Messiah of Evil: Second Coming [DVD] [1973] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

 

 

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A young woman named arletty (played by marlana hill from high planes drifter) heads to the small costal town of pointe dune after recieving disturbing letters from her father. The town had at one point a hundred years ago been called new bethlehem until the appearence of a blood moon and a mysteryious stranger caused some kind of 'event' that changed the town forever. In her search she joins up with three strangers in town to find out about the blood moon incident and they encounter strange rituals on the beach and a town full of flesh-eating ghouls.
It's hard to pin down the plot of messiah of evil, as it feels more like a collection of someones nightmares put down on celluloid loosely linked with the missing father as a plot device. That said, this is no bad thing at all as watching the film can be a strange and unnerving experience that the closest comparisons I can suggest are Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural [DVD] [1973] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] and Carnival Of Souls [1962] [DVD] and also perhaps stranger italian horror like Zeder [DVD] [1983] [US Import] where logic takes second place to atmosphere and style. The colour scheme is almost as vivid as Suspiria and adds to the general off-kilter strangeness of the movie as does the synthesised soundtrack and the occasional bizzarre sets (just check out dads house!) and weird incedental characters like a rat eating albino Wagner fan and the blind art dealer and her son.
Once more big kudos must go to code red for once again unearthing an obscure classic, sometimes theyb release duff movies like night of the dribbler and sometimes lost classics like sole survivors Sole Survivor [DVD] [1982] [US Import] and this one falls into the latter category, if you like cult movies they are new on the scene but have put out a lot of interesting films out in 2009. With Messiah they have gone all out the film has been fully restored by the director in it's origional 16x9 widescreen 2:35:1 and comes with audio commentary featurette audio interviews and the obligatory code red trailer reel.
The film is certainly strange and arty and occasionally may be a little slow for a modern audience but I loved it and found it to be highly origional and not relying on gore for scares. Overall I would reccomend this to cult film fans looking for something different from the standard horror formula and anyone who likes their films a little trippy. A guninely origional and entertaining horror.

If you have any doubt that the early 70s were one of the most fertile times for low-budget, nightmarish American horror, then this newly remastered edition of `Messiah of Evil' ought to help convert you to an unfettered worship of that glorious era. The plot concerns a lady named Arletty (Marianna Hill) who travels to eerie Pointe Doune in the hope of tracking down her increasingly isolated, mentally-degenerating father (Royal Dano). Once there, she meets up with swinging folklorist Thom (Michael Greer) and his `travelling companions' and starts to fall victim to a local curse spawned by a century-bygone devil-preacher, a curse that, amongst other things, afflicts the locals with a craving for meat and murder...

A slow-burning piece of work, William Huyck's film is a wonderful journey into a twisted reality increasingly detached from mainstream existence. Its closest contemporary is definitely the brilliant `Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural', both featuring a similar dreamlike ambience, and showcasing the central plot of a daughter's quest for her father amongst the undead. Whilst `Lemora' is in my view the superior film (it has that extra level of overt Freudian anxiety that `Messiah' lacks, and Cheryl Smith is a far more compelling heroine), `Messiah' really benefits from a sense of stylistic creepiness and artfulness all its own. Highpoints include Arletty's arrival at her father's oddly painted house, walls bedecked with unnerving figures, stuffed dogs in evidence, perspective frequently manipulated to disorientating effect, not to mention any scene involving Bennie Robinson's freakish trucker, particularly his ratty late night encounter with Greer's chum. Then there are the strange vignettes of the villagers at the beach, and, best of all, the cinema scene. Once viewed, never forgotten, if `Messiah' has one real claim to fame, this deeply unsettling set-piece is it. Furthermore, Phillan Bishop's haunting score is deeply evocative, and director Huyck goes out of his way to make heavy use of red and blue lighting and colour schemes, giving the movie a lurid style highly reminiscent of Dario Argento's `Suspiria', as pointed out by another astute reviewer.

A word must be said about Code Red's dedication to presenting this lost gem in the grandeur it deserves. My previous experience with the film was on DVD paired with `The Devil's Nightmare', but this proved a frankly appalling rendition of the movie which was barely watchable (if at all), and is to be avoided at all costs. To even compare the two discs in any way would be grossly insulting to this Code Red edition: whilst `Messiah...' is clearly a low-budget film with a less than pristine visual quality, the Code Red team have done wonders making it look as good as they have. `Messiah...' is now in its original 2.35:1 scope aspect ratio, with full participation of the Huyck, and is accompanied by a commentary, audio interview, featurette and short films by the director. A round of applause for all involved.

Further viewing? Well, if `Lemora' is the contemporary, Dan O'Bannon's cult classic `Dead and Buried' is the clear descendant, along with John Carpenter's `In the Mouth of Madness', which sports a similar feel and asylum-based framing sequence. But in all honesty, there is little like `Messiah of Evil' out there. So what do you with films like this? To paraphrase Bennie Robinson, you devour them, that's what you do with them! Happy eating.

Whilst not a perfect, 5 star movie for me I would still highly recommend getting this Code Red edition. The picture quality is fantastic which is crucial as the movie is beautifully shot and will appeal to all lovers of visual horror a la Bava, Argento and Soavi. It also features two scenes, one in a supermarket, the other in a cinema, which are as good as anything I've seen from those three maestros (high praise, I know).
On the negative side the narrative is a bit crudely stitched together with voiceovers and flashbacks and could have done with a bit more thrust. The ending also seems a bit abrupt with much unexplained, a fact admitted and explained in the commentary.
In short a must have for a serious horror fan.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Arty Creeper
There are distinct flavours, seventies american ambience & clothing, enthused semi-professional acting mixed with old pros, eerie artistic murals, gaudy blood. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Zaroff

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bad Moon Rising
Concerned about her fathers welfare, after recieving some disturbing letters from him, Arletty(Marianna Hill) travels to his home in the small town of Point Dune. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Mr. Jonathon T. Beckett

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost masterpiece for you to discover
Code Red DVD has at long last put out a true masterpiece of genre movie-making for fans of avant-garde horror. Read more

Published on 3 Jan 2010 by Martin Montag

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