THE LEGACY is no masterwork but as one of a string of haunted house flicks (including THE HAUNTING and LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE) it's an acceptable enough slice of horror. This one was a British film, written by Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster, featuring a couple of imported American leads and an Agatha Christie-style inheritance plot.
The story sees a group of characters trapped together in a creepy old house and assailed by weird events and violent deaths. In an eye on keeping up with modern trends, the death scenes are quite elaborate and gruesome, perhaps inspired by the likes of THE OMEN. In addition, there's a fair wealth of action too, with car chases thrown into the mix as various characters try to escape their predicament. It's an unusual concoction, but somehow it all hangs together, just about.
Katharine Ross (THE STEPFORD WIVES) and Sam Elliott star as the rather boring leads. The two would later go on to marry and indeed are still married, and it's clear they have an obvious charisma together. However, as is so often with these things, the supporting cast is more interesting than the leads. Roger Daltrey has a small but memorable turn, and Charles Gray is as sinister as ever. I did like John Standing's posh host too. Keeping things moving along is director Richard Marquand, who would later go on to helm RETURN OF THE JEDI.
The story sees a group of characters trapped together in a creepy old house and assailed by weird events and violent deaths. In an eye on keeping up with modern trends, the death scenes are quite elaborate and gruesome, perhaps inspired by the likes of THE OMEN. In addition, there's a fair wealth of action too, with car chases thrown into the mix as various characters try to escape their predicament. It's an unusual concoction, but somehow it all hangs together, just about.
Katharine Ross (THE STEPFORD WIVES) and Sam Elliott star as the rather boring leads. The two would later go on to marry and indeed are still married, and it's clear they have an obvious charisma together. However, as is so often with these things, the supporting cast is more interesting than the leads. Roger Daltrey has a small but memorable turn, and Charles Gray is as sinister as ever. I did like John Standing's posh host too. Keeping things moving along is director Richard Marquand, who would later go on to helm RETURN OF THE JEDI.