A Judgment in Stone (1986)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Directors:

Ousama Rawi
Tommy Groszman

Writers:

Ruth Rendell (novel)
Elaine Waisglass (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

She cooks. She cleans. She kills.

Plot:

An English woman, psychotic and sexually repressed, murders her sadistic father, then moves to America...

Plot Keywords:

Psychosis | Murder | Pillow | New Year's Eve | Patricide

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rita Tushingham	...	Eunice Parchman
Ross Petty	...	George Coverdale
Shelley Peterson	...	Jackie Coverdale
Jonathan Crombie	...	Bobby Coverdale
Jessica Steen	...	Melinda Coverdale
Jackie Burroughs	...	Joan Smith
Tom Kneebone	...	Norman Smith
Peter MacNeill	...	William
Donald Ewer	...	Mr. Parchman
Joyce Gordon	...	Aunt
Aisha Bicknell	...	Young Eunice (as Aisha Tushingham)
Gary Krawford	...	Larry
Wanda Cannon	...	Bernice
Layne Coleman	...	Pastor
Betty Harris	...	Teacher

Also Known As:

A Judgement in Stone (USA)
The Housekeeper

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Castlehill-Kodiak

Movie Connections:

Version of La cérémonie (1995)

Lacklustre Adaptation

Based on a Ruth Rendell novel, this is the tale of a young English girl called Eunice who goes to America to be the maid of a rich family. On the surface she seems to be the perfect worker and an excellent cook, but underneath festers years of resentment at being mocked because she can't read. She also has strange visions with lots of blood, and has a surprisingly quick temper.. a fact that her father has already found out to his cost. Her only friend after relocating to the States is a religious nut who used to be a prostitute, and thanks to her influence, Eunice is slowly pushed over the edge..

This is a rather dull psychological thriller which finally comes to life ten minutes before the end. Of course, by then it's too little too late. Rita Tushingham does a marvellous job in making Eunice a believable character with her solitary ways and slow decline into insanity. However, the screenplay doesn't give her enough to do other than hide in cupboards and peek round doors while listening to secret conversations. There is also a tedious half brother/sister relationship that could have easily been left on the cutting room floor, and a cute dog that always turns up where it's least wanted. This sort of thing was done better in the 90's on ITV when Rendell's books were divided into 120 minute episodes. Here it looks like they've had a bigger budget, but to the script and film's detriment. I give it a 3/10