Date:

14 August 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

A gruesome secret, protected for generations, rises to give its...

Plot:

This film is set in Amish Country, at a local farm, where a woman's husband is mysteriously killed by his own tractor!

Plot Keywords:

Tractor | Widow | Farm | Murder | Slasher

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Maren Jensen	...	Martha Schmidt
Sharon Stone	...	Lana Marcus
Susan Buckner	...	Vicky Anderson
Jeff East	...	John Schmidt
Colleen Riley	...	Melissa (as Coleen Riley)
Douglas Barr	...	Jim Schmidt (as Doug Barr)
Lisa Hartman	...	Faith Stohler
Lois Nettleton	...	Louisa Stohler
Ernest Borgnine	...	Isaiah Schmidt
Michael Berryman	...	William Gluntz
Kevin Cooney	...	Sheriff
Bobby Dark	...	Theatre Manager
Kevin Farr	...	Fat Boy
Neil Fletcher	...	Gravedigger
Jonathon Gulla	...	Tom Schmidt

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Finland:K-18 (1987) | Finland:(Banned) (1982) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Ashtabula, Ohio, USA

Company:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

When Jeff East meets Susan Buckner in town, the marquee at the theatre shows the title "Summer of Fear" (aka Stranger in Our House (1978) (TV)), a made-for-TV movie by Wes Craven in which East also starred.

Goofs:

Continuity: Faith picks up, and holds the broken painting in one shot, then in the next she runs towards it lying on the ground as if she had never picked it up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: In the rolling hills of a sinful farm community, untouched by time, a gruesome secret has been protected for generations.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 2: The Deuce (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Maggie May

My favorite Craven flick!

This was awesome fun! I totally loved it, from beginning to end. I don't see why this got such mixed and/or bad reviews! This was great. Yes, the script could've used another polish, but after I saw it once I figured out what was happening. Maren Jensen, Sharon Stone, and Susan Buckner are bodacious babes living in a farmhouse in the remote countryside, surrounded on all sides by a religious cult known as the Hittites. Soon weird things start happening and people begin to die. Who is responsible? Is it the Hittites? Or something else? This is great! Rent it! Buy it! Cherish it! There are such great scenes, such as the scene in the barn (I swear, this scene had me jumping out of my socks!), the bathtub sequence, the double murder in the car, the peeping tom sequence, and the finale which was awesome! See this one, you won't be disappointed!