Deadly Blessing

Wes Craven's filmography, like a lot of horror directors, is dominated by a few well-known titles, there are some B-tier successes, and then a lot of forgettable filler. George Romero had movies like Bruiser and Martin. John Carpenter had Village Of The Damned and Ghosts Of Mars. At best, these movies are serviceable but entirely skippable to all but completionists or those just looking for something to put on. Deadly Blessing would be that to Craven. What's weird is that there aren't flaws that keep Deadly Blessing from being more than a baseline movie, so much as it doesn't have the capability of being more. The story is such: a woman's husband, who is a former member of an Amish-like group (albeit far more strict and judgmental), is murdered. They live within walking distance of the group on a farm. Her friends come to stay to help her in the aftermath, and weird things and murders start happening around them. It is a simple movie with a simple formula: there's a mysterious and judgmental cult-like group, a mysterious killer, and women in danger. All the basic elements, and nothing more. Are there structural and pacing issues? Yes. The movie doesn't do much with the mystery; the options for red herrings are slim pickings, and the murders don't happen with enough frequency or visceral nature to please slasher fans and gorehounds. The characters are all rather flat and simplistic in design. The middle of this movie, which seems to be the majority of it, sags like a rope bridge across a canyon. It's not so much boring as it is dull and basic. It's like a thriller movie version of The Ramones; it does one thing, it does it at its most basic form, and it does it well, and that is all that it does. It also feels weirdly like a TV movie. The shot composition, the lighting, the acting, almost everything here feels like there should be "ABC TV MOVIE OF THE WEEK" before the opening credits. Hell, there isn't even any swearing, and only a couple puddles of blood on the ground. Craven has been quoted as saying that, as this was his first studio movie, he wanted it to look "big" and "smooth", more professional and glossy than his previous indie work, and it does, to the point of any lacking any down-and-dirty, raw tension that could be found in his previous work. The only reason this couldn't be a TV movie is the frankly unnecessary full frontal nudity from Maren Jensen that feels shoehorned in for the sake ... I don't know, getting an R-rating? It feels completely pointless, as does Sharon Stone's character spending half her screen time in a nightie. Nudity in horror movies at the time was more or less an expectation of the industry and the audience, I get it, but in your average slasher, there was some fairly organic set-up to it: skinny dipping, teenagers hooking up, and so on. With the rest of Deadly Blessing feeling so antiseptic, here it's as out of place as the steel drum in a funeral march. And then there's the last ten minutes, which does as much as it can to wrap up the movie without wrapping up the story. There are loose ends everywhere, and the big reveal isn't so much shocking as it is weird and uncomfortable and kinda tacky. And then there's the final scene, which ... is a choice. None of these issues hurt Deadly Blessing so much as they feel par for the course. I never felt like this was an under-baked movie or a flawed movie, so much as a movie made from spare parts and recycled material. It was junk repurposed as best as possible, a giallo with no style or blood, a slasher without any slashing, and a thriller that moves at the speed of an ice cream truck with a flat tire. Coming off his two prior theatrical movies, The Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, Deadly Blessing feels decidedly more measured and professional, going less for the shocking gut punch and visceral horror. But it also shows that this was Craven's first try at doing more mainstream horror. There is no flavor, no personal touch to it. This doesn't feel like a Wes Craven movie; it feels like a make-your-own-De Palma movie kit that he assembled. A copy of a copy. Those can never be as good as something original.