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      The Legacy

      R Released Jan 1, 1979 1 hr. 40 min. Horror List
      19% 16 Reviews Tomatometer 23% 100+ Ratings Audience Score Two U.S. architects (Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott) become trapped in an English mansion with a dying satanist (John Standing). Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (12) audience reviews
      jon h Never watched it before today and WOW this was bad. Any reviews saying it were good must only be saying that through nostalgia or some other reason I would never be able to work out why. Absolutely atrocious from beginning to end. The song starts off with some abysmal ear breaking track by Kiki Dee and as if that wasn't bad enough it only gets worse from there. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Katharine Ross plays a woman going to London with her partner (played by Sam Elliott at his homoerotic best) for a job interview. Whilst riding on a motorbike in the countryside surrounding London they are almost crashed into by a Rolls Royce. The owner apologises and, as their bike has been damaged, they are put up for the weekend at his huge country mansion. But then things start to turn weird. Very weird. There seems to be a fair few films from the 70's which prompt me to think 'What the...' when I see them. The pinnacle of this sub-genre (lets call it 'Cocaine was involved') is The Exorcist 2: The Heretic. Whilst The Legacy doesn't reach that film's dizzying heights of coke-fuelled weirdness (and no other film does), it does still deliver to such as extent that viewers' eyes will be popping out of their skulls at some scenes. Wanna see Roger Daltry get a trachioctomy on top of a banquet table? Wanna see the guy who played Blofeld (Charles Gray, not Donald Pleasance) being supernaturally burnt to a crisp? Sure you do! And lets not forget the demonically possessed swimming pool and shower.  It will help to be stoned whilst watching this movie. The film will only make perfect sense this way. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Dopey 70's horror with a few fun moments but more or less feels like a pale imitation of 70's Italian horror films; which in themselves are imitations Of 70's American horror films. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review andy f A truly unmemorable and dreary horror film. The odd moment or two kept me hanging in but there are far, far better examples of this type of mysterious house horror out there. Steer clear and watch any episode of Hammer House Of Horror instead! Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member More mysterious than creepy, it's an effective haunted house horror. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Great atmosphere and house setting. The kills are pretty good, but spread out a bit thin. The disco music is so out of place, but I loved it. Most of the issues with the movie were how generic and uninteresting it was. It was really nothing special and predictable. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (16) Critics Reviews
      Paul Taylor Time Out Dumps its statutory American leads (Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott) into a hardly-stirred plot-pot of diabolic conspiracy - and slowly congeals. Jul 31, 2021 Full Review John Corry New York Times Sometimes Mr. Elliott seems to be dozing off. Jul 31, 2021 Full Review Al Haas Philadelphia Inquirer "The Legacy" is, in many ways, a well crafted, interesting horror film. Jul 31, 2021 Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times A botched supernatural thriller with only some fiendishly clever death schemes to commend it. Rated: 2/5 Jul 31, 2021 Full Review Jeanne Miller San Francisco Examiner Ross and Elliott deliver the kind of wooden, stilted performances necessitated and even demanded by the material. Rated: 1/4 Jul 31, 2021 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant There are a couple of of jumpy moments, but even a haunted house picture needs more logic than this one possesses. Jul 31, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Two U.S. architects (Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott) become trapped in an English mansion with a dying satanist (John Standing).
      Director
      Richard Marquand
      Executive Producer
      Arnold Kopelson
      Screenwriter
      Jimmy Sangster, Patrick Tilley, Paul Wheeler
      Distributor
      Universal Pictures
      Production Co
      Pethurst Ltd, Turman-Foster Company
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Horror
      Original Language
      English (United Kingdom)
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jan 1, 1979, Wide
      Release Date (DVD)
      Sep 15, 2009
      Sound Mix
      Dolby Stereo
      Aspect Ratio
      Flat (1.85:1)