slayrrr666 "Fear No Evil" is just a dull, lifeless supernatural drama.**SPOILERS**Going to high school, Andrew Williams, (Stefan Arngrim) manage to stick out from the rest of the classmates, being rather shy and withdrawn. Stuck on Earth, two of God's Angels, Mikhail, (Elizabeth Hoffman) who is inside the form of Margaret Buchanan and Gabrielle, (Kathleen Rowe McAllen) who is inside the form of Julie, become concerned that something dangerous could happen shortly. While at school, a series of strange incidents makes them believe that he is the one causing all the problems, and are soon justified in their beliefs. Only just becoming aware of the powers that she has, the two Angels train to better understand what is going on with them in order to rid the world of the Devil, who has been reincarnated and makes their struggle all the more dangerous.The Good News: This one doesn't have very many good parts to it. The main one here is that the ending is the only part that's remotely watchable. There's a really great Gothic atmosphere, there's plenty of action to be had and it becomes a big barrel of fun in every way possible. From the resurrection of the Christ that takes place in front of a crowd of observers standing around a giant palace witnessing the event, which is quite fun on it's own, yet there's the fact that this takes place among all the other different plots that come together to make it entertaining. The whole sequence itself is where the film's at it's best and is one of the only reason to see this one. The first sequence, where the Devil starts prancing around another Gothic castle with some great images, a really fun look to it and some fantastic atmosphere that is really where it gets over. All told, these two scenes are all the film has to get itself over, even though the first point is incredibly good.The Bad News: This one is one of the weakest horror films around. The film remains one of the weakest ones due to the fact that the film is just dull and lifeless. Practically nothing at all happens in here that really warrants much of anything other than the ending, and instead of actually making it feel interesting, there's just long periods of time where one of two things happen. Either we get unrelated interactions with the group of school-kids that go to the high-school being relegated to the usual characterization sequences that populate the slasher films of the time, meaning that they're concerned with getting drugs or alcohol or with trying to get their girlfriend to go to bed with them, or the time is spent with the angels trying to get others to listen to them while training for the final confrontation. There's almost very little that occurs in there to warrant any sort of interest from these, and there's just an excruciating amount of time that goes on before there's something interesting that happens. The extreme confusion as to what's going on in the film makes it another flaw. It's way too hard to keep track of what's going on, especially once the angels get involved. That they all go by different gender names when being referred to by another, yet there's still the fact that there's the names everyone else calls them as and it begins to get too much for the time. There's even more flaws in this one, although the absolute, utter dullness will be the one that gives this one the down-grade.The Final Verdict: With only a few anywhere decent moments and a ton of dull ones, this one is just too unspectacular to have any real viewers. Really hard to find those who will enjoy this one, as way too much time is spent with anything substantial, leaving it only for the curious or those who have to see every single one of these kinds of films.Rated R: Violence, Language and Nudity

Skutter-2 Fear no Evil is on the whole a drab little early eighties horror movie but it does have a number of bizarre and/or memorable scenes buried in it, particularly toward the end. For a low budget eighties horror movie it sure sets it sights high, revolving around the battle between Lucifer who has been reincarnated in human form on earth after his fall from grace and three arch angels- Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, who have also been born into human form. However, it is an obviously cheap little film and is unable to pull of the story with any of the grandeur or scale you might expect.Very little happens for most of the movie. Lucifer hangs around acting evil (Well dorky and non-expressive) but does very little. Apparently we are partly meant to think is weird and creepy because he gets good grades and isn't a pothead loser like the rest of the 'kids' at his school. We spend a fair bit of time watching some of his various school mates arsing around- drinking, screwing, showering etc, although these characters don't end up playing a particularly big role in things to come. They aren't really set up as opponents or even tormentors of Lucifer (Other than one rather odd scene) and are rather quickly dispatched in the end movie carnage.There is a tiny bit of Omen style shenanigans, including a death bu doge-ball scene, but other than in a couple of instances Lucifer/Andrew doesn't really use his powers until the climactic conflagration. It seems almost like they were trying for a tormented loner vibe to go along with the satanic theme, trying to combine Carrie and the Omen, but if so it was badly done. There is a bizarre homo-erotic shower scene which is really the only overt humiliation we Lucifer suffer at the hands of his school mates, other than a few other scenes in which they are shown to be cold and unfriendly toward him but not overly cruel or aggressive. They understandably seem more wary of his cold and creepy demeanor. A large amount of running time is devoted to the reincarnations of Michael, the old woman and Gabriel, who has taken the form of a teenage girl, one of Lucifer's schoolmates. Having two of the nominally male angels take the from of women is an interesting plot development for the movie- this and some other bits in the movie make me wonder if the makers were trying to tap into to some themes of gender roles and sexuality but I have absolutely no idea exactly how or why. Things get a bit more interesting toward the end as Lucifer unleashes his powers upon the mortal realm. The dead rise from the grave, a passion of the Christ pageant goes bloodily wrong, people go crazy, one individual undergoes a truly bizarre transformation, animals are sacrificed and there is an over the top light show for the climax, complete with bad eighties visual effects, which makes very little sense.It's a pity that most of the movie is so tedious as there are a lot of over the top bizarre scenes, such as the shower scene, the dodge-ball scene and most of the climax which are amusing to watch even just for the WTF factor. As the video box and most reviews of this movie boast it has an impressive soundtrack for such dreck featuring music from popular bands such The Sex Pistols, U2, The B52s, The Ramones, the Talking Heads and others. Also of note is the fact that although he only made two other movies writer/director Frank LaLoggia apparently had a small role as a thug in The Wizard of Speed and Time, perhaps the most evil movie ever made. Just what kind of satanic connections did this guy actually have?

the_headless_cross That's pretty much how I describe this movie. I mean, for those who've seen it, who couldn't help but think of Fast Times during the high school scenes and also think of Phoebe Cates coming out of a pool during one of the scenes with 80s music playing? (Although that would've been an improvement over the nudity they had in this flick) Well, lemme give you the pros and cons of thisPros -First of all, great frickin' soundtrack! Two of the greatest punk songs ever written (Anarchy in the UK and Blitzkrieg Bop, yowza) and other 80s tunes. Now THIS is the part I miss most about 80s movies. -One female boob shot. Eh, better than nothing, right? -Nothing that will keep me awake at night, but it had a few creepy bits (I'm somehow convinced now that John Carpenter took the creepy silhouetted figure from Prince of Darkness from this flick. Ah, I still love that movie anyways) -As in every other 80s horror, great cheesy bits. I mean, death by dodgeball? Frickin' A! (Matt Stone and Trey Parker might have based a Kenny death on this movie) And the male boobs bit? That is up there with GARBAGE DAY from Silent Night Deadly Night 2 and HOW DID IT GET BURNED? from Wicker Man. Good stuff! - The Passion Play scene frickin' owned! -Zombies. Nuff saidCons -Too, too, too much male nudity. I mean, WTF? If anything that shower scene should have been completely cut from the movie. UNNECESSARY! -Is it just me or is Lucifer a pansy in this movie? What was up with his voice at the end? Ooooooooo, scary! If he is seriously like that, than we have nothing to fear at all, folks. -The ending. Where do I begin with the ending? Well, the special effects are crap! Why would Lucifer blow up in a 60's trippy effect? And not to mention the ending is the kind of ending I hate: The "That's IT?" type. I mean, what's gonna happen to the other characters? Did the dad go to jail for shooting the mom or kill himself as well? And "Gabrielle's" parents are probably still wondering what the hell happened to her. Would an archangel continue having a normal life after fulfilling their duty of slaying Lucifer or what?Overall, it's not a bad flick. I mean, 80s horror films are known for having their flaws and this is no exception. I know many people are against this idea since these types of flicks are being planned just about every day now, but I think it should be remade. Could be interesting if they got the right person to do it. But alas, if I find it in a store and it's very cheap (well, no if about the latter I would imagine) I suppose I could pick it up and watch it for some kicks and laughs

ThrownMuse Andrew is a brilliant teenage boy who does well in school but does not get along with his peers. His parents are frightened of him because he has exhibited disturbing behavior ever since he was born. When he starts having problems at school, people start dying. It turns out Andrew is Lucifer reincarnated and apparently doesn't know it. His old woman neighbor and his high school crush discover they are archangels on a mission to stop him.So this obviously has a silly and unoriginal plot. There are so many things wrong with this movie. The pacing and structure of the story is terrible. The acting is awful, especially by the 20-something actors playing the high school kids. And what annoying high school kids they are! There's a group of "sassy" girls called The Queen Bees (think The Pink Ladies) and an obnoxious perverted bully who smacks his girlfriend and mouths off to teachers. And then there's Andrew, who is quite an enigma. The movie may have benefited from being told through Andrew's perspective, because you never know what is going on with his character. One of the other bad things about this movie are the dated and cheesy animated "laser beam" effects that evoke laughter instead of horror. Also amusing is that the Apocalypse appears to only be happening on a very local level.But there are a few things about "Fear No Evil" that set it apart from the other "satanic" horror films of the late 70s/early 80s and make it worth checking-out. While some attempts at creating a creepy atmosphere fail, others are somewhat of a success. Especially of note is the opening sequence in a murky cavern with dangling animal bodies, a freaky possessed girl, and Lucifer himself. There's an unforgettable scene in the movie where the religious townspeople gather to watch an annual outdoor Passion play. The poor fellow playing Jesus literally gets crucified, and most of the people in the audience get attacked by a stigmata sign! Towards the end there are some zombies in the movie, beckoned by Andrew, and the make-up is great. There is also a scene where a gym teacher (who is apparently on speed) is encouraging aggressive dodgeball and, under the influence of Andrew's rage, accidentally kills one of his students by slamming a dodgeball into him! Another interesting feature of "Fear no Evil" is its treatment of gender and sexuality. The archangels are both played by women who claim to have been "bonded" together. Andrew is an effeminate boy and this does not go unnoticed by his jockier classmates. There is a shower sequence where Andrew gets sexually harassed by the school bully, who forces a kiss as a joke. Andrew turns the kiss into a violent makeout session! The two characters share a "kiss" again later in the movie in a more frightening/disturbing/hilarious scene. Also significant is the all-male nudity in the shower scene. While none of these men are particularly attractive, this sequence is rather cutting edge and controversial at a time when only female nudity was frequent in horror movies.Make no mistake, "Fear No Evil" is an average low-budget 80s horror movie. But it has tiny quirks and somewhat subversive sequences that, while somewhat random and out of place, successfully set it apart from other early 80s American horror movies. It also features a kickass late 70s/early 80s alt-rock soundtrack featuring Patti Smith, B-52s, Talking Heads, Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and a witty use of Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays." Recommended if you like movies about the devil, or if you are looking for an early 80s horror movie that was very different from its peers.