[6]

James Brolin and Margot Kidder move their family into a house with an evil past. The previous family was murdered in the house, and now evil spirits are determined for history to repeat itself. I could have done without so many unrelated scenes with Rod Steiger, whose priest character brings a lot of unnecessary religious mumbo jumbo into the story. The house is creepy enough without being God-forsaken: windows opening and closing on their own, swarms of flies that come and go, gushers of black oil in the plumbing, ghostly playmates for the kids. Plus, whenever a nun or a priest steps foot in the yard they start to blow chunks. The movie builds very well, but for all the foreshadowing and promise of doom, the ending is a bit of a let-down.

Oscar Nomination: Best Original Score (Lalo Schifrin)