TRISH VAN DEVERE LEADS 'THE HEARSE' WITH JOSEPH COTTEN

Before CHRISTINE, the nefarious element of a ghostly vehicle wreaking havoc occurred in this old style horror flick wherein THE HEARSE has a different kind of twist... as Trish Van Devere's city-dwelling Jane Hardy moves into a small East Coast town where her aunt had lived, and wasn't exactly a churchgoer but rather, a full blown Satan-worshipper, and the entire uptight town knows it.

The most effective scenes occur so fast you best not blink: one moment when a ghost appears in the house's top window works better than the usual modern cheap jolt. And then, during a courtship with a dark, handsome (and eerie) stranger, not only are locals messing with her head, and a druggist's son (Perry Lang) has a moody crush. And Joseph Cotten's cantankerous realtor wants ownership, adding for her character a mysterious element of who or what's really behind that hearse, showing up whenever needed but without owning the movie itself, only the title: It's Trish that the film truly belongs, turning in a performance as subtle and nuanced as the proceedings for which she's both predator and prey.

Trish Van Devere starring in THE HEARSE Year: 1980 Rates: ****

Trish Van Devere enters THE HEARSE Trish Van Devere THE HEARSE

Blu Ray flipside cover for THE HEARSE inspired by Deathproof and a hi def capture of Trish Van Devere

Veteran Actor Joseph Cotten as the grouchy Walter Prichard in THE HEARSE Joseph Cotten

Donald Hotton as the creepy looking but pretty cool acting preacher in The Hearse Donald Hotton

Irritable and cranky Joseph Cotten chews out Van Devure incessantly in The Hearse Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cotten pours The Virginian veteran Med Flory a drink in The Hearse Med Flory

David Gautreaux as the perfect tall man in black with Trish Van Devere The Hearse David Gautreaux

Trish Van Devere and Perry Lang The Hearse Perry Lang Trish Van Devere

Trish Van Devere in THE HEARSE

The Hearse opening credit artwork

Allison Balson in THE HEARSE