Hi there,
Wondering if you could help me identify a film that's been haunting me since I was a kid. This must have been the mid-‘70s and I saw a trailer and movie poster for a film that involved a bunch of seniors living in a house who killed people. All I remember is the trailer announcer saying, "There's nothing wrong with this house… it's the people in the house…"
The poster I think had some seniors on it and a woman's leg sticking out of a grocery bag. Oh – also – in the trailer, there's two old people standing next to a young woman with a bag over her head who is sitting on a building roof ledge and they push her off.
I've searched the internet forever and can't find hide no hair of what this film was and it bugs the hell out of me.
Anyway – thanks for the great site and wonderful memories.
— Paul
UNK SEZ: Paul, let me put an end to your agony as quickly as possible. We've gotten a "Name That Trauma" on that movie before (HERE)! You must be talking about 1974's HOMEBODIES! Check out the trailer (in Spanish) below!
I knew what this was the second I read about the person being tossed from the roof. Never mess with people's subsided housing!
I just saw this last year! It was available for download at Cosmic Hex, along with many other Kindertraumatic faves. I was amazed when I saw it again, since it's remarkably dark for 70's network TV. I was also delighted to note the participation of Ruth McDevitt, who played Miss Emily on the Kolchak-The Night Stalker TV series from the seventies. I bought a copy of a fondly remembered TV movie about a homicidal maniac preying on a group of elderly busybodies, "Do no Fold, Spinlde, or Murtilate", and it pales in comparison to Homebodies. Homebodies is well made, and doesn't seem rushed though, like "Do not fold…", or even "Bad Ronald", which I love, but whips through it's story in less than 90 minutes.The old folks in Homebodies don't play around when it comes to murder, and there is not a camp moment in it- this one is chilling.
Other traumatic films at this site include "Where have all the People gone?" with it's children eating mad dogs, and Something Evil starring Johnny Whitacre, and early speileberg effort (though the copy is not in perfect shape. I would love to see Kindertrauma comment on these two gems. If CH would add more 70's TV movies, say Crowhaven Farm with Hope Lange, or Screaming Woman with Olivia Dehavilland, I might renew my membership.
Thanks Aunt John,This is a great blog, and thanks so much for bringing back som many, er, fond memories each week.
Homebodies page at CH
http://www.cosmichex.com/detail.php?f=76
Cosmic Hex main page.
http://www.cosmichex.com/
You have my eternal gratitude! Thanks to you, I’ve been able to re-live that traumatic event. The trailer was a messed up flashback. So I must have been 6 years old when I saw this trailer and the poster and lobby cards. Thanks for helping me find some of the most disturbingly influential images from my youth. I immediately bought an original poster so I can be traumatized on a daily basis.
Thanks KinderTrauma!