Something Evil (1972)

A producer (Darren McGavin) of television commercials and his wife (Sandy Dennis) move into a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania with their two children. But what they don't know is that the house has a history of a demonic presence. Before he expanded to feature films, Steven Spielberg directed some interesting TV movies like DUEL and this one that were shown theatrically overseas but also showed he was ready to cross over to the big screen. I suspect SOMETHING EVIL was very impressive when it debuted on CBS in 1972 but the ensuing years have brought us so many demonic possession films (this was one year before THE EXORCIST) that its shock value has diminished considerably and Johnny Whitaker is no Linda Blair! What holds the film together and what makes it watchable today is Sandy Dennis's performance. Not many actresses can say a line like "The devil is in my house!" and have you believe it instead of snickering. With Ralph Bellamy, John Rubinstein, Jeff Corey and Margaret Avery.