Looking for the name of a thriller/horror movie from the late 1970's or early 1980's.

January 17, 2009 6:01 PM

Looking for the name of a thriller/horror movie from the late 1970's or early 1980's. Takes place in a very large spooky mansion. Several young adults come to visit the mansion and they encounter very abnormal occurrences. Please help.

I only remember a few scenes since I only saw it once when it originally came out.
1) One girl meets her fate when taking a swim in the beautiful indoor pool within the mansion. Suddenly by way of supernatural means, a clear enclosure covers the surface of the pool and she drowns.
2) Several of the adults attempt to escape and drive off in their car far away from the mansion later in the film. They drive and drive through the countryside only to soon realize that the road has taken them right back to the mansion's driveway.
3) The last scene I only vaguely remember. I believe I recall a sinister figure sitting in a majestic armchair. He is obscured by a thin silky curtain and I think he was wearing some kind of special ring.

That is all I got. I hope someone out there knows this flick. Thanks

posted by orehek to media & arts (7 comments total)

Sounds like "The Legacy".
posted by pepcorn at 6:06 PM on January 17

Sounds like a cross between The Haunting of Hill House and In The Mouth of Madness.
posted by miasma at 7:03 PM on January 17

Number three makes it sound like Spookies. Pictures here.
posted by Roman Graves at 7:32 PM on January 17

I think it's The Legacy also. I remember the swimming pool scene vividly.
posted by cazoo at 9:24 PM on January 17

It's The Legacy for sure. Via Wikipedia:

Maria, despite being an excellent swimmer, somehow becomes trapped under the surface of Jason's indoor pool and is drowned.
posted by Locative at 1:04 AM on January 18

I'm nthing The Legacy. I didn't even know I'd remembered seeing this too until the bit about the swimming pool, then I had a flashback to being freaked out by it at the age of eight -- and then reading the Wikipedia link above brought back all the other parts I remembered.

If you also remember a freaky scene where a young woman finally goes into a room where there's a curtain around the bed and she throws back the curtains, and there's a person in the bed that looks basically like a living skeleton with a fright wig and they have a conversation, then this is it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:18 PM on January 18

Thank you everyone for coming up with the film title. It was definitely "The Legacy"....you guys solved a 30 year mystery for me. I saw it when I was 4 years old....it somehow always stayed in my memory. Thank you all again. Best, Tyler
posted by orehek at 8:24 PM on January 18