The couple are Karen Black and Oliver Reed, and they have a son, Lee H. Montgomery. They rent a slightly dilapidated mansion for the summer from the elderly siblings Eileen Heckert and Burgess Meredith (played all twinkly and not Penguiny), after being shown in by redneck handyman Dub Taylor (Taylor doesn't have much to do, and disappears after one scene, but I can see why Curtis put him in - he's just fun). The siblings offer the house at a very low price and insist that it is easy to take care of and will look wonderful in the summer. But there's a catch - their 80-year old mother will be staying there. She won't leave her room, but they'll need to bring her meals. (Remember what happened in House of the Devil?)
Reed resists, but Black is in love with the house, so they take it. They bring along Reed's Aunt Elizabeth, a twinkly old painter played by Bette Davis. Black throws herself into making the house a showpiece - housework is not my idea of a vacation, but sure. What nobody notices is that when someone gets hurt, the house gets a little nicer - nobody notices but the audience.
While horsing around in the pool, Reed starts trying to drown their son. That sort of ramps up the tension. There are definitely some unexplored marital issues. But Black is spending more and more time outside of the old lady's door - an old lady she never sees or even hears.
This is not a particularly gruesome movie, but it does get tense and it does have a body count. It also isn't exactly good - Dan Curtis isn't a great director - but has an interesting atmosphere. Davis doesn't get to do much, but has a nice death. Reed has a little fun going coo-coo, and Black is fairly chilling as the oblivious wife who cares only about keeping her house tidy.
In conclusion, nothing gets burnt. So don't expect it.
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