'Burnt Offerings' is very creepy in parts

A few weeks ago, with the help of Netflix, I set out to watch, in order, all of the movies that have received a Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, going all the way back to when the first award was given out in 1972.
This morning, I scratched the 1976 winner, “Burnt Offerings,” off the list. I’d heard very little about this movie prior to watching it, and I’m sure that I’d never seen any part of it before this week.
“Burnt Offerings,” which is based on the 1973 novel by Robert Marasco, reminded me a lot of the 1977 Stephen King novel, “The Shining,” which was made into a hit movie in 1980.
In “The Shining,” a husband and wife couple, along with their young son, plan to spend the winter as the caretakers of a secluded, snowbound Colorado hotel. Almost from the start, it becomes apparent that something’s not quite right about their new home, and the father begins to lose his mind.
In “Burnt Offerings,” a husband and wife couple, along with their young son and an aging aunt (played by Bette Davis) agree to spend the summer as the caretakers of an old mansion in the secluded California countryside. From the beginning, they begin to realize that there’s something unusual about the house, including the presence of an old woman upstairs (Mrs. Allardyce) that they have to leave a plate for three times a day. From there, it’s not long before a handful of weird and unexpected events cause the husband and wife to lose their marbels, especially when the husband almost drowns the son in a swimming pool. Before it’s all said and done, “the house” tries to claim the boy twice more, once more in the pool and another time while he’s sleeping in his room.
This movie was very creepy in parts and from the very start it had an edge to it that kept me wanting to see what would happen next. The movie’s director, Dan Curtis, did a very artful job of putting this movie together, and it’s no wonder that it was recognized with a Saturn Award. This movie also left me with the desire to read the novel by Marasco.
From here, it’s on to the next Saturn Award winner on my list, the 1977 winner, “The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.” This is another movie that I’ve never seen and have heard very little about. It stars Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen and is based on the 1974 novel by Laird Koenig.