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MESSIAH OF EVIL (Willard Huyck, 1973)

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  • MESSIAH OF EVIL (Willard Huyck, 1973)

    I watched this yesterday for what I thought was the first time. However, halfway through the film (to be precise, in the supermarket scene) I realised I'd seen it before - perhaps on Yorkshire Television in the early 1990s.

    I thought this was a really interesting film, a melange of ideas from a lot of different sources: the suspicious coastal town of Lovecraft's 'Shadow over Innsmouth'; the framing device and smalltown USA paranoia of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS; the otherworldly ambience and themes of alienation and social disconnection from CARNIVAL OF SOULS. Contemporary references (the Manson family) are mixed with historical references (the Donner party incident), and the whole film is like an American answer to THE WICKER MAN - a film about a community's pagan past and the ground's need for blood; I guess this is a case of happy synchronicity which came about because both films grew out of the same zeitgeist.

    It's a very nicely-shot film too, I thought; I guess if I have seen it before, it would be via a panned-and-scanned television broadcast. Watching it letterboxed was quite an experience.

    It's a very impressive little film. Any thoughts?
    'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

    http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
    'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

  • #2
    I LOVE this movie and I think it might be my favorite Code Red disc - I was really happy with their presentation after the crappy 'public domain' version I'd had prior. I think the Carnival of Souls comparison is right on, and I also think maybe there's a bit of Dead & Buried in there too. Loads of atmosphere, great locations, some interesting performances, a really creepy vibe - I need to revisit this one again, it's been a while since I watched it. I think it holds up really, really well though.
    Rock! Shock! Pop!

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    • #3
      Until the Code Red DVD, I'd only ever seen this on one of the PD discs (doubled with THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE). Seeing it in 2.35:1 is like seeing a different movie. The huge murals in the seaside house are brilliantly executed and extremely unnerving. This is one of the few films that can still creep up on me if I watch it alone late at night.

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      • #4
        I hear ya. It's loaded with awesome creepy atmosphere.
        Rock! Shock! Pop!

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        • #5
          It's a beautifully shot film, indeed.

          DEAD & BURIED. I haven't watched that for ten or more years. Hmmm. It may be time to revisit that particular movie.
          'You know, I'd almost forgotten what your eyes looked like. Still the same. Pissholes in the snow'

          http://www.paul-a-j-lewis.com (my photography website)
          'All explaining in movies can be thrown out, I think': Elmore Leonard

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          • #6
            Be interested to see if you get the same sort of connection between the two movies that I see. It's more just thematic and atmospheric than anything else, but for some reason I lump those two pictures together in my mind a lot.
            Rock! Shock! Pop!

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            • #7
              Just for those not following the main CR thread....

              Click image for larger version

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              http://codereddvd.bigcartel.com/prod...f-evil-blu-ray

              DVD WILL BE MAILED WHEN IT COMES OUT AROUND 10/15 to 10/20 After receiving a series of chilling letters from her reclusive father, Arletty (Mariana Hill, High Plains Drifter) drives to the remote seaside town of Pointe Dune to discover the reason for her father's developing madness. Upon her arrival, she encounters a mysterious trio of strangers investigating a local legend known as "The Blood Moon"... a curse that has transformed the inhabitants of the town into a terrifying horde of blood-thirsty maniacs!
              Also starring Michael Greer (Fortune and Men's Eyes), cult starlets Joy Bang and Anitra Ford, and screen legends Royal Dano and Elisha Cook, Jr., Messiah Of Evil is a unique shocker from the minds of Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz (Oscar-nominated screenwriters of American Graffiti). A visual masterpiece finally brought to home video in its original scope aspect ratio, Messiah Of Evil is unlike any horror film you've ever seen. Enter Pointe Dune and prepare to be spellbound...
              - Audio Commentary with Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, moderated by Lee Christian
              - Featurette: Remembering Messiah of Evil edited by Damon Packard
              - Short films by Huyck and Katz: The Bride Stripped Bare, Down These Mean Streets
              Rock! Shock! Pop!

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              • #8
                It's an interesting film. Very dream-like. Often times effective.

                Too bad Howard the Duck killed the director's career.
                "Ah! By god's balls what licentiousness!"

                Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Alex K. View Post

                  Too bad Howard the Duck killed the director's career.
                  Up until this very moment I always thought GEORGE LUCAS directed HOWARD THE DUCK for some reason...and I have seen it more than once!!

                  Wow!

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                  • #10
                    Lucas was a long time friend of the director and apparently was a fan of Messiah.
                    "Ah! By god's balls what licentiousness!"

                    Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom.

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                    • #11
                      We'll see what the final product actually looks like, but the image being used on the Code Red store still has the "35th Aniversary" typo from the DVD on the cover.

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                      • #12
                        Anyone else get the CR disc yet? The Mondo Digital review is solid and accurate. I was pretty happy with the transfer quality and nice to see all of the extras carried over from the DVD.

                        This is one I was happy to double dip on. The movie gets better each time I see it.
                        Rock! Shock! Pop!

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                        • #13
                          Just landed on the stoop today, can't wait to watch it again tonight.

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                          • #14
                            A moody low budget horror piece that is best remembered as the first feature film collaboration of Oscar nominated (AMERICAN GRAFFITI) screenwriters Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz (who were married). Shot in 1971 but not widely released until 1974-5, by which point AMERICAN GRAFITTI was already in theaters. The Huyck Directed film has a very basic plot. A young woman, Arletty (Marianna Hill) travels to an isolated coastal village called Point Dune (a play on Point Dume which is near where the film takes place in Malibu) to search for her missing artist father. A traveling trio of free-spirits also happen upon the scene and they all end staying at the father's abandoned seaside home. Michael Greer plays Thom and his two companions are Laura (Anitra Ford) and Toni (Joy Bang). The small town's inhabitants seem to be exhibiting signs of cult-like behavior.

                            But, the formal plot isn't really the focus of Huyck and Katz' screenplay. It's a slow burn with the Hill character slowly becoming more and more unglued. The story seems to have been inspired by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (which hadn't been remade yet) with, perhaps, a bit of a ghost story inspired by Brigadoon/TWO THOUSAND MANIACS. There's also something of an Italian Giallo feel to it. The Manson murders were also in the Southern California air. The two set pieces involving Laura and Toni are well staged, and the photography and music have a certain offbeat vibe, but, it is Jack Fisk's (DAYS OF HEAVEN, THE REVENANT) Art Direction that gives the viewer the creeps. The main house is festooned with wall-sized graphic art and the few furnishings are well chosen, as are the sparse locations. Hill, Ford and Bang make for a gorgeous trio of actresses, but they all acquit themselves well. Veterans Elisha Cook Jr. and Royal Dano have brief but memorable supporting roles. Bennie Robinson as a mysterious towns-person won't soon be forgotten once seen here (and he kind of foreshadows Tony Todd in CANDYMAN).

                            The film supposedly ran out of money leading to some re-editing and a rushed conclusion, the climax of which takes place largely off-screen. Still, while not entirely successful, MESSIAH OF EVIL isn't some skeleton in the closet for the famed screenwriting couple. In addition to MORE AMERICAN GRAFITTI they also collaborated on LUCKY LADY, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM along with, yes, the infamous HOWARD THE DUCK (they supposedly also had a hand behind the scenes on the original STAR WARS).

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                            • #15
                              Two dollars. No knock.
                              Why would anybody watch a scum show like Videodrome? Why did you watch it, Max?

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