The Dark Secret of Harvest Home

A truly "delicious" and engrossing film. This richly textured and atmospheric offering was made for TV in two parts (I believe) because it is quite long. I remember it as being in black and white, but I may be wrong about that. It used to come on late at night and though I sometimes had to go to work the next day I always watched the entire film all the way to the end -- because you have to. Makes the "Blair Witch Project" of the same genre really look like amateur hour. It stars the late, great Bette Davis, in a low-key performance, as a kindly old witch-like lady and David Ackroyd, a darned good actor of the "old school" -- meaning lots of talent and sex appeal. Ackroyd eagerly takes his family to their new home in rural Harvest Home... to an old, charming, quaint farmhouse that they find very desirable in today's hectic world. One-by-one, as the townspeople's quaintness reveals itself to be something beyond the norm, the family detects a supernatural, if not evil, undercurrent to everything they say and do. Harvest Home, as the title implies, is much more than it seems. Bits of the mystery of Harvest Home unravel bewitchingly and languorously as the story of this most unusual town and the people who live there unfolds. Like all exceptional movies, this one does not have one lame or wasted moment of film. It also has great production values, a great story, a great cast, a great director, and great scenery and photography. It's spooky and intelligent, not obvious and gross. There is so much going on under the surface and the performances so on-the-mark that it keeps your attention. It is a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience and you should jump at the chance to see it -- if that day ever comes.