The Hearse (1980)

Director: George Bowers

Starring: Trish Van Devere, Joseph Cotten, David Gautreaux

A schoolteacher moves into her deceased aunt’s home in a small town, only to find herself plagued by supernatural occurrences and unexplained hostility from the local townspeople connected to her aunt’s past.

Jane Hardy (Trish van Devere) has just lost her mom and it’s been three months since her divorce, so she decides to go on vacation in the country. She stays at her Aunt’s house in the town of Blackford, who died 30 years ago, and she is now about to inherit the house after her mom’s death.

The townsfolk doesn’t exactly make her feel welcome, and she later learns her Aunt worshipped the Devil and wasn’t popular in town. The only person who is friendly towards her, is teenager Paul, who is attracted to her. Jane hires Paul to help with maintenance at the house. She also becomes friends with the handsome Tom (David Gautreaux), who came to her rescue when a mysterious hearse drove her off the road. He also becomes the romantic interest.

Strange things start happening at the house and Jane is always being followed by the hearse. When the lines between reality and her sightings start to blur, she turns to Tom for comfort, but is he truly as charming as he appears to be?

‘The Hearse’ does have some good moments, but it too often gave me a sense of deja vu. How many times did a frightened Jane run to her car to flee? How many times did she sit on her bed reading when a window suddenly opened? I enjoyed Jane being a strong and independent woman, and was reasonably well portrayed by Trish van Devere.

In general, there were too many jump scares without the film being scary. It felt like a TV film based on more popular films of the genre.

Would I watch it again? No.