EVILSPEAK (1981) Review

Directed by: Eric Weston
Written by: Joseph Garofalo, Eric Weston
Starring: Clint Howard, Don Stark, R.G. Armstrong, Joe Cortese, Claude Earl Jones, Lynn Hancock

"DATA INCOMPLETE... HUMAN BLOOD REQUIRED. THUSE SPAKE THE COMPUTER"

Home computers were really starting to capture people's imagination in the 80s and as usual the film industry found ways to capitalize on their popularity. As a result we got movies like WAR GAMES, WEIRD SCIENCE and of course TRON. Basically anything was possible when it came to computers and so we had movies where people could hack into NORAD from the comfort of their own homes, people who could use a pc to construct the 'perfect woman' and even computers with their own intelligence. But do you know what all of these movies were missing? A big ol' dose of the occult. Thankfully EVILSPEAK managed to remedy this situation, combining ancient satanic cults with primitive DOS-based graphics. What more could you ask for?

Stanley Coopersmith (Howard) is West Andover Military Academy's least popular cadet. A typical day for Stanley involves being bullied by his fellow cadets - lead by Bubba (Stark) - and punished by the instructors for any kind of misstep from being late for class to losing the academy soccer match. Everybody hates Stanley (the coach even suggests to Bubba that Coopersmith might meet with an unfortunate 'accident' so that he can't play on the team). As a result he always finds himself punished with extra duties (like cleaning out the hog pens - although why a military academy keeps potentially dangerous boars is a mystery) and it's one of these punishments which leads him to the cellar below the academy's chapel. While tidying the cellar under the watchful (and usually drunk) eye of Sarge (Armstrong) Stanley finds a hidden room filled with ancient books and other occult objects including a human fetus in a jar.

One particular book Stanley takes an interest in was written by Esteban, a satanic cult leader exiled from Spain in the 16th Century. After translating the book (and suffering yet more abuse from his fellow cadets) Coopersmith discovers that with a computer he can perform a black mass which will summon the soul of Esteban and rain down vengeance on his foes. And in what can best be described as a gender-reversal of CARRIE, Stanley the loser finally gets back at all who bullied him, and in some spectacularly gruesome ways I might add. In fact the final showdown is particularly reminiscent of CARRIE with Stanley's tormentors trapped inside the chapel surrounded by flames and a whole lot of blood.

EVILSPEAK has just about everything you could hope for in an 80s horror flick. Ancient satanic cults, decapitations, demonic boars disembowling a naked Lynn Hancock in the shower, TEMPLE OF DOOM-style open heart surgery, computerized black mass blood sacrifices and much more. The film might drag on a little for the first hour but the final half hour or so is so totally worth the wait. Locked in the chapel Stanley's bullies are subjected to the outcast as he channels the angry soul of Esteban, wielding a big fucking sword and dealing out some bloody fucking vengeance. 1981 was a fantastic year for horror movies but unfortunately a lot of people overlook this gem in favor of classics like MY BLOODY VALENTINE, THE PROWLER and HALLOWEEN II. All are great movies and EVILSPEAK deserves a place on the shelf right beside them.