A childhood trauma story about a woman who's parents died when she was very young and she was sent to an orphanage where she lived for years. Grown up, she living on a farm with her haunted memories and is a very devout Christian. News of a killer in town breaks out, a killer who's weapon of choice is scissors. The woman begins to think her uncle is to blame but is he? The question is: Who is the killer? A pretty good psychological thriller. I guessed right off the bat who the killer was but I was second guessing myself the whole film and I won't tell you who - you will have to watch and find out for yourself who the scissor killer is! Not a lot of blood and gore in this film - just a decent psychological horror-thriller to keep fans of the genre entertained.8/10

'Haunts' has some terrific dramatic material to offer, which the viewer gradually begins to understand through the haphazard memories that haunt our leading lady Ingrid, a farm girl with Swedish roots, a dark past (I suspected incest, murder, but in the end it all turned out a dream, coinciding with a killer on the loose - as best as I could tell), a yearning for religious completion, and, as we eventually learn, heavily psychotic tendencies. The flashbacks and the latter part where things twist and turn like crazy, are my favorite elements. The acting is rather so-so, the dialogues more than often fail and the whole story is way too confusing (and in the end somewhat disappointing, if I understand it correctly) to take seriously. I mean, the only option in the end is that Ingrid imagined the attacks, right? But then, the ending of her appearing in the mirror before uncle Carl, seemed a little ambiguous, as did some memories. I was expecting Carl to be a possible bad guy, and even Ingrid, as well... like I said, way too confusing, but still interesting.The backdrop of the rural village, farms, roads and off-roads (I would have guessed somewhere in Wisconsin, but it was shot in California, so...?) is beautiful, but its inhabitants struggling with day to day life turned upside down by a vicious killer could / should have been so much better.An interesting flick, very much, but not really a good one, all things considered. 5 out of 10.

More than one reviewer has likened this film to Polanski's classic "Repulsion". That is true after a fashion, but "Haunts" begins with the pretence to being a thriller or even a slasher film; there is a psychopath on the loose who is raping and murdering women in small town USA. This town is so small in fact that although it has a sheriff it appears not to have even one detective, yet bizarrely it sports its own TV station.The heroine is Ingrid, who is both a stunning blonde and an old maid. There is a false lead or two, but the bad guy is tracked down by the sheriff who does a fair job of policing, when he isn't throwing up after overindulgence in alcohol or slapping the ne'er do well who has put his daughter in the club. Or perhaps that should be sheriffing? What happens next you will have to discover for yourself, dear reader, but if you can work this one out there is a job waiting for you at Oxford University, explaining to next year's intake how to crack Fermat's Last Theorem.

This has a Bergmanesque spareness to it that is at times OK. The plot is terribly convoluted and confusing. I don't even know if we have closure at the end. Just what does it all mean? I remember May Britt being married to Sammy Davis, Jr. She of the Scandanavian roots and the freckles. In here she is a virgin queen. She is so frumpy and cold, it's hard to feel for her. Obviously, she deserves to live as she wishes, but she has been so traumatized that we can't get close to her. In repulsion, we can't take our eyes off the girl. When Britt leaves a scene, she is pretty forgettable. There is a pretty good give and take. Aldo Ray is pretty believable in his intense wishes to solve the case. He has feelings for this woman and wants to help her out. She, like so many in horror movies, feels she can be hysterical one moment and totally independent in the next. There are lots of layers and that's fun. I didn't move away from this movie. I have the same collection mentioned by other reviewers. If they had a psychological drama box, this might fit in nicely. Anyway, as a make my way through these B and C movies, I don't see them as a total waste of time. I had never seen May Britt act before. She had some talent, but it wasn't exposed here.