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4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond boring - way, way beyond boring, 26 Dec 2003
The only thing scary about Beyond Evil is the fact that one professional reviewer called it "shamelessly bloodthirsty" at the time of its release. The film was reportedly a big hit at drive-ins in 1980; this does a lot to explain why the drive-in movie business crashed and burned in the early 1980s, I think. The plot summary sounds unoriginal but promising: newlyweds move into a haunted house and have to fight to stay alive. Writer and director Herb Freed throws in a dash of witchcraft on the side, but this cinematic concoction turns out as thin and bland as tap water. Awful special effects don't help, nor does the ridiculous darkness of the print. Freed apparently believed that the secret of making a good horror/suspense movie was to keep the audience in the dark at all times – literally; if the audience can't actually see anything that is going on, perhaps this will frighten them. Let me tell you – staring at a black screen for about two-thirds of a movie is nothing but annoying. Every so often, you can almost make something out, but on these occasions the director seems to be switching between blue and green filters. There is some actual light during a few daytime scenes, but even the sunshine has a dark quality to it here. Beyond Evil is set on some island somewhere, apparently in the South Pacific. Larry (John Saxon) and his new wife Barbara (Lynda Day George) have just arrived for an extended stay. Larry has come to oversee a big building project, working for this guy Del that Barbara apparently used to date. There is some kind of subplot about under-the-table deals among a couple of businessmen at play here, but just forget about that – the writer certainly did. Anyway, good old Del gets Larry and Barbara set up in a wonderful old house; no one has lived in the house for a century because it is said to be haunted, but of course John Saxon has fought Bruce Lee and thus finds nothing to fear in the ghost department. It goes without saying that the house is, indeed, haunted. Barbara is annoying enough as it is, but when the ghost starts trying to get into her head she becomes painfully unbearable. I might have given this movie two stars, but the special effects made sure that didn't happen. Let's just say that Beyond Evil boasts some of the cheesiest, most pathetic special effects I've ever seen. If you like watching a black screen, jump at the chance to see awful special effects, and have a neurotic craving for weak plots involving completely unlikable characters, Beyond Evil is calling your name. If not, you'll find this movie utterly annoying and tiresome.
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