Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Woodyanders After her husband gets killed in a mysterious farming accident, Martha (a solid and sympathetic performance by the striking Maren Jensen) begins to fear for her life as well as the well being of her visiting friends Vicky (Susan Buckner, very perky and appealing) and Lana (a positively ravishing Sharon Stone right before she hit it big) due to the fact that her husband was a former member of a strict religious cult led by the fanatical Isaiah Schmidt (Ernest Borgnine in fine forceful'n'fearsome form).Acclaimed horror maven Wes Craven, who also co-wrote the offbeat and intriguing script with Matthew Barr and Glenn M. Benest, ably crafts a genuinely tense and creepy atmosphere, provides a flavorsome evocation of the peaceful rural region setting, offers an interesting exploration of the danger and damage wrought by both long kept secrets and deep-seated repression, and expertly stages a few bravura shock set pieces (Lana gets terrorized in a barn, a spider drops in Lana's mouth, a snake in Martha's bathtub that's unnervingly phallic and Freudian in its implications). The sturdy cast helps a lot: Jeff East as amiable farmboy John, Colleen Riley as the neurotic Melissa, Lois Nettleton as the flaky and overprotective Louisa Stohler, Michael Berryman as loopy man-child William Gluntz, and Lisa Hartman as Louisa's peculiar daughter Faith. Both Robert C. Jessup's sharp cinematography and James Horner's supremely spooky score are on the money effective and impressive.However, the story really falls apart with an unfortunate array of gross lapses in logic and glaring implausibilities in the last third, with an annoyingly abrupt and absurd "Carrie"-inspired stinger surprise appearance by an incubus tossing in an from out of left field supernatural element that's seriously at odds with the more reality-based events that occur before it. Moreover, said ending feels cheap and tacked-on, which reportedly it was. Close, but no cigar.

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) Though I was too young for horror movies at that time, I always wanted to see that movie when I got older. In "Deadly Blessing", it was worth it for me. Here you have a very religious community known as the "Hitte". That community make the Amish look like swingers. A couple,(Maren Jensen, "Battlestar Galactica" & Douglas Barr, "The Fall Guy") are about to start a family. But on one night, someone messes around the barn, and is killed by an unknown figure. Friends from college,(Sharon Stone, her debut & Susan Buckner) visits Martha(Jensen) for moral support. The weird son, William(Michael Berryman) loses a shoe when he sneaks around the barn one night. When he tries to get it back, he sneaks around the widow's house, and he too is killed by the unknown killer. When all three friends stay in the house, many frightening things start to occur. Martha takes a bath, and a snake slither its way, but meets its end to a fire poker. Lana (Stone) has the craziest dream to unravel. A pair of hands are placed on her head. And she is asked to "open her mouth". Hoping to be pleasurable, instead a spider comes sliding down to her mouth! A heart attack in the works. Wes Craven is known for his intensity, this movie is great. A true gem. 4 out of 5 stars.

Michael_Elliott Deadly Blessing (1981) ** (out of 4) A rather strange, lifeless and forgotten picture from Wes Craven has a woman (Maren Jensen) returning to an Amish-like community with her husband who used to be a member of them. The husband dies under strange circumstances and soon the woman finds herself under attack by someone who doesn't want her there. DEADLY BLESSING is a rather deadly weird movie. For the life of me I couldn't understand if this thing wanted to be some sort of supernatural film or a slasher. Perhaps the film started off as something more supernatural but after the success of Friday THE 13TH it had a few changes to add in some extra gore and violence. The final ten-minutes really seemed to be influence by certain aspects in Friday THE 13TH but I won't name them to avoid spoilers for those who haven't seen the film. For the most part this is a pretty weak film but I think Craven makes it a lot better than it would have been had someone else been in the director's chair. The highlight of the film is an incredibly intense sequence where our main character is taken a bath and someone puts a snake in there with her. This entire sequence is utterly creepy in the way Craven directs the build-up as well as him being able to milk every inch of tension out of it. There are also several shots here that Craven would rip-off from himself in A NIGHTMARE ONE ELM STREET during the sequence where Nancy is taking a bath. The film contains some nudity (a rare thing for Craven), some bloody violence and a nice twist ending but none of these things can completely make up for the flaws. The biggest flaw is that this thing is really dragged out at 101-minutes and the entire subplot of one of the boys from the group wanting to break free and join the real world just adds up to a lot of boring nothings. The performances are also rather hit and miss, although I did like Jensen in her lead role. It was also somewhat fun seeing Sharon Stone playing on of her friends but the performance itself isn't all that great. Former Oscar-winner Ernest Borgnine plays the leader of the group in what has to be called one of his least memorable screen roles. Michael Berryman also appears as one of the family members. DEADLY BLESSING might be of interest to fans of the cast or those wanting to see everything Craven has directed but others will want to stay clear as it just can't overcome the weak story.

acidburn-10 Up until recently I have never heard of this movie, all I knew before I saw it was that this was Sharon Stone's first ever speaking role, and now that I finally got round to seeing this, well I was pleasantly surprised.The plot = Set in the Amish country, where a young woman named Martha (Maren Jensen) and her husband John (Jeff East) are hated by the Hitites because John was once one of them and now he's married Martha who they think is an incubus. But when her husband dies in a mysterious tractor accident, she invites her 2 friends Vicky (Susan Buckner) and Lana (Sharon Stone) and once they arrive strange things begin to happen.I really liked this movie and I don't know why this isn't more remembered by some other of Wes Craven's work, Well I must say that this movie is really solid and really packs a punch. I thought the story was really unique and perfect for a horror setting. I really liked the sort or religious aspect of this movie as well, I mean the Hitities are hilarious with they're questionable moral views and over the top rants. Not only was the story interesting but the performances were really strong as well.As I've already said the acting in this movie is really strong and top notch Maren Jensen was really outstanding as the female lead, I don't know why she isn't more well known, she brings depth and warmth to her character. Ernest Borgnine was really entertaining as the leader of the Hitites really chews up the scenery but in a good way and steals every scene he's in with his brilliantly ridiculous rants. Michael Berryman another horror star (The Hills Have Eyes) was awesome but didn't get enough screen time, Susan Brukner who plays one of the 3 female leads was also really strong and Sharon Stone well she was stunning in this, a bit of paced performance wise, but all is forgiven as it was her first proper role and she really shines towards the end.The horror aspect of this movie also hits the mark There are some solid jump scares and intense moments. Like the snake in the bathtub which really kept me on the edge of my seat very effective and the weird dream sequence when Sharon Stone has a spider dropped into her mouth was also very effective. The ending well is another thing a lot of people talk about and splits everyone down the middle, well in my opinion doesn't exactly come from nowhere as what some people think if you pay attention about the whole thing with the incubus, it proves that the Hitites are not total whack jobs. The entire last 10 minutes with the typical slasher chase and escape moments were really well done and enjoyable and I also loved the twist when the killer is revealed was done really well although slightly rushed in my opinion but still works.All in all "Deadly Blessing" may not be bloody or gory but it is still a slasher movie right until the end and it's a really great movie and if you're a fan of Wes Craven like I am then check this little unknown gem out.