Deadly Blessing: A Dance with the Devil… and Popcorn

So, I finally got around to watching “Deadly Blessing” from 1981. Yep, it’s that Wes Craven flick—’cause you know, when it’s Craven, you almost always expect to need an extra pair of pants. But, hmm, this one left me puzzled like a Swede in a Danish bakery.

We’ve got Ernest Borgnine, doing the whole cult leader gig. Honestly, every time I see him, I think of “The Poseidon Adventure,” and it messes with my brain a bit. And there’s Sharon Stone… Before she became THE Sharon Stone, if you know what I mean. She’s got that spark already though. You can see she’s gonna go places.

The movie is all about Hittites. Not the ancient kind that would bore you to tears in high school history class, but more of a rural, religious sect. They live just next door to our protagonist, played by Maren Jensen. Her husband bites the dust early on, and yet it’s like having grädde on your köttbullar—something always seems off.

There was this one time, back in ’87, I think? Or was it ’88? Ate my first American-style pancake while rewatching something spooky in Östersund—felt just like that opening farm scene: strangely foreign, yet weirdly comforting.

But look, visually? A feast. The play of light and shadow, almost has that Ingmar Bergman “let’s go deep into human despair” vibe. At moments, though, it becomes as predictable as finding a queue at Systembolaget on a Friday afternoon.

You ever watch a film and feel it’s both a “hit” and “miss”? That’s “Deadly Blessing” for me. Maybe it’s the odd spiritual undertones or the baggy storytelling seams. Yet, like that persistent cousin you can’t fully dislike, it warms a strange corner of my cinephile heart.

Would I watch it again? Probably, on a dark, stormy Swedish night, with some kanelbullar on hand. If nothing else, it’s worth it for the chuckles and cheap thrills. Let’s just say, it’s not all deadly… maybe perilously awkward instead.

Check the trailer below