A Name for Evil

1973 "The dream house that becomes a nightmare."
A Name for Evil
3.9| 1h14m| R| en| More Info
Released: 03 August 1973 Released
Producted By: Penthouse Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Dissatisfied with the family architectural business, a man and his wife pack up and move out to his great-grandfather's old house in the country. While trying to patch it up, the house starts to make it clear to him that it doesn't want him there, but the local church (with some off-kilter practices of their own) seems to take a shine to him.

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Penthouse Productions

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Reviews

jrd_73 Perhaps it takes a certain kind of film viewer to appreciate the charms of A Name for Evil. As has been bemoaned by other reviewers, A Name for Evil has a disjointed story, a hippie orgy, and a full frontal sex scene with past his prime Robert Culp. Yet, for some viewers these eccentricities can be strengths. I have seen A Name for Evil twice now. I was not bored either time. The film kept me watching because, on the first viewing, I did not know what to expect next, and on the second viewing, I admired the film's mixtures of styles as a Gothic horror film is given early swinging seventies treatment, from Penthouse Films no less. According to IMDb, A Name for Evil had a troubled production. It appears to this viewer that certain scenes were not shot, either because of time or because the filmmakers thought certain points were clearer than they were. However, the lack of a linear narrative does lend the film a certain disquieting mood, as the viewer is left almost as confused as Robert Culp's character. There is a certain type of viewer who occasionally tires of professionally told plots and seeks out films not afraid to go off the rails, a viewer who loves when artiness is wedded to exploitation. All my years of watching Euro-horror, where plots did not matter as long as a scene was moody, surprising, or odd, has turned me into such a viewer. A Name for Evil surprises the viewer. From the opening credits over surreal paintings of twisted figures to the abrupt finale, A Name for Evil keeps the viewer off balance. I also think parts of it are well filmed. For instance, unlike one other reviewer, I find the underwater sex scene moody and hypnotic, having some of the off-kilter quality of Let's Scare Jessica to Death (another film I champion). Obviously, I cannot recommend A Name for Evil to most people, yet I will probably watch the film for a third time.
cultofsucktitude Much has been made of this movie's 'plot', or lack of one. The white horse is just not scary! The hippy scenes are dated and unintentionally humorous (I guess hippies love noodles). It could easily qualify for a Mystery Science Theater 3000 feature. But I really enjoyed the first thirty minutes or so of this movie. I liked the intro, and the photography is great. The dilapitated house in what appears to be the middle of nowhere is one of the more interesting settings I've ever seen in a ghost film. I like the fact that the caretakers wanted it to rot away. If they stayed away from the counter-culture movement and focused soley on telling a ghost story it would have been a better film.
Leighere It absolutely sucked.On a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the all time worst I give it a minus 9.I can't wrack my brain for the appropriate adjective to describe how shitty this film was. There was no rhyme or reason, the film itself was grainy and the sound was terrible.Robert Culp looked like a used up, over the hill wanna-be cool guy with crappy clothes and some really scary brillo- like hair. THAT it in itself was enough to send you screaming away.Don't bother to rent, borrow or watch this on TV. EEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are only two other movies that rate worse than this piece of crap, The House Where Evil Dwells and The Tingler. Save yourself the grief and the money for therapy after seeing this loser.
whpratt1 In the very beginning of the film, you view a man who walks on the grounds of his home and also looks out of his bedroom windows. This figure of a man vows that no one will live in his home. However, Robert Culp,(John Blake),"The Almost Guys",'04, decides to leave his job in the Big City and go to a home he owns far away from everything. He even threw his TV out the window and wanted to disassociate himself from the world of big business. John Blake takes his beautiful wife Joanna Blake(Samantha Eggar),"The Astronauts's Wife",'99, along with him to enjoy this home in the mountains. Sheila Sullivan(Luanna Baxter),"Hickey & Boggs",'72, plays a very cute and sexy role and goes skinny dipping in a wonderful falls in the mountains. If you love Robert Culp and wish to see his real wife( Sheila Sullivan) at the time of this filming, this is the film for you. The ending of this film will surprise you and make you wonder just what happened!