The characters in this movie don't typically behave like real humans would in their given circumstances, especially the lead actress. While this does create some sort of bizarre allure to the movie, it ultimately makes it difficult to take the unfolding events seriously.
Have you ever seen Scream for Help?
(http://fight-evil.com/movies/years/1984/246-2.jpg)
The fact you reviewed this movie took me by surprise, for some reason.
I saw this movie years and years ago for one of the October Challenges on HMF, and I rather liked it, but of course it's one of the 1,600+ movies I need to rewatch. To me, it felt like a decent precursor to The Stepfather. Not amazing, but I liked it.
I sort of wonder if it'll stand up when I rewatch it, now.
There is supposed to be a bluray coming out in a couple of months, so maybe my experience would have been slightly better considering I watched it in VHS quality (while I do somewhat enjoy the nostalgia of VHS, I certainly prefer to watch movies in the best quality).
Well, if you didn't like the story or the characters, I doubt a better quality version would really impact your score much. *shrugs*