Monday, October 19, 2009

The Legacy


(1978)


After receiving a mysterious job offer, architect Maggie Walsh flies to England along with her rough and tumble Marlboro Man husband. Who the hell does this Sam Elliott guy think he is anyway? Who gave him the right to walk around unironically with that handlebar mustache? He doesn’t even appear to have a job in this movie but Maggie doesn’t mind as long as bares that sweet, rugged manly ass of his in the shower scene later. Blech! Ladies, what do you see in this guy? I’s gots to know!



Ahem, so where were we? Maggie and Mr. Ass get struck by a limousine while on their motorcycle and the wealthy Jason Mountolive insists they stay at his mansion while the bike gets fixed. Upon arrival they find that their presence was expected. Margie learns that she is one of 5 potential beneficiaries to a dying multi-millionnaire's estate. (Roger Daltry is also in the running and his mere presence injects the film with some serious oomph. He's not a bad actor either.)

Guests begin to die and Maggie must either get to the bottom of things or escape with her life. The first victim drowns when attempting to resurface from the guest pool, only to find that the surface is blocked. Octopunk eloquently described this memorable scene in last year's review. * For a 70's B-movie, this is a remarkable death sequence. Drowning is already an underrated menace in horror films but this one is particularly effective because it's filmed from the victim's underwater blurry point of view. The last thing she sees before losing consciousness is an unidentifiable man coolly observing her from above.

The Legacy is an enjoyable safe bet if you're looking for a fun vintage flick to watch around Halloween. Despite the plot holes and the frequent "why don't they just do ______?" queries that arise, it's well worth a glance.

* Also note Octo's similar issues with Mr. Elliott.

9 comments:

Landshark said...

Huh, I dig me some Katherine Ross. Might have to check this out.

HandsomeStan said...

Sam Elliott is more man than you or I combined can ever hope to be.

If ever there was going to be a live-action Rusty Lover, he would do admirably.

JPX said...

Here is my comment from Octo's review last year,

"That's funny, the only thing I remember about this movie is the pool scene, so I guess the film should get extra credit since decades later we all seem to recall it."

Johnny Sweatpants said...

You're absolutely right about Rusty Stan, I was thinking the exact same thing. In fact he evolved as a manifestation of that "what do you see in him?" aspect.

JPX said...

He reminds me of a skinnier version of our uncle Pat, JSP!

Octopunk said...

Yay! I love that you watched this. Everything about this movie is thin (like Sam Elliot's toned ass), but it still works. And that pool scene! One good death and you're immortal. Sounds ironic but it isn't.

Isn't her name Maggie, though?

justmakingourway said...

My comment from last year mentioned the pool death as well! And the fact that I read the book a million years ago.

Blah, blah, blah. I'm wicked tired.

Johnny Sweatpants said...

You're right Octo, that didn't sound right. Fixed it.

Johnny Sweatpants said...

The Roger Daltry death was pretty impressive too now that I think of it.

Malevolent

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