Clevercell Very disappointing...

VividSimon Simply Perfect

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

udar55 Revisited this after two decades since my only recollection of it was that it featured a lot of rain. Family matriarch Benjamin Morgan (Walter Brennan) has his three estranged daughters - Frederica (Jessica Walter, Christine (Sally Field) and Joanna (Jill Haworth) - join him and his fourth daughter, Alex (Eleanor Parker), for Christmas. His reason is simple - he wants them to kill his new wife Elizabeth (Julie Harris), who he believes is slowly poisoning him. This is an effective holiday horror with great performances by all of the leading ladies. The mystery by writer Joseph Stefano might be easy to figure out, but there are still some great moments of suspense. Some of it is pretty shocking for a early '70s TV movie. For example, there is one great bit where Benjamin is dressing down his daughters and he flat out says Frederica was a hussy in junior high. Don't think that would fly today. Director John Llewellyn Moxey does a great job creating the trapped, rainy night atmosphere and gets the most out of their location (which is the same farmhouse where Spielberg shot SOMETHING EVIL).

acidburn-10 The plot = Four sisters are summoned back to they're family home by their sick father who suspects that his current wife is slowly poisoning him Though the sisters disagree on the validity of their Father's rantings, it soon becomes clear that someone wants to silence the girls as well! But who could it be? There's nothing like a good murder at Christmas time. An old Gothic mansion, mystery and suspense are all the makings for a good horror, in this early 70's TV movie. Although not bloody or gory, it's the performances that makes this movie work, especially from the 4 sisters, we get Alex played beautifully by Eleanor Parker whose the oldest sister who watches over her three younger siblings ever since they're mother died, then we have the party girl Jo (Played by British Actress Jill Haworth), Freddie the tragic pill popping alcoholic whose never got over her mother's death (A wonderfully hammy performance by Jessica Walter) and the youngest sister the sweet naive Christine (Played by Sally Field) who would go on to bigger and better things. We also have Julie Harris who plays the step mother who was once accused of poisoning her last husband, could she be doing it again.The dark eerie settings of the mansion and the tension between the sisters really makes this movie work mixes up the horror/thriller themes of the 50's and 60's and before (old dark house; sibling rivalry; American Gothic; grand inheritances and murderous motives) and what was to become the slasher standards of the 80's. Sally Field makes a wonderful heroine like when she's getting stalked in the hoods by someone with a pitchfork and yellow raincoat. This movie was very low budget and it does show in some parts and also, this movie does get quite boring at times, but other than that, this relatively unknown thriller makes for good viewing.

suemartin23264 I remember seeing this as a little kid when it first aired in the UK. It was on really late, but I watched it and was afraid to go to bed after it finished. I've never seen it aired on the TV after that, and I found it really difficult to find a copy. Eventually, I found a DVD of it on iOffer, and it still holds up today!A dying old man summons home his four daughters at Christmas because he suspects that his new wife is poisoning him. However, this proves to be the least of their problems when a mysterious figure in a yellow raincoat brandishes a pitchfork and starts picking them off one by one! This is quite a neat little thriller, but sadly, because of its TV origins, very few people know about it, which is a real shame, because it deserves so much more recognition. Hopefully, it will be released on DVD soon, as I can't find any factory release in the UK, and there's only the out of print videotape in the US, so I consider myself extremely lucky to have a copy, and a decent one at that. I really recommend that if anyone is searching for this, go straight to iOffer for a DVD, and you can sit down and watch it back to back with Black Christmas (the original, not the horrible remake).This is well worth a watch. I highly recommend it!

Mr_Ectoplasma "Home For The Holidays", originally a made-for-television horror movie, is a neat little horror mystery that came a little before it's time. The plot centers around the Morgan family. Benjamin Morgan (Walter Brennan), an dying man, summons his four estranged daughters back home on Christmas Eve. The sisters include Alex (Eleanor Parker), the oldest of the group who is already staying at her father's house; Frederica (Jessica Walter, of "Play Misty For Me"), a pill-popping alcoholic who blames her father for their mother's suicide; Joanna (Jill Haworth), a somewhat stuck-up party girl; and Christine (Sally Field), the innocent one, and the youngest of the family. When the girls arrive, their father reveals to them that his current wife, Elizabeth (Julie Harris, of "The Haunting"), who was suspected of her previous husband's death, is poisoning him slowly, and that he essentially wants his daughters to murder her. But it seems that the Morgan sisters have a surprise visitor - and it's not Santa Claus. A pitchfork wielding maniac in a rain slicker begins to stalk and murder the sisters - but who could it be? With the phones dead and the roads washed out due to a heavy rainstorm, the sisters are trapped there while the unseen killer begins to pick them off one by one.I was really surprised at how good this film turned out to be. Originally aired on ABC in late November 1972, "Home For The Holidays" is a solid and suspenseful little made-for-TV movie. Probably the very first holiday-horror film, this one predates "Black Christmas" and all the other Christmas-set horror films that followed. The story is absolutely wonderful. Not only is it original (especially if you consider the time it was written), but it also provides a good amount of shocks and some great mysteries for the audience to try and solve themselves, along with a solid sustainment of suspense. It's no surprise that the writing is so good though, considering the film was written by Joseph Stefano, who wrote Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film classic, "Psycho". The script is excellent and there are some great horror set-ups (including a pretty lengthy chase scene with Sally Field through the woods), plus some nice plot twists that will keep you guessing.The cast is made up of mostly female actresses, and they really are all great. Sally Field pulls off the innocent youngster of the girls (and the main heroine) well - her performing skills were wonderful, even in her early career. The great Julie Harris plays the mysterious, 'wicked stepmother', and does it precisely. We aren't sure if we should consider her a suspect or not, although quite a few things are pointing in her direction. Jessica Walter is the frantic, pill-popping sister who resents her father, and is also very good. All in all, the cast is great, and there are very few corny moments. Atmosphere is a big part of this film as well. The setting is a secluded mansion, perfect place to set a murder mystery. While the film takes place during Christmas, there are rainstorms rather than snowstorms - a bit of an edgy but nice decision from the filmmakers, the thunder and lightning add to the spookiness. The only real holiday scenery that we get is a grand Christmas tree in the center of the coiling staircase, and a wreathe on the front door - like in "Black Christmas", it is obvious that it is Christmastime, but the theme isn't too overdone. There are a couple of murders in the film, but keeping in mind that this was a television film, there is very little in the way of violence - not that it's a bad thing, this film is creepy enough without showing too much. The suspense factor is really the kicker for this one.Overall, "Home For The Holidays" is a good old-fashioned murder mystery set during Christmas. It's suspenseful, spooky, and really well-written (plus the cast is really excellent as well). If you enjoy old fashioned murder/mystery films (and would be interested in seeing a young Sally Field chased by a pitchfork-wielding murderer), this one will keep you guessing the killer's identity until the final revelation. If you can manage to get a hold of the out-of-print VHS, I'd really recommend it. This holiday horror film is worth a look. 8/10.