It was barely 1981 when then first-time writer/director LaLoggia unleashed FEAR NO EVIL upon the masses. Back then it was considered a bit of a sleeper hit but was mostly forgotten by the time the home video boom was in full effect. These days it seems to have a rather despicable reputation. I’m sort of caught in between. Seeing it in my youth I found it exciting and nerve-wracking. Re-visiting it as an adult has defined with aggravating clarity all of the shortcomings that keep it from being considered noteworthy. Some movies survive the transition from “then to now” much more easily than others and it seems that FEAR NO EVIL’s greatest downfall is that it does not accomplish this task well. It’s neither submersed enough in its own ephemeral era (that immeasurably strange time when 70’s changed into 80’s) to be a horror time capsule nor is it far enough removed from those same trappings to have the same appeal it may once have held for eager horror audiences. I have a terrific fondness for most horror stories that feature a beleaguered protagonist that breaks out in tremendous vengeance, EVILSPEAK or TRICK OR TREAT (1986) being shining examples of this. It’s hard to connect in that way here, though, since the lead just happens to be an evil incarnation of the Devil, albeit a distinctly effeminate and unthreatening evil incarnation of the Devil. You just know that he is going to strike back against his tormentors eventually, but when he does, it’s because he has become the antichrist, or whatever, so you are expected to switch gears and root against him now. Still, it’s satisfying to watch him exact his particular brand of vengeance. Aside from that the film is not the sleep-inducing misfire that many would have you believe.
Things start off with the engrossing words of an elderly priest who explains that he is one of the three warrior angels sent by God to destroy evil’s human manifestation on Earth so as to pave the way for the second coming of the creator. This is just the first step, though. He must be destroyed so that he can be reborn and destroyed yet again. Only then, it seems, is the eternal battle won. Both parties involved seem to understand this process and only the outcome of the final war is uncertain. Now we get to meet Andrew (Stefan Arngrim of LAND OF THE GIANTS). He is a shy and massively introverted straight ‘A’ student so everyone hates him. At home with his distraught parents he is king, running their lives into the ground, but not at school. Things change from weird to worse on his eighteenth birthday, having reached full maturity the evil within begins to break out. This is often demonstrated in the most bizarre ways; turning into a shadow, forcing his way into other people’s dreams, telekinesis, raising an army of the dead, that sort of thing. The girl he is obsessed with, Julie (Kathleen Rowe McAllen), might be the most recent reincarnation of one of the three angels of Heaven born to destroy him. The more he knows himself the more he suspects it, but she doesn’t know herself. The other two? One of them is a kindly old lady (Elizabeth Hoffman) who lives in the neighborhood and the other is the old priest from the prologue (Jack Holland) who has since passed away. Everyone concerned worries that this “incompleteness on Earth” will cause some complications.
Andrew’s problems at school are almost solely the work of punk-extraordinaire Tony (Daniel Eden). The scene where Andrew, naked and showering, is forced into a full and deep kiss by Tony (equally naked) brings bullying to new lows. Another fun gym class moment comes when Andrew, perturbed at having to do push-ups for being late, causes a rubber ball thrown by his hyper-excitable teacher to hit a classmate so hard that it crushes him to death. These types of incidents become more frequent as days go by. You get the idea that Andrew has come to terms with his identity and purpose when you watch him kill a dog, squeeze all the blood out of the wound into a golden cup, and drink it down with enthusiastic moaning and quivering. Eventually, events reach their climax during a public presentation of “The Passion Play” when, as the actor portraying Christ is supposed to be crucified… he is crucified! The Crown of Thorns wrings tightly around his head while blood flows and actors scream. By the time the audience figures out what’s going on it’s far too late to do anything as zombies (cool make-up) climb from their graves to tear apart anyone they can get their decayed and rotting hands on. While all this is going on the final confrontation will take place and the fate of all humanity will be decided amidst a massive flurry of brightly colored optical effects.
Without doubt this was an ambitious project from the start, perhaps a little too ambitious. The subject matter is fine and the execution of the whole thing is carried out with a decent amount of moody atmosphere and competency. The biggest problem is with the pacing – uninteresting and unnecessary scenes pollute the film and constantly dilute what could have been a decidedly disquieting experience. In the end there are a lot of memorable moments that just don’t connect the way they should. It never becomes silly or unintelligent, just awkward. I can recommend giving FEAR NO EVIL a watch, but hold off on that purchase until you do.