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BobbyHazardX
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Evils of the Night (1985)
I couldn't quite wrap my head around this
If it would have committed to being something... anything, Evils of the Night would be way better. Instead it sorta wades around the waters of being a slasher movie, sci fi horror, and backwoods horror but really doesn't jump into any. The movie plays out but it's stuck in the mud which caused me to feel unfilled. It's too bad cause some of the characters were appealing. Everyone in the movie is quite nice looking and nobody ever gets unlikable. Tina Louise from Gilligan's Islan also somehow got mixed up with this. I guess she preferred doing something like this than ever playing Ginger again. You do you Tina, but I guarantee she never talked about it again. Aldo Ray, John Carradine, and Julie Newmar also pop up in important roles. I got to admit I didn't recognize Tony O' Dell from Chopping Mall as Billy (the guy in the beginning in the woods and the hospital) but I guess that's because he was a John Terlesky in this one. Karrie Emmerson his Chopping Mall Co star I did recognize. She had a final girl quality but again couldn't quite stick the landing. One thing I also liked was the effect of the spaceship. It's not ET or Close Ecounters of the Third Kind but it's pretty realistic, especially when it's landing and taking off. I'm guessing that was a miniature model? It looked good. You can do some good things with a modest budget. The lasers from the tacky rings on the other hand...
Evils of the Night isn't really worth watching unless you're an 80s completist or like to buy everything Vinegar Syndrome puts out. It's far from the worst 80s horror movie but it doesn't come together. Check out The Immortalizer or Without Warning instead.
Escapes (1986)
Deserving of a better reputation
Especially for Hobgoblin Bridge, which I found scary in the way it was shot and directed. The goblin wasn't cheesy like I expected, but disturbing; the way it moves across the bridge and stalks the boy is unsettling. The rest of the stories aren't perfect and they were clearly working with a tiny budget (I imagine most of the budget went to Vincent Price) but I also enjoyed Coffee Break. The main guy I think got a bad rap. He just wanted to do his job and was in a hurry. I know he was a bit demanding with the way he asked for directions, but he just didn't have time for coffee. The other stories were okay too if a bit forgettable. I didn't think the short ones were super necessary but they had a quality. The fisherman being caught by something in the water could have made a good longer story. It's kinda creepy thinking about what was in the water. That said it's just too short to make a lasting impact like the great anthology stories out there do. The last story with the homeless guy and the jewel could have been more interesting than it was but it's still watchable. I think the good thing about anthologies is if the story is weak it's over pretty quick so you don't mind them as much. I personally didn't have a problem watching any of these and thought it had an atmosphere. Vincent Price hosts the wrap around and I'm sure he was only here cause he had a bill to pay. Maybe he needed a new car.
If you like anthology movies, I'd recommend it. I liked it more than most people on imdb.
The Night Before Easter (2014)
As much as I like Joseph and Nathan...
This was pretty poor. 65 minutes and there's so much rambling. At first I appreciated the Gus Van Sant Elephant/Paranoid Park esque improv feeling to the dialogue (it felt improvised at least) but after a while it's like shut up. There's also way too many cutaways from the mayhem which was probably for budgetary reasons, and some scenes felt too brightly lit. It was all very bright. Again I really like Joseph and Nathan, and I'm an avid listener to their podcast but I just didn't like it. That being said I do think one of the actresses (shorter hair) did a pretty good job with her monologue towards the end. I think she did a nice job with that part. On another note, I wonder if Nathan and Joseph have seen The Murder Game? The setting is exactly the same as this one. It's a really great setting for a slasher. Even though it's from the 2000s (and they usually cover 80s and 90s movies for the podcast) I think a double feature episode with The Murder Game and The Night Before Easter would be really fun. They go good together. I'd enjoy that.
Adam & Evil (2004)
A mediocre effort but not without its good
Adam & Evil is a slasher from 2004, from the post Scream days which I'd consider the second golden age of the slasher movie, after the 80s (the first). I've seen it a quite a few times since it was released, and there's a quality to it that gets me to rewatch it once in a while. It's not great in a lot of ways but I'm forgiven of that in slasher movies, it kinda adds to the charm actually. Story wise it's sorta along the lines of Moon Stalker from 1989 and Madman from 1981. There's also a bit of The Burning, also from 1981, when you find out the movies backstory.
The cast are all relatively green but there's some likeable characters including a shady groundskeeper and the wife of a police officer. The killer's identity is not too obvious. Yeah the title, but I don't think most people would over think the title's name. Barbara Kottmeier plays the role of Evelyn with glee. You can sense she enjoyed playing the killer. She did a good job. Kevin Robson (Seth) is another standout. He feels developed a bit more at the start so it's sorta surprising when he's the first one to go. He's also the virgin of the group, but I thought he was by far the hottest guy there personally. He, Barbara Kottmeier, and Brody Harms had the most screen presence I'd say.
There's not a lot of suspense, but the woods set a mood. It's not to the heights of Just Before Dawn (one of the best woods set slashers ever made) but they set a good ambience.
Adam & Evil is probably for hardcore slasher enthusiasts only, but I enjoy it, and think there's things to like about it.
Feast of the Seven Fishes (2019)
Nice Christmas movie
Feast of the Seven Fishes is small and slight, but it's charming and well acted. I'd recommend it as long as your not looking for a lot of drama or plot twists. It's more Moonstruck(ish) My only gripe was the way it ended. I don't know maybe everyone else loved Beth (she did seem like a really nice person) but I preferred the character of Katie. I also felt the actress who played her (Addison Timlin) and Tony (Skyler Gismondo) had more spark. I was hoping they'd get together. That said it's a nice movie and everyone did a really good job.