Review: Cloris Leachman Stars in Thriller Playing at NoHo Laemmle

is a gem. She is fascinating and entertaining to watch no matter what she's doing, working on the Emmy-winning TV show Phyllis, or rediscovering her Oscar-winning performance in The Last Picture Show. (You may remember her at a recent awards show I attended.)

In The Fields, she's a cranky granny with a wise side who takes in her 8-year-old grandson Steven, played by the cute curly-haired Joshua Ormond. She keeps warning him, "Don't go into the corn."

Of course, he's a kid, and he goes in. 

This story is based on real events, taking place around the time of the Charles Manson Family murders in the 1970s. It shows how the grandmother and boy are affected by the true-life story and their love of actual horror movies themselves.

The boy's good-for-nothing mom is played by Tara Reid, and she has been trying to leave her husband, who held a rifle up to her head and has seemed abusive.

The lead portrayals are good, but it's Cloris to keep your eyes on. She's delightfully over-the-top, maybe not like Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein, but enough to keep the story moving.

This movie by Tom Mattera and David Mazzoni is playing at the starting April 20 (Friday) and lasting to April 27.

It's good for some real creepy gothic chills, not ones that jump out at you, but creating an atmosphere that will keep you guessing and keep you entertained along the way.

When you go to see it, please leave a message below in the COMMENTS area.