Can anyone help me identify this film??

[The Jaff]

Hi all,

I've had this scene rolling around in my head since I was a little kid. I didn't see the whole film but the part that I caught scared the crap out of me. I've been looking for it for sometime now and haven't had any luck. I'm beginning to think it's something I dreamnt up. I thought somebody might be able help me out.

Here goes: I think the scene involved a youngish dark haired woman and her child (don't remember the sex) confronting an old woman in a chair. The old woman bears some resemblance to the painting 'Whistler's Mother.' The freaky stuff comes into play when it's revealed that the old lady has like a crab claw for a hand. She smashes some kind of jar filled with liquid (with said crab hand.)

That's all I remember. I know it's not much to go on. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

The Jaff

[Romero&Juliet]

wow. I have NO IDEA!

sounds fucking cool though http://www.joblo.com/ubb/cool.gif

[Ro's Baby]

Hey Jaff.....it sounds twisted, but it's not ringing any bells.

Sorry!

[FeydRautha]

Some more info would help...such as, was this film in black & white or colour? Did it look like a very old movie? And what vocal accents were the actors using (American/British/European)?

I could probably help you place this flick if I knew what time-frame & culture it was filmed in.

Saving that, as those have said before me, it doesn't really ring any bells...

[MotorizedInstinct]

Whistler's Mother with a crab claw? Me wanna see!!!!!!!

[The Jaff]

More Info...

I think it's safe to say that this flick has to be from the seventies, early eighties. (I saw it in the early eighties) Definetly no older than the late sixties. Also, I saw it on cable. (I'm thinking HBO since I saw with with my Dad and that's the only channel he watched when we first got it) I'm not sure if they would be running any Euro-horror on tv back then but I'm not really certain. I also think it was in color though everything was rather dim and darkly lit.

Also, I'm fairly certain the film would fall into the haunted house/gothic genre, maybe with a touch of sci-fi. I really don't think this was any type of slasher, zombie film.

It is entirely possible that I dreamnt this up. I had a bad habit of watching HBO with my dad and being traumatized by whatever he had on. I was a sensitive little bugger back then. Maybe I dreamnt it to reflect this type of experience. It's weird that it has stuck with me so long.

Thanks,

The Jaff

[Romero&Juliet]

man, I'd die to know what this is called!!

[Elgyn]

Randolph Jaffe? Great screen name dude!

P.S. - sorry I have no clue what that movie is.

[FeverDog420]

Could it be Phantasm? I dunno - the clues you give are somewhat reminicent of it:

old woman in a chair late '70s/early '80s look color haunted house/gothic (the mausoleum) touch of sci-fi (the silver ball) no slashers or zombies


Could be, right?

[The Jaff]

It's definetly not Phantasm. Just saw that recently. Thanks for the guess though.

The Jaff

[oldfart]

Could it possibly be an incorrect memory of psycho? At one point, the woman walks in on Norman dressed as his mother. (Gothic/Haunted House from that era.) Norman (as his mother) is in a rocking chair in front of the window looking a bit Whistler's mother-ish. She tries to talk to her about Norman (or something like that) and if I recall correctly, a knife, not a crab claw is drawn and a lamp is broken (not a jar). Maybe? It's been a while since I saw psycho too...