Identifying a horror movie...

[Jeysie]

Well. Since everyone *else* is having luck with this sort of thing lately... I thought I'd give it a try.

I remember as a kid seeing this one horror movie on TV. The main characters were two adults, one man and one woman, possibly investigators of some kind. They are at a small town where people have been mysteriously disappearing.

The trail eventually leads them to an odd creepy house inhabited by a small group of kids. It eventually turns out that the house is alive, and the kids have a weird symbolic relationship with it, "feeding" people who were cruel to them to it in exchange for the house giving them their desires. I remember one particular scene with the trapped people trying to push their way out of the walls and ceiling. They eventually free everyone who's trapped by convincing the kids to repent and renounce the house.

Based on how old I think I remember I was when I watched it on TV, I'd say the movie came out in roughly 1986 or earlier. Anyone have any ideas?

Peace & Luv, Liz

 

[Rackhir]

Well. Since everyone *else* is having luck with this sort of thing lately... I thought I'd give it a try.

I remember as a kid seeing this one horror movie on TV. The main characters were two adults, one man and one woman, possibly investigators of some kind. They are at a small town where people have been mysteriously disappearing.

The trail eventually leads them to an odd creepy house inhabited by a small group of kids. It eventually turns out that the house is alive, and the kids have a weird symbolic relationship with it, "feeding" people who were cruel to them to it in exchange for the house giving them their desires. I remember one particular scene with the trapped people trying to push their way out of the walls and ceiling. They eventually free everyone who's trapped by convincing the kids to repent and renounce the house.

Based on how old I think I remember I was when I watched it on TV, I'd say the movie came out in roughly 1986 or earlier. Anyone have any ideas?

Peace & Luv, Liz

Are you sure it was a movie? It sounds very much like an episode of "Friday the 13th : The Series" (which actually has nothing to do with the Slasher flicks). The series was built around various magical objects that did stuff like give people their desires when the object was used to murder someone. In particular there was an episode where two kids had a playhouse that had a lot of stuff happening very much like what you are talking about. The female investigator in the series was a red-head? Do you recall if that was the case for the character you are thinking about? The series ran from '87 to '90 so it's about the right time frame.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092357/

 

[Jeysie]

You know, that totally does sound like what I remember watching. It explains why I couldn't seem to find it in any horror movie books (even though I could remember so many details), and why the ending seemed weirdly moralistic for a horror movie.

Thanks!

Peace & Luv, Liz

 

[trancejeremy]

If you get the "Chiller" TV channel, they show re-runs of that show.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Yeah, and remember the Nightmare on Elm Street TV show? heh...

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Yeah, and remember the Nightmare on Elm Street TV show? heh...

I remember not thinking that one was too horrible, it just... didn't have anything to do with A Nightmare on Elm Street. (It had Freddy as narrator, IIRC, but otherwise it could have been any other horror series.)

Same with the Friday the 13th show, which was even more out there, as it didn't even take place near Crystal Lake or have Jason involved!!