Thomas’s review published on Letterboxd:
“Deadly Blessing” is an interesting transitional piece in Wes Craven´s filmography, as it moves away from the provocative exploitation of his first films to the more mainstream horror of his more successful later movies. It also already features the motif of an unknown evil that haunts a small community, a thematic element Craven returned to quite often. Especially “A Nightmare on Elm Street” fans will recognize several similarities, as the film also features dream sequences and a blueprint for the famous bathtub scene. “Deadly Blessing” mixes religious fanatism, slasher, and supernatural horror in an interesting and original way, and its atmosphere is probably its strongest point. Lead actress Maren Jensen does a good job, but the scene stealer is a young Sharon Stone. Talk about a woman blessed with beauty, goddamn. It´s easy to see why this movie is mostly forgotten, though. It´s uneven, messy, and not very engaging for the most part, and the killer reveal includes a very silly twist. Yet you see glimpses of Craven´s outstanding talent at several parts throughout the film and in retrospective, you can recognize the roots of his later masterpieces.
