azathothpwiggins Newlyweds, Laura Wilson (Patty Duke- THE BABYSITTER) and her husband, Mark (David McCallum) stay at Mark's family estate, in spite of his mother's (Dorothy McGuire) protests. Mark's first wife, Elaine had died there, and he's very touchy about the subject. Then, Laura starts hearing a tune found on Elaine's music box, to the point of being haunted by it. She also hears voices, and screams like a banshee sitting on a porcupine! Laura becomes curious about how Elaine died. Mark doesn't want to discuss it, so Laura talks to his mother, who tries to get her to leave the house. She also tells her the truth about Elaine's death. This sends Laura into a mega-tizzy! She screams and screams. The next thing we know, Laura's entire personality changes into a major meany pants. Has Elaine returned from the dead to possess her, or Is Laura cracking up? SHE WAITS is a tale of family secrets, murder, and possible vengeance from beyond the grave. BONUS POINTS FOR: Ms. Duke's final scream, that could peel a bunch of bananas from 100 yards away! EXTRA BONUS POINTS FOR: The music score, which is sort of Bernard Herman meets Bach...

Leofwine_draca A slow-moving but suspenseful American television movie for fans of old-fashioned horror suspense yarns without the slick special effects and gory deaths that modern genre offerings give us. Filmed on mainly one location, with a small cast and a predictable plot involving possession, SHE WAITS is a surprisingly effective outing for the genre which has plenty of creepy atmosphere to please the horror fan. For once the house in which the film is set actually does look haunted, and there are plenty of uncanny moments with doors creaking open of their own accord and sudden, jarring strings on the soundtrack to help raise the hairs on the back of your neck.The movie starts off very slowly and gets more involved as it goes along, ending with an insane turnaround with lots of plot twists and a whodunit aspect as the method of Elaine's death becomes clear and the finger of suspicion is pointed at one of the people gathered in the house on a climatic night. Before all this, SHE WAITS keeps us watching with some well-grounded fear sequences like when voices are heard talking from an empty room, or a music box keeps on playing a creepy old-fashioned tune over and over. The last fifteen or so minutes of the film are those in which the "possession" occurs and are extremely taut and gripping, with an unexpected revelation.The best efforts of a familiar cast also help us to keep watching through the slow bits. Patty Duke (a familiar face in the television movie realm) takes the lead role and portrays her possession realistically, and doesn't overdo it like some could. David McCallum seems an odd casting choice for the role of the subdued husband who takes a backseat in the action and remains calm, even when about to be shot! However McCallum pulls through and puts in a sturdy, if undemanding, performance. Famous faces like Lew Ayres and Dorothy McGuire fill out the rest of the cast and put in strong support, whilst James Callahan is good value as the family friend with a dark secret.When released on video in the UK (on the Cougar label), this was bizarrely renamed NIGHT OF THE EXORCIST , despite the fact that there are no exorcisms - let alone any exorcist - in the movie! I guess they thought cashing in on THE EXORCIST's title would make it more popular, but the two films (the first with its strong visceral gut-wrenching horrors, and this with its more subtle chills) couldn't be more different.

Lee Eisenberg Mostly, "She Waits" is your average woman-goes-to-house-and-strange-things-start-happening story, but it's kept afloat by the good performances. Patty Duke plays Laura Wilson, who goes with her husband Mark (David McCallum) to his childhood home, where his first wife died. His mother Sarah (Dorothy McGuire) contends that his first wife never left the house and is waiting to get him back. You can probably guess what starts happening thereafter.Overall, the movie has everything that we would expect in such a movie, namely the eerie house and overpossessive mother. Most of the dialog is routine, but there are some good lines. For example, housekeeper Mrs. M (Beulah Bondi) says of Los Angeles: "What self-respecting ghost would want to live here?" Lew Ayres (yes, the "All Quiet on the Western Front" star who later became a conscientious objector) plays the doctor.Nothing new, but innocuous.

Prof_Lostiswitz I've just watched this movie twice; gorgeous visuals, really moody soundtrack. And this from a cheap TV movie starring Patty Duke! The story concerns a new bride arriving at her husband's family abode, to be unnerved by the possibility that she might be in danger of being possessed by the spirit of his deceased former wife. Patty Duke and "The Man From UNCLE" (McCallum) do a great job of acting, given the bad lines they have to deliver.And there's the problem = the dialogue is stunningly trite and obvious, no better than a daytime soap-opera. Pretend the characters are speaking a foreign language you can't understand, and you'll get a good frisson as the mood of this drama envelopes you. Don't turn off the sound, the music works perfectly.I Rate it at eight stars = two being deducted because of the dialogue.