Haunts

I think the other reviewers here and elsewhere (myself included) were thrown off by the fact that the video distributors have incorrectly packaged this as another cheap '70s slasher/exploitation movie, and that's the reason for the negative reviews. This film is meant for a completely different audience. I myself started to become disappointed partway through the film when there was little action, but then I realized that this is not a typical slasher flick, but more of a Stephen King-style psychological horror film about the demons of small town life. That is when I started to enjoy it. Like King's novels, the story builds slowly, and there are several peripheral characters who may seem unimportant to the main storyline but contribute to the overall atmosphere. The movie does not have much gore or any nudity, but this is the kind of film that succeeds almost purely through its vivid, austere atmosphere, which was done so well that some of it reminded me of the work of Ingmar Bergman. The film isn't perfect, but director Freed shows a good eye for detail, and the washout cinematography is striking. I had never seen any of the actors elsewhere, but May Britt's lead performance was very competent. This is definitely not the kind of film for hardcore horror film buffs, as it doesn't fit under that genre category very well. Rather, it is a film for more serious, patient viewers who can appreciate a slower pace without instant rewards. For them, this is well-worth checking out.

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!

Ingrid (May Britt, a long way from Sweden) lives on a small farm with her Uncle (Cameron Mitchell) in a small coastal California town. The town gets turned upside down when a small child is murdered and then a series of rapes take place. Ingrid suspects it is the work of local butcher Frankie (William Gray Espy) and tells the sheriff (Aldo Ray) her suspicions. Naturally, she soon becomes the attacker's latest prey. Chances are you will figure out this psychological horror flick before the film's revelation, but that doesn't deter from this interesting film by Herb Freed (GRADUATION DAY). Britt, the former Mrs. Sammy Davis, Jr., looks pretty rough but having her in this role is pretty clever casting for the stranger in a strange town. The film benefits from the small town location shooting, reminding me a bit of THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (1976). Perhaps the best element of the film is a wonderful score by Pino Donaggio. It really adds to the film's final haunting shot. It should be noted the end credits have a 1975 copyright date for both the film and the score.

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.

"Haunts" follows Ingrid, a young Swedish woman living with her American uncle in northern California. Their small town is suddenly plagued by several scissor-murders and rapes; meanwhile, Ingrid finds herself recurrently assailed by a lecherous butcher in town. Are the attacks connected? Does a newcomer to Ingrid's church choir have something to do with it? Or could it be someone else?

This little-seen psychological horror film is very much in the vein of other "mad women" films of the 1970s such as "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" or Robert Altman's "Images," packed with dreamlike energy, haunting cinematography of dreary rural abodes, and a thin demarcation between hallucination and reality that cuts through it all. "Haunts" is a bit more of a slipshod production than the aforementioned two films, but it exists in the same universe.

There are definitely effective moments here, particularly the attack sequences that intersperse the melodrama of Ingrid as a character. The film does grow tedious in its last act and loses momentum to a degree, while the last ten or fifteen minutes err into baffling quasi-supernatural territory that feels underdeveloped and there simply to shock the audience (or leave them scratching their heads). May Britt is believable here as a naive and devoutly religious Swedish expat, while Cameron Mitchell turns in an odd performance as her possibly-lecherous uncle . Aldo Ray is also present as the town's sheriff investigating the crimes.

In the end, I found "Haunts" to be quite captivating in many ways, mainly due to it being rich in atmosphere. It's a very dreary and dour-looking film, and possesses the same kind of sensibility of its contemporaries that I enjoy very much. The screenplay is admittedly sloppy as the film attempts to resolve itself, and the last act throws concepts into the mix that don't really gel, but I ultimately think the film works as a mood piece more than a straightforward thriller. It is an oddity for sure, and it's somewhat surprising that it has not found an audience over all these years. 7/10.