[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Legacy (1978)

Architects, Katherine Ross and Sam Elliott, are stranded at an old English manor house following a road accident. It soon transpires they were expected visitors and are soon joined by the likes of Charles Gray and Roger Daltrey among others as it turns out the house is owned by a wealthy but dying man (John Standing) and the six guests are there for a very sinister reason.

A late entry into the time honored old dark house horror genre. The longer the film goes on the more convoluted and ridiculous it becomes as well as the more entertaining. Following a stodgy opening the story evolves and we have a monstrous creature in the attic, a satanic coven as well as the reincarnation of a long dead witch.

The cast are great and the whole thing is slickly directed by Richard Marquand (who would later go on to direct Return of the Jedi.) and has some delicious death scenes including Gray engulfed in flames, Daltrey dying from a gory tracheotomy and Marianne Broome drowning in the indoor pool - probably the films most memorable sequence. The final third has enough tension and WTF? moments to make it eminently watchable and thoroughly enjoyable.

The Legacy is a film that grows on me each and every time i see it so i'm pleased that i finally picked up the Indicator Blu-ray in the sale last week.