Amish Beatdown

This is an interesting offering from Craven, and came along at a turning point in his career. It is possibly the last of his films that retain a flavour of a certain period, while much of what followed had a somewhat different tone. Not counting his television movies, Deadly Blessing came after The Hills Have Eyes but before Swamp Thing and has much more in common with THHE in that it has a similar theme and look, i.e. danger in the rural / remote setting and a community who haven’t adapted to the 20th century. And Michael Berryman of course. One can’t help but think that this was a THHE cash-in attempt. The original UK release video cover is just a huge red picture of Berryman’s handsome face with the ‘From the director of The Hills Have Eyes’ spiel at the top. That said, it has to be worth a look doesn’t it? It’s vintage Craven after all, and we know he can deliver the goods with style, especially if we’re talking pre-1983. Hmmm…