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.

ANTHROPOPHAGUS (1980) Review

Directed by: Joe D'Amato
Written by: George Eastman, Joe D'Amato
Starring: Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Serena Grandi, Margaret Mazzantini, George Eastman, Zora Kerova

"IT'S NOT THE FEAR THAT TEARS YOU APART... IT'S HIM!"

It wouldn't truly be George Eastman Week without looking at his role in the controversial and much-hyped ANTHROPOPHAGUS (although to be honest it still wouldn't truly be George Eastman Week because that's something I just made up...). Known by an impressive array of titles including THE BEAST, THE GRIM REAPER and MAN EATER (even somehow managing to be branded as ZOMBI 7 despite containing exactly zero zombies and being connected to the previous films in no discernible way - but hey I suppose that's par for the course in Italian exploitation cinema) Joe D'Amato's trashy, sleazy slasher is only truly remembered due to its inclusion in the infamous 'Video Nasties' list. Along with CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST it's commonly referred to as one of the more nasty films on the list and much like that cannibal classic the director of this film was also taken to court in order to defend one of the movie's more gruesome scenes involving a supposed human fetus. Because people were fucking idiots back in the 80s apparently.

In a not so subtle JAWS reference the movie begins with a couple enjoying a stroll along a beach. The girl strips down to her bikini and goes for a swim while the dude lies back and listens to some atrocious electro music on his oversized 80s headphones. An underwater shot lets us know that there is something below the water (something that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever when you think about it) and within seconds the girl starts screaming as something grabs her from below. Distracted by his terrible music the boyfriend is oblivious and soon finds a meat cleaver buried in his skull.
Bikini babes, underwater predators and cleavers in heads is a great way to start off any film, and with its notorious reputation you can only imagine that things just get better from here on out. After all this is a movie which the BBC falsely reported as a snuff film, so it must be pretty fucking extreme, right?

The short answer is no. In fact ANTHROPOPHAGUS may be one of the most overblown and overhyped movies of all time. But you know what? I'm not even going to bother detailing the dubious effects or disturbing subject matter, I'm sure plenty of other reviewers have lauded this movie as the pinnacle of depravity (or conversely an overhyped horror turkey) and gone on to describe the infamous fetus-eating scene in great detail. In fact as strange as it may sound the gore is one of the less impressive aspects of the movie and the most interesting (for me at least) was the spectacle of watching George Eastman hulking around the island, his hair wild and receding, his face a valley of pock marks and scars, clutching and swinging a meat cleaver. This kind of role doesn't exactly call for award winning acting (or any real acting at all to be honest) but Eastman is a perfect fit as the insane, menacing cannibal.

The sometimes all too strong allure of forbidden fruit is what has made this movie so popular, it was after all one of the nastiest 'Nasties' and I suppose people are curious to see exactly what got Mary Whitehouse's knickers all twisted up. ANTHROPOPHAGUS also has some decent cult cred what with sleaze merchant Joe D'Amato at the helm, Eastman playing the killer, Tisa Farrow (of ZOMBI 2 fame) and also Zora Kerova (CANNIBAL FEROX) both playing parts as well. It's a hard movie to recommend due to the pretty atrocious acting, pacing, effects, characters and well... everything really. But at the same time this is a film that everybody needs to see at least once. It's a milestone in Italian exploitation and actually has some great location shots and its easily worth watching just to see George Eastman's beastly killer biting into whatever the fuck he wants to. Come for the fetus eating, stay for the lovely island backdrop.