More spoilers, BEWARE 
, of Burnt Offerings coming
-the sinister chauffeur and his sinister grin during Oliver Reed's "delusion" scenes...the one with Bette Davis's slowly agonizing/dying is quite harrowing! 
these scenes were really hard to watch. Bette Davis is horrible to look at. She goes for it and makes it so unsettling and the subtle make up is frightening. Really scared me.
Yes, this scene is "awful"!...also again Oliver Reed's acting here is fantastic, just when he hears the motor of the car and suddenly realizes it's not a real doctor who is coming...he kind of collapses on himself, against the wall...impressive. And yes, Bette Davis's acting and make up in this scene are really unsettling. The second chauffeur scene when Reed is working in the sunny garden is also very very effective...this great close up of Reed's face, frightened, shaking, in sweat.
well, it didn't work for me as a suprise in the story path, i knew that much before and was awaiting the conclusion
Yes, it was probably newer in 1976 this kind of "twist"...there are clues almost from the beginning that Karen Black/Marian becomes haunted when she goes in that room...haunted by the lullaby, the pictures in that sinister room/attic. One thing i loved when i watched the film in the 80's is that you will never know if there was really someone in the room/attic...probably not, just the evil spirit of the house, but it makes at times for an almost unbearable tension, suspens when the characters go upstairs and are near that mysterious locked door...it's powerful and leads to a big payoff at the end!
when Karen Blacks face shows up, how evil she looks, her look in her face, that again came as a surprise to have to watch it.
Yes!! She is still creepy, her look, eyes in 2019!! Can you imagine the impact this ending (and the chauffeur scenes) had on me when i watched the film in the late 80's??
The fact that at first during the climax the character"s face isn't revealed to Reed and the viewer is also deeply powerful...i guess it's the Hitchock great lesson in suspens/tension (remember the ending of "Psycho"!!) and Roeg in the "Don't look now" finale.
the kid is such a good actor. he acts so adult-like, he in fact is the only one acting sensible later when the madness has set in, his responses to his parents are so well put, with total understanding of the situations and commenting on it with body language and looks. he is the innocence there in the madhouse.
Yes, he's very good, not overacting...the overall acting/casting is quite remarkable in this film. There are 2/3 very effective moments of acting from this kid, when Reed in his car tries to escape from the house, also when Reed decides to goes upstairs to search for Karen Black, and finally when the kid, stunned and frightened, sees the house crumbling on itself and on him.
wow. again an example of how life is stranger than fiction. and hard to imagine how he must have felt shooting this.
Yes...maybe that this tragic event also enhanced the relentless dark tone of the film, who knows...if i remember well Curtis also says in the audio commentary that the first nightmare/funeral scene was linked to his childhood memories.
BURNT OFFERINGS is a very effective "haunted house movie" that deserves to be praised as much as more famous "classics" from its era like AMITYVILLE, THE SHINING and THE CHANGELING.
I also recommend the BURNT OFFERINGS novel by Robert Marasco...also effective, very good.
