Haunts

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".

This has a Bergmanesque spareness to it that is at times OK. The plot is terribly convoluted and confusing. I don't even know if we have closure at the end. Just what does it all mean? I remember May Britt being married to Sammy Davis, Jr. She of the Scandanavian roots and the freckles. In here she is a virgin queen. She is so frumpy and cold, it's hard to feel for her. Obviously, she deserves to live as she wishes, but she has been so traumatized that we can't get close to her. In repulsion, we can't take our eyes off the girl. When Britt leaves a scene, she is pretty forgettable. There is a pretty good give and take. Aldo Ray is pretty believable in his intense wishes to solve the case. He has feelings for this woman and wants to help her out. She, like so many in horror movies, feels she can be hysterical one moment and totally independent in the next. There are lots of layers and that's fun. I didn't move away from this movie. I have the same collection mentioned by other reviewers. If they had a psychological drama box, this might fit in nicely. Anyway, as a make my way through these B and C movies, I don't see them as a total waste of time. I had never seen May Britt act before. She had some talent, but it wasn't exposed here.

Ingrid (May Britt) lives on a farm with her uncle Carl (Cameron Mitchell), where she spends her days milking her goat and having flashbacks of her childhood traumas.

Meanwhile, a scissor-wielding maniac is busy mutilating women around town. There are several suspects for the sheriff (Aldo Ray) to consider, including Frankie (William Gray Espy), the Romeo who works at the butcher shop. There's also the stranger who just arrived in town. Old Uncle Carl seems a bit suspicious as well!

In addition, Ingrid herself seems to unravel as the story progresses. Was she really attacked by the scissor killer? Twice? And, what about her bloody hallucinations?

HAUNTS is an average thriller / chiller with above average aspirations. The characters are endearing in a Mayberry sort of way. Alas, a lot of what is meant to be mysterious and frightening comes off as half-baked and rather dull.

Still, it's enjoyable enough in a 1970's way...

Haunts is perplexing and flawed, but still offbeat enough to maintain interest. Swedish May Britt gives a very good performance as a repressed, tormented, fanatically religious farm girl in a town plagued by a brutal sex murderer. Despite the potentially lurid subject matter, it's all handled with a very subtle approach (even in the uncut R-rated version). Well-cast (though Aldo Ray deserved better and Cameron Mitchell doesn't have much to do) and graced with a lush Pino Donaggio score and beautiful but unpolished photography, it has some standout moments; one unforgettable scene has Britt driving, with the scenic reflections in the windshield melding into a montage of flashbacks. What hurts it are too many routine passages, klutzy red herrings, a lack of momentum, and extraneous material. Sometimes it becomes quite frustrating, but patience is ultimately rewarded by a very original twist at the end. Most certainly not for everybody, but worth seeing if you're an art fan looking for a change of pace.

Trivia note: Copyrighted 1975, Haunts was shelved until 1976 when Intercontinental released it to theaters of confused moviegoers.

This film has only one downside for me and that is being very slow in spots, particularly towards the end. About 15 minutes of this flick could, honestly, have been sacrificed to the cutting room floor with no real loss. Other than that its really pretty good. Cameron Mitchell plays his part very well. Aldo ray does his job as sheriff and lends quality to a well developed character. William Gray Espy does very well in his role, and both Kendal Jackson and Susan Nohr deserve recognition. But the real star is, fittingly enough, the lead, May Britt. She does a wonderful job in portraying a very troubled woman with deep seated emotional problems. The part I liked the best? It was so easy to figure out, until I figured out that I was wrong. Three times in a row. And then? SURPRISE!