THE LEGACY (1978) features Katherine Ross & Sam Elliot as interior decorators who travel from Los Angeles to an English country estate to fulfill a commission that they have received. Once there, they meet 5 beneficiaries including Roger Daltrey and Charles Gray who are gathered for the reading of a will. All 5 of them come to gruesome OMEN style deaths leaving Ross & Elliot to face the real meaning of “the legacy”. Unlike THE OMEN which inspired it, THE LEGACY doesn’t take itself too seriously and is a lot more enjoyable for it.
Ross & Elliot, who later became husband and wife, are solid enough though somewhat bland (although Elliot has a great shower scene) but it doesn’t matter thanks to the marvelous supporting cast and the creative ways that the other guests meet their doom. The movie has big budget production values which are also a plus but the 1970s pop soundtrack by Michael J. Lewis is a definite minus. Richard Marquand made his directorial debut with THE LEGACY. He would later do EYE OF THE NEEDLE with Donald Sutherland and RETURN OF THE JEDI.
The Capsule Critic 