Landman Star Sam Elliott's Haunted House Movie Is A Must-Watch For Horror Fans

When you think of Sam Elliott you think of Westerns. But actors don't stick around for almost six decades without stretching their legs into other genres. Take "The Legacy," for instance, a fairly early film in Elliott's filmography that saw him stranded in a sprawling English estate with a Satan-worshipping madman.

Taylor Sheridan felt so good about his time working with Sam Elliott on "1883" that he cast him in season 2 of "Landman." Having one of the best Western movie actors of all time in your neo-Western oil drama is always going to help, and while the show's season 1 ensemble was doing absolutely fine without him, Elliott immediately proved why he was a great addition to the cast. In season 2 we get to see a whole new side of Billy Bob Thornton's Tommy Norris, who's forced to add grappling with his upbringing and his own avoidance of fatherhood to his ever-growing list of concerns. As Tommy's father, T.L. Norris, Elliott is characteristically brilliant, delivering an often mournful performance in which — much like with 2017 dramedy "The Hero" — he seems to be reflecting not only on the character's life but his own.

Doing so would surely elicit a wide spectrum of emotions considering Elliott has been acting for 60 years, and had already ascended to legend status long before his arrival on "Landman." Elliott actually made his debut in a forgotten Western starring Kirk Douglas and went on to appear in some of the great Westerns of the late-20th Century — including 1993's "Tombstone" alongside Thornton. But the veteran star didn't exclusively make oaters. In fact, "The Legacy" proves that Elliott was more than a go-to for directors wanting some Old West authenticity.

Having established himself as a rising star in the 60s with minor roles in the Westerns "The Way West" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," Sam Elliott branched out in the 70s. The actor made two horror movies during that decade starting with "Frogs," which saw him play a photographer who witnesses the natural world take its revenge on a Southern family and its careless patriarch. Six years later, after making another Western and landing what proved to be his breakout role in drama "Lifeguard," Elliott returned to the horror genre with "The Legacy."

The 1978 movie isn't remembered as one of the best horror films ever made, and didn't fare too well critically. But it's a fascinating and overlooked curio that represented the directorial debut of Richard Marquand — who would, of course, go on to direct "Return of the Jedi" five years later. Elliott stars as Los Angeles-based interior decorator Pete Danner, who along with his wife, Maggie (Katharine Ross), travels to England at the behest of a client for what they think is a new job. When they arrive, however, they discover the client is actually Jason Mountolive (John Standing), a distant relative of Maggie's who has summoned the couple to his mansion along with five other potential heirs to his estate.

Soon, these heirs start dying under mysterious and often horrifying circumstances. Maria Gabrieli (Marianne Broome) is the first to go when she finds herself trapped in Mountolive's pool and drowns in what is one of the most memorable and disturbing scenes in the whole movie. More deaths, seemingly supernatural in nature, begin to whittle down the guests until Maggie uncovers Mountolive's horrifying secret.

It might not be remembered as a horror classic, but "The Legacy" is at the very least an interesting entry in Sam Elliott's filmography, and well worth a watch for fans of the actor. Seeing the Western legend skulking around an English manor house is just sort of incongruous, which actually adds to the film's unsettling atmosphere. Interestingly enough, the movie was shot in Berkshire, England, wrapping up just as Stanley Kubrick was gearing up to shoot "The Shining" two counties over in Hertfordshire. Obviously, Elliott's film didn't have anywhere near the impact of that celebrated Stephen King adaptation (which King himself hated) but it's interesting for different reasons. Also, The Who frontman Roger Daltrey plays one of the hopeful heirs for some reason.

Sadly, critics weren't having any of it. "The Legacy" has a 19% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Variety dubbing the movie "a tame, suspenseless victim of its own lack of imagination." John Corry of The New York Times wasn't much more complimentary, describing the film as "thin and dopey," adding, "In place of imagination it uses shock." Not everyone hated "The Legacy," though. Writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Al Haas described it as " a well crafted, interesting horror film" that nonetheless "develops too slowly."

Almost 50 years later, "The Legacy" is well worth a revisit. Or at least, it would be if you could find it. The film is in grave danger of becoming lost media, save for a YouTube upload. Otherwise, this overlooked horror appears to have remained as such, with no major platforms currently hosting it for streaming or purchase.