Search - Fear No Evil on DVD

I saw Satan's dingle...

cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 02/06/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Have you ever sat through a film, and then after it was over, wondered at all the things you could have better spent time you just used watching said film? That happened to me tonight after watching Fear No Evil (1981)...the back of the DVD case states `Fear No Evil marked the extraordinary debut of 26-year-old writer/director/co-producer/composer Frank LaLoggia and remains one of the most startling horror films of the 80's'...I'd probably take exception with the usage of the terms `extraordinary' and `startling', as they seem to apply to another film...as I already mentioned, the film was written and directed by Frank LaLoggia, and stars Stefan Arngrim (Class of 1984). Also appearing in the film is Kathleen Rowe McAllen (As the World Turns, All My Children), Elizabeth Hoffman (Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!) and a bunch of people I couldn't recognize, probably because their collective credits indicate they're all pretty much bit actors, and had decent screen time here only because they were willing to work cheaply.

The film starts off pretty well, as we witness a battle between what is supposed to be the devil incarnate and a priest, and the holy roller wins out...but don't count old Scratch out yet, as he makes a comeback in the form of a baby named Andrew. After one of the more exciting (and bloody) christenings I've seen, we fast-forward about 17 years to see a grown Andrew, played by Arngrim, a gangly, straight A student and senior in high school...oh yeah, and he's also the devil incarnate (I wonder where that fits in on his transcripts). Anyway, Andrew begins realizing his potential, making plans to actualize his dominion over the Earth, but not if three archangels, in human form (well, two in human form, a young girl and an old woman, the third being the now deceased priest), have anything to say about it...

As I said, the film started off strong, but soon petered out (after about ten minutes)...the next hour is, well, boring...seriously, not much happens. There were one or two bright spots, but the story drags...and drags....and drags...until the last 15 minutes or so when things pick up again. I actually had to stop the movie like three times and go do something else, as I found myself becoming annoyed with the fact so very little was happening. There were a few decent elements in the film...the cinematography, the music, the locations used, but what really derailed the movie was the lack of direction in the story. There were a couple of different stories going on at once, the angels in human form coming together, and Andrew coming into his own, but these elements were drawn out to the point where they killed the pacing completely. There were some points of interest during Andrew's development, in particular the dodgeball incident...and that's something else...did anyone ever play dodgeball in high school gym class? I recall playing this in grade school, but then once I passed into later grades, this activity was replaced by others like rope climbing and square dancing. Another thing...if you're looking for some nudity, there's like one or two female chest shots, very brief, countered by a long scene in the boy's shower room...maybe it just seemed long to me, as sausage fests really aren't my thing. Seriously, if you like male bum cakes and male dingles, you're in for a treat here. The scene included a male bully taunting Andrew, making references to his sexuality in that the bully jokingly pressed Andrew for a date. The bully then followed this up by forcibly...kissing Andrew on the mouth! Um, okay...I'll stick to snapping someone's behind with a wet towel, but to each his own. Eventually things pick up again, as the local church is performing the Passion play, and Andrew, not to be outdone, revives the dead, and causes spontaneous bleeding among parishioners. The walking dead did look kinda cool, but their role in the story was slight and their time on screen minimal. I'm unsure what his purpose was in raising the dead, other than to show us he could. The acting actually wasn't that bad, and the script decent. I could be critical of the special effects, but given the limited budget of the film, that really wouldn't be fair, and besides, I've seen much worse in more expensive films, and I felt there was an attempt here to make the most of what they had. I've always found that if the story is strong and the acting passable, certain things can be overlooked, such as meager effects. Look at the film The Day After Tomorrow...they had some really amazing effects, but they tried to use them to cover up the lousy story, and it didn't work...a polished turd is still a turd...I will say LaLoggia does have talents, and during brief parts of the film I almost felt like I was watching a John Carpenter movie, but he needs to familiarize himself with the idea of a cohesive plot and moving things along at a well-regulated pace. Horror fans may find bits and pieces (pun intended) of the film to their liking, but the patience required to get to those scenes is too much. There are some decent tunes used sparingly in the film by such artists as The Sex Pistols, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, and The Ramones, and I also found the original music to be suitable and even inspired.

The widescreen (1.85:1) picture, enhanced for 16X9 TVs, looks decent, and the audio comes through clean. There's a whole slew of extras including a commentary track by the writer/director and the photographer, behind the scenes footage, a theatrical trailer, like 9 or 10 TV spots, a poster and still gallery, the original screenplay on DVD-ROM, and a six page booklet insert with production notes.

Cookieman108
"

Cool Movie..............

A. Salgado | San Diego | 11/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I do not understand all the bad reviews on this movie. First of all I Think The main actor was good who plays the son of satan. And yes some of the effects were chessy but what do you expect from an 80's b movie flick.I also found many scenes to be very disturbing especially the part when he drinks the blood from the dog that scene to me looked realistic.Aside from the chessy effects This movie is classic and deserves to be in anyone dvd selection who appreciates artistic chessy b movies. I Highly Recommend it. Also the Soundtrack Rocks............ The Ramones Rule!"

THE HOMEN?

Dymon Enlow | 11/21/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"If all comedies were as funny as this "horror" movie then the world would be a happier place. I went into this thinking that it was going to be a serious retelling of THE OMEN instead I ended up laughing until I cried on 3 occasions and screaming in horror as male nudity flashed on the screen unannounced repeatedly. This movie is a classic!

According to the story as best as I could follow it Satan is constantly reborn into human form and this time he's been reborn into an extremely effeminate acting high school boy who seems to have a interest in females but at the same time acts like Jim Jay Bullock's gayer brother including a wild all nude kissing scene in the boy's shower! Package close-up included!

Homo-erotic undertones aside FEAR NO EVIL is pretty quick paced and nutty as all get out. I loved the scene where the father finds his missing wife in a hidden room (she's covered in cobwebs) so for some reason he shoots her in the head and she literally flies out of her wheelchair and goes face first (!) out the window! Oh I was howling!

Watch it with some friends.

Soundtrack includes The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The B-52's and two songs by The Talking Heads!
"

Death by dodgeball

dej905 | Los Angeles, CA United States | 10/02/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This slice of early 80's Horror could be a guilty pleasure for many. A real Ham & Cheese type of movie (hammy acting, cheesy movie) about the second coming of Lucifer in the guise of a high school introvert being pursued by reincarnated forms of the arc-angels in a small town in upstate New York. Director LaLoggia (who would go on to direct the far more spooky Lady in White) has a flair for detail as well as the absurd. There are dozens of throwaway characters, a very unattractive heroine (IMO), some awful 80's style "special effects", zombies that look like they fell asleep in a bowl of oatmeal, and one of the funniest death scenes in the annals of horror when a possessed gym teacher kills a student by throwing a dodgeball at him.Despite the shortcomings, it is a guilty pleasure and moves at a nice pace (and an excellent soundtrack). La Loggia does illustrate a nice touch in some scenes with a creepy atmosphere (particularly the death scene involving the character acting as Jesus during the play commemorating the Passion). As the movie progresses however, it does give the audience the impression of being a "Christian horror movie", by becoming overtly preachy. It left me with the feeling that I had watched a movie produced by the same folks who made Omega Code, only with more violence. As for the ending, well.....laughably bad. But take it with a dose of salt.If you rent it based on the creepy cover art and expect a zombie filled, gory horror movie you'll be sorely disappointed. Go in with the expectation of watching a cheesy piece of brain candy and it'll be far more tolerable."