Director: George Bowers
Year: 1980
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Moving into her old house, a woman trying to restart her life after her aunt's death grows increasingly convinced that a driverless Packard hearse responsible for her aunt's death is now haunting her and her house, and tries to stop it from consuming her life.
Review:
Overall, this was quite the disappointing effort. One of the film's few good points centers on the titular vehicle and the eerie, ominous air that really works effectively in this sort of effort, as not only are the moments where it appears quite impressive, but it also manages some decent moments here. The early scenes of the car appearing only for it to be unresponsive to her yelling at it before driving off make for quite effective build-ups to the centerpiece sequence of it abducting her and dropping her off at the funeral, which is quite chilling in concept before the disturbing idea of whether it's a dream or not, as this one isn't clear either way, which makes it work. Likewise, the film really works in the final half when it finally lets itself go and features a lot to like, from a tense chase through the house and eventually into the car chase in the finale, all coming together quite well, which really works for this one.
That's about all that really works here for this one, as there are a few rather challenging parts to hold this down. The main factor here is the fact that there's hardly any action whatsoever in the first half here, which really makes the first half incredibly tough to get into. Consisting mainly of drawn-out and lame scenes around the town, a rather trite and lame romance, and endless scenes of her around the house slowly succumbing to the presence in the house, all of which is insanely dull and just not that interesting. Scenes of her arguing with a lawyer trying to settle an accounting error in the estate, trying to secure a local handyman, or just generally being harassed for living there don't make for all that exciting times, which is basically all that's featured here.
There are a few small haunting thrown in to confuse this as a horror film, yet none of them last nearly as long as the seemingly endless and overlong drama scenes that don't do much of anything for the pace or storyline here. The other big flaw here is the fact that there's hardly any motivation for the romance, which tends to come out of nowhere and further bog down the pacing here with some really tired and lame scenes that don't have any real impact on the film itself. These are the film's big problems that hold it down quite heavily.
Overview: **.5/5
A disappointing and quite dull genre effort, there are a few decent and enjoyable elements that keep this one going, against a few major and detrimental flaws that keep this down. Those with an appreciation for this style or approach, or who are curious about it, will have the most to like here, as most others out there should heed caution.
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