kevinfbarker

An agoraphobic writer gets a house in the country which turns out to be haunted. That's a great set up to a movie. You have a character who's scared to leave their house being stuck there with things even more terrifying than what awaits them outdoors. Unfortunately, there were times I almost forgot the heroine had this affliction, because she sure seems to get over it whenever the plot calls for her to and there aren't enough scares to make this slow burning, overlong movie very interesting.

Controversial at the time for depicting a lesbian as an unstable psycho, Windows has rightfully been forgotten by time. Even if you take away the controversy, it's not a very exciting movie which for a film advertised as a thriller is about the greatest sin it could commit. There are interesting ideas sprinkled throughout and Elizabeth Ashley gives a great performance as the psycho, but she's not given much to work with.

While this is technically more faithful to the novel than the previous adaptation, everything is crammed into 90 minutes so that the dramatic moments haven't time to properly breathe. It leaves the whole film feeling cold, emotionless, and oddly paced. Even an extra 15 minutes would have helped a little bit, but Ellen Burstyn tries her best to put her own stamp on the Grandmother role.