By Melissa Antoinette Garza
THE EVIL (1978) opens with caretaker Sam (Ed Bakey) tending to an old mansion awaiting the arrival of a real estate agent (Milton Selzer) and potential buyer C.J. Arnold (Richard Crenna). Sam hears voices and laughter. He does the dumbest thing possible and follows it. The consequences are fatal.
Psychiatrist CJ shows up with both the agent and his wife Caroline (Joanna Pettet). She’s a doctor and they are interested in the place as a drug rehab facility. Caroline thinks the place is beautiful but recognizes a creep factor. She even sees paranormal silhouettes and finds herself reciting a curse. They do the natural thing and buy the place! Honestly, since the characters are portrayed as people of science, their skepticism is mostly believable.
Professor Raymond Guy (Andrew Prine), his girlfriend/student Laurie Belman (Mary Louise Weller) join Dwight (Robert Viharo),Pete (George O’Hanlon Jr.), Mary Harper (Cassie Yates) and Felicia (Lynne Moody) as the renovation team. Some are former drug addicts now working on the right side of recovery and the rest are volunteers (though considering what they’re about to go thru, they’re going to be wishing they had something to get high on).
Other than Caroline, the dog Kaiser seems to be the most astute or at least in tune with the demonic presence afoot.He goes on the attack and runs off.
Being that the home had been around since the Civil War, it’s brings a lot of baggage with it. After Kaiser goes nuts, Caroline finally voices her concerns to CJ who immediately goes into pretentious, dick, atheist mode – not all atheists are pretentious, but the ones who are totally suck at life.
Caroline finds a strange diary with very little written in it just as a fire lights itself in the fireplace. She then realizes she has seen the man who built the house despite him being dead for over a century. She takes it as a sign to get out of the house just as a horrible storm begins raging outside. Laurie notes bars on the window and wondering what their purpose could have been. Immediately thereafter, she and Felicia find what’s left of poor caretaker Sam.
On the lookout for Kaiser, CJ finds a couple trap doors and pries them open. This lets the demon (Emory Souza) run wild. The doors and windows lock and all the occupants are stuck. It’s a very creepy scene and very well done. It also is the first moment when everyone is truly on board. Despite their scientific minds, they are faced with the knowledge of facing something science can’t explain. Though it isn’t articulated, Crenna, Pettet and Prine do a magnificent job conveying it.
My two favorite characters are Felicia and Laurie. Their reactions to the events are the most realistic and yet completely opposite from one another. Felicia is subdued. She lies down. She takes a few deep breaths as she tries to rationalize the situation in her head. She then asks the most logical question, “what is happening in this house?”
In contrast, Laurie is in meltdown mode! That would be me. First, I’d try to sell my soul to whatever demon was in the house, but if I couldn’t make that deal – I’d be Laurie. “Don’t you see that. We’re not getting out of here. We’re never getting out!” I love it because it’s over-the-top, but the situation is over-the-top. It makes the whole thing understandable. It’s like the last scene of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) where Sally Yates (Marilyn Burns) just laughs hysterically lost in the mania induced by the madness she witnessed. It makes sense. It’s crazy, but the situation more than warrants crazy. I love that. Nowadays in a misguided effort to make women appear less weak, many filmmakers won’t allow their female characters to show fear. Instead, normal every day gals are made into Tomb Raider types. That’s not feminism. That’s sexism. Fear isn’t a weakness. It’s a natural response depending on the situation and when depicted by a fierce woman can show the instinct of self-preservation and how it manifests on a very human level. When it’s done right, it makes for an intense scene where the viewer is made to sympathize with the victim. It’s a formulaic method that can only work with a great performance. Here, Weller delivers that.
Poor Felicia is attacked by the demon who strips her near naked. Not everyone wants a Demon Lover and this one does start a bit rough by throwing her around. Then again, how often to Demons stop when told no? I guess some do. #NotAllDemons
Pretty soon people are being killed left and right. It seems that the house is a pathway to hell and the devil (Victor Buono), after a 1000 year prison sentence, is at play. The group try different manners to escape, but each are thwarted by the wicked forces.
I love this movie. It’s fun. It’s a bit like THE EVIL DEAD (1981) meets THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973). Everything about this film works including the campiness of it all. The characters, the cast, the plot and the tone are all fabulous and create some terrific atmospheric moments.
One of my favorite scenes sees Prof. Guy going up against CJ when discussing the entity they’re facing. Prine and Crenna work marvelously off one another. They match the combativeness of one another and follow the pace and energy of the conversation. At times it goes low and then high and low again, all of it makes sense, all of it is important and all of it relays a sense of male comradeship and respect even when they are arguing. It’s wonderful.
Currently this is free on YOUTUBE and AMAZON PRIME so enjoy it horror lovers.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10
