poe426
No other writer was ever able to take an ordinary setting and turn it on its head the way Richard Matheson could. DYING ROOM ONLY is about as perfect an example as I can offer: a roadside diner in the middle of nowhere, a couple who stop for directions- let the games begin. Cloris Leachman is at her harried best, here, and her slowly dawning realization that something's not quite right is 100% believable- as is her subsequent fury and then abject fear when she understands exactly just how FAR from the beaten path she really is. Ross Martin was never slimier. The third act is about as logical as it gets, in this context. If you want to see just how bad it COULD'VE been, I refer you to the Big Screen rip-off BREAKDOWN, with Kurt Russell. DYING ROOM ONLY isn't Richard Matheson's BEST- far from it- but evidence enough that he was a Master Storyteller.
Karl Ericsson
"Was soll das?" is German and it means something in the neighborhood of: What the heck is the matter with you, doing this c-p?" Why does a film like this get produced? I guess the answer is that if you are a redneck and/or a republican, then you are automatically switched off from everything worth while, since everything worth while is not just a story for the sake of being a story and instead a story in order to illuminate some point to be made. There is no point in this story. It's just a story for no other reason than being a story, like the weather report when you don't give a damn about the weather.This story leaves nothing behind for afterthought. I guess some people like it that way. I don't.
S_Craig_Zahler
Exact rating 6.5.I spent some time going through the supposed classics of television horror, most of which were relatively mediocre (eg. Dark Night of the Scarecrow, The Norliss Tapes, Trilogy of Terror, which is 1/3 good) or weak (Gargoyles, Devil Dog, Don't be Afraid of the Dark). Certainly many folks have some sentimental attachment to these movies, but I don't.Although I like the idea of atmospheric low budget seventies TV horror, I did not stumble upon anything nearly as good as Tobe Hooper's second best movie, Salem's Lot or Spielberg's Duel or the first Nightstalker movie.Amongst the best of the bunch is Dying Room Only, a sharply written and well paced piece of rural paranoia, written by Richard Matheson, with an excellent and natural performance by Cloris Leachman in the center, giving gravity to the weird goings on.This is very simple persecution horror, along the lines of Spielberg's Duel, which it thematically resembles (both were written by Matheson), and for a 75 minute movie experience and nice 1970s flavor, I can recommend this engaging and taut little piece over the many better known television films of this era.
PaulJ7460
Apparently there was enough interest in "Dying Room Only" that made Warner Bros. release this on DVD on 1/19/10. Its on a web-site called www.warnerarchive.com. This is also a re-mastered print which isn't too common for made-for-TV-movies. I just ordered mine and it is definitely worth the investment. TV airings of this movie have all since passed and probably won't get the time of day any longer, so the DVD is worth it's weight in gold. ($19.99) It is crystal clear and the movie is un-cut. There aren't any extras or special features but it is still a treat. Kudos to Warner Bros!! (who has the Lorimar Productions library of movies).
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