Deadly Blessing

Somewhere along the way from The Hills Have Eyes to A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven made this underseen and underrated oddball gem, still not available on DVD. Set in Amish-like country, it features a couple whose marital bliss is put to an early end when he’s killed by his tractor—yup, such things happen in these parts, especially when there’s a psycho on the loose, and much of the town is made up of loopy religious fanatics (led by Ernest Borgnine). Soon the newly widowed woman’s two best friends (paging Sharon Stone!) arrive on the scene, just to be counted in among the targets. A persistent sense of lurking fear overrides some silliness, for a movie that is ultimately much more fright than camp.