THE DARK SECRET OF HARVEST HOME (1978, starring Bette Davis)

Eerie. Not every film can be summed up in one word, but eerie is precisely the word to describe and encapsulate this fine thriller based on the novel HARVEST HOME by former actor turned novelist, Thomas Tryon.

Tryon wrote a number of spooky best-sellers. One wonders if he was motivated to write horror stories by his equally horrific experiences as an actor working for Otto Preminger, who apparently verbally and psychologically abused him to no end while directing him in THE CARDINAL and IN HARM’S WAY.

Whatever the impulse, Tryon created superb source material for one of Bette Davis’ last performances.

A commercial artist and his wife and daughter move to small-town America and encounter an old-world populace who seem to shun everything progressive and modern. Of course they’re hiding a terrible secret that involves murder, ritual and ghastly goings-on that I’ll let you discover for yourself.

This two hour video version of a 3 and one half hour TV mini series leaves you wondering what the full-length version must be like. While the story is deliberately and leisurely paced, it is always involving. One can only hope that MCA/UA well get their act together and release the complete film.

Being a late seventies TV film, there are certain restrictions on what can be shown, but by and large, this works in the film’s favour, demanding more creativity on the part of the filmmakers. I strongly concur that less is more (most of the time) especially in suspense/thriller/horror films. There is nothing scarier or more potent than one’s own imagination.

If I have any reservation about this film it is the fact that it seems choppy in spots, no doubt because of its edited down length. In one particularly chilling moment, Bette Davis wields a sinister-looking pair of long scissors. It seems utterly credible that those same scissors were used to expunge much of the story down to a presumably more commercial length. Pity.

THE DARK SECRET OF HARVEST HOME is available on video, but is very expensive to purchase. And while difficult to find on the shelf at the local video store, it is another gem available through the rental service The Video Library in Philadelphia.

If you’ve never seen this chiller, I highly recommend it. Contact The Video Library and they’ll deliver it right to your door.

And as always, turn the lights down first. That’s the best way to watch a scary movie. It encourages one’s imagination

Jon Ted Wynne