A family decides to move into a fully furnished mansion for the summer, even though the house is suspiciously cheap. They meet the homeowner and her brother, who is the most dandy man I’ve seen in a horror movie so far. They are super eager to get this family to stay here, including some very inappropriate remarks about their 12 year old son. Although maybe it wasn’t inappropriate back then to giggle and call a little boy “full of the devil,” while watching him fall off the porch.

The siblings are going to leave them be, but say that their mother is going to hang out in the attic. She must never be seen, and they must bring her meals three times a day. And the family AGREES! As if this is totally normal. Nevertheless, they move in July 1st and bring the husband’s Aunt Elizabeth (played by Bette Davis).

The first day is full of all kind of surprises that don’t send dumb people running away. The father and son find a graveyard on the property, surrounded by rusted out bikes and farm equipment. The mother, Marian, visits the attic apartment and only finds odd photographs and an old music box (which in my opinion, is the worst sound next to wind chimes and someone whistling at night).

Next, the family is in the pool which subsequently tries to drown them. As in, the pool makes people try to drown each other. The father can’t stop having nightmares, the aunt has no energy, and the mother is slowly trying to turn the entire house into a cover of Unnecessary Gothic Architecture Magazine.

Then, when they wake up one morning, the entire outside is completely clean, and the landscaping is pristine. I mean…if you’re going have a demonic entity, might as well be a good groundskeeper too.

The final straw is when the son gets locked in his room and is slowly being poisoned by a gas leak. Instead of calling someone, the family just starts blaming each other. They start sniping at each other constantly, and it’s a much more realistic dynamic of a family where no one seems to have jobs, but can still afford a mansion house for the entire summer.

The house is now full-on renovating itself, feeding off the agony of it’s inhabitants; ripping down old shingles and spitting out dirty siding. Again, I mean…a demonic entity that is also a speedy contractor AND a good landscaper, still not something to complain about.