After her husband gets killed in a mysterious farming accident, Martha (a solid and sympathetic performance by the striking Maren Jensen) begins to fear for her life as well as the well being of her visiting friends Vicky (Susan Buckner, very perky and appealing) and Lana (a positively ravishing Sharon Stone right before she hit it big) due to the fact that her husband was a former member of a strict religious cult led by the fanatical Isaiah Schmidt (Ernest Borgnine in fine forceful'n'fearsome form).

Acclaimed horror maven Wes Craven, who also co-wrote the offbeat and intriguing script with Matthew Barr and Glenn M. Benest, ably crafts a genuinely tense and creepy atmosphere, provides a flavorsome evocation of the peaceful rural region setting, offers an interesting exploration of the danger and damage wrought by both long kept secrets and deep-seated repression, and expertly stages a few bravura shock set pieces (Lana gets terrorized in a barn, a spider drops in Lana's mouth, a snake in Martha's bathtub that's unnervingly phallic and Freudian in its implications). The sturdy cast helps a lot: Jeff East as amiable farmboy John, Colleen Riley as the neurotic Melissa, Lois Nettleton as the flaky and overprotective Louisa Stohler, Michael Berryman as loopy man-child William Gluntz, and Lisa Hartman as Louisa's peculiar daughter Faith. Both Robert C. Jessup's sharp cinematography and James Horner's supremely spooky score are on the money effective and impressive.

However, the story really falls apart with an unfortunate array of gross lapses in logic and glaring implausibilities in the last third, with an annoyingly abrupt and absurd "Carrie"-inspired stinger surprise appearance by an incubus tossing in an from out of left field supernatural element that's seriously at odds with the more reality-based events that occur before it. Moreover, said ending feels cheap and tacked-on, which reportedly it was. Close, but no cigar.

In a backward religious community called "Hitites" that lives in the Eighteenth Century, the pregnant Martha (Maren Jensen) is happily married with the farmer Jim Schmidt (Douglas Barr),who is a former Hitite. Their non-Hitite neighbors are Louisa Stohler (Lois Nettleton) and her daughter Faith (Lisa Hartman) that hate the religious community ruled by Jim´s father, the austere and fanatic leader Isaiah Schmidt (Ernest Borgnine). When Jim sees a mysterious shadow in his barn, he dies in a strange accident with his tractor. After his funeral, Martha welcomes her friends from LA Lana Marcus (Sharon Stone) and Vicky Anderson (Susan Buckner) that decide to spend a couple of days with her. When William Gluntz (Michael Berryman) disappears stabbed by a shadow, his father and Isaiah come to Martha´s farm looking for William. Then Isaiah makes an offer to buy the farm from Martha that says no and he calls her incubus. From this moment on, weird things happen in the community, Martha and her friends and Isaiah insists to blame the incubus.

"Deadly Blessing" is a weird slasher film with a messy supernatural story. Directed by Wes Craven, who also wrote the screenplay, it is very disappointing after "The Last House on the Left" and "The Hills Have Eyes". This film is the debut of Sharon Stone in a lead role in a feature and one of the attractions in the present days. Ernest Borgnine is scary in the role of the fanatic Isaiah Schmidt. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Benção Mortal" ("Deadly Blessing")

This film is set in Amish Country, at a local farm, where a woman's husband is mysteriously killed by his own tractor! Personally, I think Ernest Borgnine is a good Hittite, leading a group of religious fanatics that "make the Amish look like swingers". Borgnine was nominated for a Razzie award for "Worst Supporting Actor" for this movie. Really? I mean, he may not be brilliant, but he is not that bad.

AllMovie comments that the film "finds director Wes Craven in a transitional phase between his hard-hitting early work and his later commercial successes." I am not sure what the hard-hitting phase was (presumably "Last House" and "Hills Have Eyes"). I would definitely agree this film falls into his more obscure, less-successful period.

Time Out wrote, "Deadly Blessing isn't a very good movie, but it holds out distinct promise that Craven will soon be in the front rank of horror filmmakers", calling it "an excellent example of a mundane project elevated into quite a palatable genre movie by its director." If nothing out, they predicted Craven's rise to the top perfectly. Which is weird, because this film (as opposed to others) would not be the one that suggests his potential.

As I write this (February 2013),there is a new Blu-Ray version coming out. Up until now, the film has never been seen on DVD or BD. I watched it on Netflix. Admittedly, I am curious how the film transfers. I might consider bumping the rating up one notch if the picture improves. The disc is also loaded with special features. That may not improve the film itself, but it could help put it into a better context of Craven's career.