Burnt Offerings () is a 1976 supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Dan Curtis and starring Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, and Lee H. Montgomery, with Eileen Heckart, Burgess Meredith and Anthony James in supporting roles. It is based on the 1973 novel by Robert Marasco.. The plot follows a family which begins to interpersonally dissolve under supernatural forces in a large estate they have rented for the summer. The film's title derives from the Book of Leviticus, referring to a "sacrifice by fire" and a "gift offered to God."
The screenplay was adapted from Marasco's novel by Curtis and writer William F. Nolan, and the project marked Curtis's theatrical feature debut, as his prior work had consisted primarily of television films. Co-produced by Italian producer Alberto Grimaldi's Produzioni Europee Associati, Burnt Offerings was filmed on location at the historic Dunsmuir House in Oakland, California in the late summer of 1975. The shoot was marked by several difficulties, including a camera man being fired after improperly lighting two weeks' worth of material, as well as the production being temporarily halted when Curtis's daughter died by suicide. Davis also clashed with co-stars Black and Reed, deeming their actions on set as "unprofessional."
Distributed by United Artists, Burnt Offerings was given a domestic limited theatrical in August 1976, which expanded later that fall. While the film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office flop, it won several awards in 1977, including three Saturn Awards for Best Director (Curtis), Best Supporting Actress (Davis), and Best Horror Film. In the years since its release, the film has been analyzed by film scholars as a commentary on materialism and the dissolution of the American family.
Plot Writer Ben Rolf, his wife Marian, and their 12-year-old son Davey tour a large, shabby, remote neo-classical 19th-century mansion to rent for the summer. The home's eccentric owners, elderly siblings Arnold and Rosalyn Allardyce, offer them a bargain price of $900 () for the entire summer, with one odd request: Their elderly mother will continue to live in her upstairs suite, and the Rolfs are to provide her with meals during their stay. The old woman is obsessed with privacy and will not interact with them, so meals are to be left in her sitting room outside her locked bedroom.
The family arrives at the house with Ben's elderly Aunt Elizabeth. Marian becomes obsessed with caring for the home, and wears the Victorian-era garments she finds in Mrs. Allardyce's suite, while distancing herself from her family. Of particular interest to her is Mrs. Allardyce's sitting room, which contains a massive collection of framed portraits of people from different eras, apparently former occupants of the house. Mrs. Allardyce's meals go mostly untouched, according to Marian. Various unusual circumstances occur during the summer; after Davey hurts himself playing, a dead plant starts to grow again; Ben cuts his hand on a champagne bottle, and a dead light bulb is mysteriously repaired; Ben is haunted by a vision of an eerie, malevolently-grinning hearse driver whom Ben first saw at his mother's funeral years earlier. With each accident that occurs, the house appears to rejuvenate itself, feeding on the family's energy.
Marian slowly becomes possessed by the energy of the house. Aunt Elizabeth suddenly becomes ill and dies, after which the dead flowers in the solarium bloom. When Marian does not attend Aunt Elizabeth's funeral, Ben angrily confronts her about her obsession with the home and decides to leave the next day. Ben later sees old shingles and siding falling away, replaced by new ones as the house restores itself. Now convinced that the house is a living entity, Ben attempts to escape with Davey but a tree blocks the road. He sees Marian as the chauffeur and falls catatonic.
The next day, while Davey is swimming and a catatonic Ben is watching him, the pool water turns into vicious waves, pulling the boy under. Marian rescues her son, and the incident awakens Ben from his catatonia. Marian agrees that it is time to leave but insists on going back inside to inform Mrs. Allardyce. When she fails to return, Ben goes inside to find her. He is horrified when he discovers that the elderly woman upstairs is his wife, who has inexplicably aged. "I've been waiting for you, Ben!" she says. Ben recoils in horror. Waiting in the car, Davey is shocked to see his father plummet from the attic window, landing on the car's windshield. In shock, Davey runs toward the house and is killed when one of the chimneys collapses on him.
Some time later, the Allardyces marvel at the restored beauty of their home and rejoice over the return of their "mother". In Mrs. Allardyce's sitting room, the photo collection now includes portraits of Ben, Davey, and Aunt Elizabeth.
Cast
Production Development
In a Variety piece published on December 11, 1969, it was announced a project named Burnt Offerings would be directed by Bob Fosse from a screenplay by Robert Marasco; Turman Films and Cinema Center Films would be producers and Lawrence Turman executive producer. Although it never materialized, a novel of the same name by Marasco was published in 1973. The American Film Institute inductively reasoned the book may have been written based on the un-produced screenplay. The title of the film and source novel derives from the Book of Leviticus, referring to a "sacrifice by fire" and a "gift offered to God."
Burnt Offerings was directed by Dan Curtis, best known for television horror works such as the TV series Dark Shadows (1966–1971) and made-for-TV films like The Night Stalker (1972). Although Curtis produced and directed many works for television, Burnt Offerings was the third of only four films he made for theatrical release (the others being House of Dark Shadows (1970), Night of Dark Shadows (1971), and Me and the Kid (1993)). When offered the project, he found the novel uninteresting, in particular what he called its "nothing" ending, and joked to himself, "I bet some idiot who doesn't know what he's doing will come along and make this." According to Curtis, three other directors had considered adapting the novel into a film, but ultimately declined as they believed the project would cost too much to produce. The film was executive-produced by Italian producer Alberto Grimaldi, who helped finance the project through his company Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA).
William F. Nolan dropped the first third of the book where the family was in New York City, and claims that the chauffeur character (Anthony James) was conceived by him and unique to the film. However, the chauffeur does appear in the Marasco novel; it is possible that Nolan is referring to the driver's evil smile which he bears throughout the film. Also, in the DVD/Blu-Ray commentary track, director Curtis implies that footage was indeed shot showing the family in New York City, but it was his decision to excise it from the film.
Casting The principal casting of Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Burgess Meredith, and Bette Davis was announced in July 1975. Director Dan Curtis commented about offering Davis the role: "[Her] agent was difficult to deal with, so I called her in Connecticut. 'Is it a good part?' she asked. 'I don't disappear in a sneeze, do I?' I shot the script to her, and she loved it." Curtis also remarked favorably of Black: "Her instincts are close to infallible," adding that Reed "is the best actor I ever worked with in my life." Burnt Offerings marked Reed's first American-made film.
Filming
Principal photography of Burnt Offerings began on August 3, 1975 at the historic Dunsmuir House in Oakland, California, on a budget of $2 million. The production leased the home and grounds, which are a public park, through September 13, 1975. Burnt Offerings was the first film to be shot at the Dunsmuir House, which appeared as a main location in the horror film Phantasm several years later. To prepare the home for the shoot, the film's art directors "turned the mansion and gardens into a seedy pile of neglected elegance," adding flaked paint and wisteria vines to some of the exteriors, and dressed the interiors with cobwebs and Victorian furnishings.
Bette Davis was vocal about her dissatisfaction with the shoot, describing it as "total chaos... I feel like I've spent the past six weeks in jail." Davis reportedly had conflicts with Karen Black, feeling that Black did not extend to her an appropriate degree of respect and that her behavior on the film set was unprofessional. Black was pregnant during the shoot, and was reported to have "frequently rested" between takes. In an interview with Rex Reed, Davis expressed disdain for the production, deeming it "unprofessional" and criticizing Black:
Davis also expressed dislike for Oliver Reed, whom she later referred to as "possibly one of the most loathsome human beings I have ever had the misfortune of meeting." Reed spoke favorably of Davis, however, commenting: "I was a little apprehensive about Bette... I don't think I'd like to cross her, but since we're both clever, we get along alright."
During the shoot, Reed admitted to riding Davis's dinner trolley down a hotel hallway "once or twice, knocking off a few plates. Miss Davis was insulted, supposing I was kicking her tray of expensive wine." As a peace offering, Reed later gifted Davis a dove and a bundle of red roses. Davis also expressed annoyance when Reed invited a group of stranded British Army men to stay at the hotel, and accused him of recurrently showing up to the set drunk.
Post-production An Italian-language dub was produced by , featuring the voices of Renzo Palmer, Riccardo Rossi, and Giuseppe Fortis.
Release Burnt Offerings premiered at the Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film in April 1976. It was released in Italy on May 25, 1976, and received a limited theatrical release in the U.S. through United Artists on August 25, 1976, opening in Los Angeles and Buffalo, New York. It premiered in New York City the following month, on September 29, 1976. The release expanded on October 13, 1976, with the film ranking at number one at the United States box office this weekend.
Home media On August 26, 2003, MGM Home Entertainment released a region 1 DVD of Burnt Offerings. The original video shape is in wide screen (16:9) and also features an audio commentary with Dan Curtis, Karen Black, and William F. Nolan. The DVD was poorly received. Reviewers criticized the video quality, which appeared to have been shot with soft focus, and the Dolby Digital mono audio that made the voices muddy and indistinct.
A North American Blu-ray edition of the film was released on October 6, 2015 by Kino Lorber. The Blu-ray was reissued on February 6, 2024.
In the United Kingdom, Arrow Films released a Blu-ray and DVD combination set on October 17, 2016.
Reception Box office Burnt Offerings was regarded as a box-office flop, grossing $1.56 million at the box office against its $2 million budget.
Critical response