Crowhaven Farm turns tranquil country life into a folk horror nightmare of witchcraft.
- Entertainment factor: ★★★★☆
- Scare factor: ★★★☆☆
- Folk horror factor: ★★★★☆
Crowhaven Farm is a supernatural folk horror made-for-tv horror film with witchcraft at its core. It’s a simple premise but executed in a well-crafted manner, while at the background marital problems play a slumbering but paramount part. It’s an atmospheric story in which the supernatural slowly takes over. It stars Hope Lange, Paul Burke, Lloyd Bochner, John Carradine, Cindy Eilbacher. It is directed by Walter Grauman and written by John McGreevey.
Duration: 1h 14min
Plot
Maggie and her husband Ben inherit a farm, but when they get there Maggie instantly feels like she’s been there before. When she was a child, but much more familiar than that. When she starts hearing crying in the meadow, has frighting dreams and visions, she feels anything but at home.
When they soon make new friends, Ben starts to act very jealous, while Maggie longs for a baby. When they are asked to take in twelve-year-old Jennifer, after her aunt Mercy killed herself being terminally ill, Maggie and Ben are delighted. But Jennifer isn’t that sweet innocent girl she seems to be and Maggie’s visions should have been a warning.
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Short Review
For a tv film, which were very popular in the 1970s it certainly is a very well-made and entertaining film. Although the storyline is simple, the execution is very effective. The dreams and visions are disturbing and strange. The witchcraft is subtle but invasive. The relationship between Maggie and Ben is anything but loving and trusting. And the isolation without her friends, surrounded by an all too friendly but suspicious community doesn’t make things any better. When strange deaths occur, it gets more sinister.
The relationship between Maggie and Ben and their yearning for a child plays a big part in the background but their marital problems are well intertwined with the storyline, making the upcoming events believable.
Although the witchcraft itself isn’t that prominent, the emphasis lies on the folklore, what happened a few ages ago and what it has to do with Maggie. She is the center of the story and everything that happens evolves around her. When Jennifer arrives at their doorstep, then slowly things are staring to feel weird and uncomfortable. The witch coven with their rituals down at the quarry, their old clothing, the changes of faces when Maggie looks at them turns the film into a tale of old fashion witchcraft purely used for evil and personal gain.
It’s about past life, pacts with the devil, witchcraft, a small community and choices that haunt you forever. Without any blood, or gore, the horror vibe is only established by a suspenseful atmosphere with a forboding vibe and a terrible ordeal Maggie has to go through. None of the deaths are shown, only mentioned. The tropes of a foreboding feeling, a creepy handyman, hidden rooms and strange sounds are put to use in the right way, adding to the horror and mystery, without becoming too cliched.
Crowhaven Farm is a very entertaining watch, well-made with proper storytelling and the story and characters are well-shaped creating an ominous atmosphere. It’s not an exceptional film, but in its genre it’s a good watch.
Did You Know I Also Make Art and Designs?
you can buy my designs on apparel or stationary, mugs and more. You can learn more about it on my art & design shop page or go directly to one of my shops.