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Legacy, The
Universal // R // September 7, 2004
List Price: $14.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
In the late 1970s, the horror film was changing. Fright films had once again become big business (we all know that horror moves in cycles) and movies like Halloween and Alien had shown that horror hits could range from very-small films to all-out sci-fi blockbusters. I'm sure that there were those who were torn between following the trend of modern horrors and remaining true to horror's roots. This kind of thinking is evident in 1978's The Legacy, a movie which meshes the kind of horror set-pieces made popular by The Omen with the feel of a Hammer production.
As The Legacy opens, architect Maggie Walsh (Katharine Ross) gets a job offer in England, and decides to take her boyfriend Pete Danner (Sam Elliot) with her. As she and Pete are touring the British countryside on a motorcycle, they have a minor accident when they swerve to miss the car of Jason Mountolive (John Standing). Being the British gentleman, Mountolive invites Maggie and Pete back to his estate while their motorcycle is repaired. The couple agrees, but are surprised when the staff at the Mountolive home, featuring Nurse Adams (Margaret Tyzack), seem to be expecting them. Soon, more guests arrives, including Jacques (Lee Montague), Karl (Charles Gray), Clive (Roger Daltrey), Barbara (Hildegarde Neil), and Maria (Marianne Broome). The others have been summoned to the house, as Mountolive is dying and is ready to pass along his estate to one of the group. Strangely, Maggie is included in this process, although she has never met Mountolive before. Soon, members of the group begin to die in mysterious ways. Maggie must now attempt to discern why she has been drawn into this bizarre nightmare and who the killer is.
One doesn't have to be a student of horror films to see that The Legacy is a movie which is caught between two worlds. On the one hand, we have the group of individuals who gather at the gothic English estate in a very Agatha Christie-like manner. As they are killed off one-by-one (think of it as "Six Little Indians"), Maggie stumbles across more clues as to what is happening in the house. The servants in the house are polite to Maggie and Pete, but ignore all of their requests for assistance in leaving the mansion's grounds. The movie also throws in the old "stranger in a strange land" bit, as Pete grouses on about how backwards Britain is.
But, it's also quite clear that The Legacy was very influenced by The Omen, as each of the death sequences is a spectacular set-piece. And unfortunately, these powerful images are the only memorable parts of the film. (I guarantee that if you show most people, say age 30 and older the first death scene, which occurs in a swimming pool, they will remember it, although they may not be able to name the film.) The deaths are all big and loud, and really stand out from the rest of the film. Other than these scenes, much of The Legacy feels repetitive and dull. Director Richard Marquand, who would go on to direct Return of the Jedi does a fine job shooting the murders, but much of the film drags. Ultimately, it's the film's ending which kills The Legacy. Rarely have I seen such an apathetic and non-committal ending. Without giving anything away, suffice it to say that something monumental happens and the characters are quite blasé about it. Some may find The Legacy a nice blend of the old and the new, but most will be fast-forwarding through it trying to find the next big death scene.
Video
The Legacy inherits a place on DVD courtesy of Universal Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image shows the slightly dark look which frequents many film from this era, but otherwise the transfer is quite good. The only other inherent flaw is the occasionally "soft" look of the film, as if it were being shot through gauze. The image is stable and shows practically no grain. There are some minor defects from the source material, but they aren't distracting. Edge enhancement and artifacting are kept to a minimum.
Audio
The Legacy DVD features a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio track. This track provides clear dialogue which is always intelligible. The track is well-balanced, as the music and dialogue are always at the same volume. The nearly constant meowing of cats in the mansion keeps the front channels busy and shows off the stereo effects of this track.
Extras
The sole extra on The Legacy is the theatrical trailer for the film, which is presented full-frame and gets kudos for incorporating the art from the one-sheet poster.
If The Legacy could have been condensed to 30 minutes, it would have made a great episode of an anthology show, such as The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt. As it stand, the movie has some memorable scenes, but it seems quite confused as to what constitutes horror. MINOR SPOILER HERE: For example, Nurse Adams can turn into a white cat. Oh no, not a white cat! Seriously, that's not scary, unless you're a mouse.
In the late 1970s, the horror film was changing. Fright films had once again become big business (we all know that horror moves in cycles) and movies like Halloween and Alien had shown that horror hits could range from very-small films to all-out sci-fi blockbusters. I'm sure that there were those who were torn between following the trend of modern horrors and remaining true to horror's roots. This kind of thinking is evident in 1978's The Legacy, a movie which meshes the kind of horror set-pieces made popular by The Omen with the feel of a Hammer production.
As The Legacy opens, architect Maggie Walsh (Katharine Ross) gets a job offer in England, and decides to take her boyfriend Pete Danner (Sam Elliot) with her. As she and Pete are touring the British countryside on a motorcycle, they have a minor accident when they swerve to miss the car of Jason Mountolive (John Standing). Being the British gentleman, Mountolive invites Maggie and Pete back to his estate while their motorcycle is repaired. The couple agrees, but are surprised when the staff at the Mountolive home, featuring Nurse Adams (Margaret Tyzack), seem to be expecting them. Soon, more guests arrives, including Jacques (Lee Montague), Karl (Charles Gray), Clive (Roger Daltrey), Barbara (Hildegarde Neil), and Maria (Marianne Broome). The others have been summoned to the house, as Mountolive is dying and is ready to pass along his estate to one of the group. Strangely, Maggie is included in this process, although she has never met Mountolive before. Soon, members of the group begin to die in mysterious ways. Maggie must now attempt to discern why she has been drawn into this bizarre nightmare and who the killer is.
One doesn't have to be a student of horror films to see that The Legacy is a movie which is caught between two worlds. On the one hand, we have the group of individuals who gather at the gothic English estate in a very Agatha Christie-like manner. As they are killed off one-by-one (think of it as "Six Little Indians"), Maggie stumbles across more clues as to what is happening in the house. The servants in the house are polite to Maggie and Pete, but ignore all of their requests for assistance in leaving the mansion's grounds. The movie also throws in the old "stranger in a strange land" bit, as Pete grouses on about how backwards Britain is.
But, it's also quite clear that The Legacy was very influenced by The Omen, as each of the death sequences is a spectacular set-piece. And unfortunately, these powerful images are the only memorable parts of the film. (I guarantee that if you show most people, say age 30 and older the first death scene, which occurs in a swimming pool, they will remember it, although they may not be able to name the film.) The deaths are all big and loud, and really stand out from the rest of the film. Other than these scenes, much of The Legacy feels repetitive and dull. Director Richard Marquand, who would go on to direct Return of the Jedi does a fine job shooting the murders, but much of the film drags. Ultimately, it's the film's ending which kills The Legacy. Rarely have I seen such an apathetic and non-committal ending. Without giving anything away, suffice it to say that something monumental happens and the characters are quite blasé about it. Some may find The Legacy a nice blend of the old and the new, but most will be fast-forwarding through it trying to find the next big death scene.
Video
The Legacy inherits a place on DVD courtesy of Universal Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image shows the slightly dark look which frequents many film from this era, but otherwise the transfer is quite good. The only other inherent flaw is the occasionally "soft" look of the film, as if it were being shot through gauze. The image is stable and shows practically no grain. There are some minor defects from the source material, but they aren't distracting. Edge enhancement and artifacting are kept to a minimum.
Audio
The Legacy DVD features a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio track. This track provides clear dialogue which is always intelligible. The track is well-balanced, as the music and dialogue are always at the same volume. The nearly constant meowing of cats in the mansion keeps the front channels busy and shows off the stereo effects of this track.
Extras
The sole extra on The Legacy is the theatrical trailer for the film, which is presented full-frame and gets kudos for incorporating the art from the one-sheet poster.
If The Legacy could have been condensed to 30 minutes, it would have made a great episode of an anthology show, such as The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt. As it stand, the movie has some memorable scenes, but it seems quite confused as to what constitutes horror. MINOR SPOILER HERE: For example, Nurse Adams can turn into a white cat. Oh no, not a white cat! Seriously, that's not scary, unless you're a mouse.
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