fedor8 The good old days, before retarded teens started infesting almost every single horror movie.Overly paranoid atheists wary of religious propaganda lurking in every corner of any given religion-orientated supernatural horror film could certainly find enough here to complain about – if they took TE seriously. But they shouldn't. I'm an atheist, and I wasn't annoyed in the slightest. In fact, religious horror films are generally fun, even when they bash atheists. In the words of the Great Leader Aladeen: "It means a lot to them but to us it's just cute." Richard Crenna plays a level-headed though slightly arrogant (because non-Christian) scientist whose atheism is put to the test when Satan himself starts challenging him with an onslaught of mayhem and destruction, perpetrated on him and his friends in an appropriately run-down old building. By the time TE ends, Crenna is a full-fledged believer, very remorseful about the blasphemous ways of his past, and now ready to join a Christian church of his choice. No, not Islam, Hinduism or Judaism, but Christianity only: for it is the Holy Cross that once again robs Satan of his freedom. (Crenna's bony wife sticks it into S'tan's chest.) TE's S'tan is very much a Christian S'tan: a goofy-looking bearded white guy who likes to grimace a lot and laughs like an evil cartoon character; if S'tan looks like this, then might TE's God look something like South Park's? Of course, he also brings his horns with him; any public appearance without them would have been highly unprofessional of him. So this must be not only religious propaganda, but specifically Christian propaganda. Right? Not necessarily. I very much doubt that some Baptist sect finances horror films with ghosts hacking off people's limbs, or that the world of America's directors is awash with religious fanatics eager to use any opportunity to bring us wayward non-sheep back to the Lord's grass-grazing ways. It's just that supernatural stories inhabit a different world from our own, i.e. one that does have ghosts, vampires, demons, witches, god and all that other silly stuff, hence these stories are allowed to be "cretinous", that's all. In a sense, every supernatural horror film can have a sub-plot involving a "deluded" logical person who "sees the light". After all, within the context of such a bizarre world, being an atheist would merit ridicule – i.e. the opposite of the real world.All this might sound like the bleedin'-obvious, and perhaps you'd be right, but I felt I needed to address this phenomenon – the phenomenon of certain IMDb reviewers finding faults with certain horror films because they contain an anti-atheistic stance. I have a hunch though that the same people who make these complaints are Marxists, liberals, and other types of Socialists, which renders their criticism doubly stupid because behind every "atheistic" left-winger lies an unaware believer. Isn't "Das Kapital" really just a substitute for the Bible or the Koran? (All that drivel about the poor and a perfectly egalitarian society.) Isn't Utopia a barely concealed rip-off idea based on Heaven? Marx: the All-Knowing, perfect god-on-Earth that replaces all the theological god-in-clouds beings? Lenin: just another Jesus? (Though I'll be damned if I know where that mass-murdering psychopath Che Guevara fits into all this.) Marxism and Christianity have a lot more in common than they differ, so next time you bleedin'-heart liberals and other closet Marxists moan about religious propaganda in horror movies, remember two things: 1) you are not real atheists, merely adherents of a pseudo-religion just as idealistically daft as all the ones you pompously trash, and 2) you don't seem to be bothered by the thousands of left-wing propaganda movies floating about, mercilessly brainwashing and dumbing-down the sheepy flock. Well, now that I have insulted both religion and left-wingers (i.e. 99% of everyone on the planet), I look forward to many NO clicks.TE is a solid ghost story, with plenty of action and touches of originality here and there. The ending is more than a little silly, admittedly, what with Satan actually being a fat middle-aged man, but then again isn't every supernatural horror film silly by definition? Relax and enjoy.

slayrrr666 "The Evil" is a more-than-serviceable haunted house film with a couple flaws.**SPOILERS**Looking for a new home, C.J. Arnold, (Richard Crenna) and his wife Caroline, (Joanna Pettet) find a large Victorian mansion and decide to move in. As it needs repairs, they invite friends Prof. Raymond Guy, (Andrew Prine) Mary Harper, (Cassie Yates) Pete Brooks, (George O'Hanlon Jr.) Felicia Allen, (Lynne Moody) Laurie Belman, (Mary Louise Weller) and Dwight, (Robert Viharo) over to the house and help fix it up. Finally getting to work, they realize that something isn't right with the house, as they begin to experience strange accidents and hallucinations within the rooms, finally uncovering a long-lost mysterious journal of the former inhabitant that sheds light on the situation. Realizing that they are messing with demonic supernatural forces beyond their capabilities, they try to find a way out of the trap-filled mansion before they all are dead.The Good News: This was a highly enjoyable film at times. Most of the good points come from the film's haunted-house motive. The house itself is actually very well-done, looking incredibly creepy and perfectly suited for a haunted house film. The grand Victorian facade, with the columns, rounded structures and general vibe allow for a pretty great feel to it, yet the inside of it is where most of the fun occurs. From the long, winding hallways, ornate decorations, multiple levels and rather obscure-seeming surroundings that are used to fun effect when the hauntings start make for a spectacular setting that allows for the ghostly action to be taken rather well. Beyond a great setting, the ghost action itself is really nice, actually going for a full-gamut of effects that not only work well, but also differ from the normal ones that are present throughout these types of films. There's a series of ghostly visions appearing only to one, the possessed animal, levitating objects, invisible forces controlling the outcome of events despite their knowledge of it there, slamming doors, shaking foundations and much, much more in here, which allows it to come off so well as it's got a wide variety of events happening. That allows it to appear much more disturbing and powerful, that it's able to do so much within it's confines and makes them seem all the more threatening and exciting, as it provides some interest as to what will happen next. That the scenes themselves are all really fun, as really all of those are just a blast to watch and are part of what makes the film a lot of fun, taking on a ton of great moments that make the film a lot fun, and even more so since all of them come in the last half of the film and make it seem like there's a giant rush at the end as it's just nonstop at all, not slowing down at all. There's a fine trade-off between finding a way out before it gets shut down through something supernatural and another plan is tried, with the same results in a different location to different victims. It's a great tool and is done right in here to give the scenes some weight to them and give these segments a wholly-inspired pace that makes for a lot of good times to be had. With a couple good kills coming from the haunting seasons thrown in, these here make the film enjoyable and interesting.The Bad News: There was a couple of flaws to this one. One of the biggest is the film's rather dull beginning that doesn't start it off on the right note. Despite there being a graphic kill and a creepy setting, the fact that we have to wait about ten minutes to get what should've been done in half the time isn't a good movie, as it appears to stretch the film out to make it reach it's proper running time since the middle segments fly right by, and here it just stinks of filler material. It also wouldn't have been a bad idea to know a little more about the reason behind the ghost's actions in here. Beyond the need for introducing the cryptic diary entry to them, there wasn't any reason for it to be there since it's actually revealed in the equally-lame finale who the real culprit is, so that wouldn't have been terrible information to give out and have a purpose why it's there. The last flaw was the aforementioned finale, which just didn't click at all. From the goofy nature conflicting wildly with the serious tone throughout, the whole segment consisting of resolution over a verbal confrontation that features such limited physical contact as to appear as nothing happened, and the whole scene conveniently overflowing with smoke to obscure what little does happen, the whole scene is a mess and entirely confusing, which really puts a damper on the film somewhat. These are the only things that hurt this one.The Final Verdict: With a lot of good stuff here and some minor flaws present, there wasn't much holding this down and it comes off rather well in the end. Give this one a shot if you're into these kinds of films or feeling adventurous towards it, while those who aren't big on haunted house films should heed caution.Rated R: Violence and Language

jrasche2003 I remember seeing this movie as a child, and how it scared me! Well one day I was lucky to find the VHS at a garage sale. Last night I finally put it on to a DVD, where it will never ever wear out.I think Richard Crenna did a great job in this film. I think the film itself was a bit before its time with some of the special effects. The look cheesy compared to todays standards, but for a movie coming out of the 80's it is remarkable.I am really surprised at how little information is out there about this movie, It is one of those small classics that got lost, and I am sure glad that I still have it!

The_Void The Evil could easily be seen as a front runner to eighties classics such as The Evil Dead and Night of the Demons. I don't doubt the possibility that this film had some sort of influence on the aforementioned titles, probably some others too; but in it's own right, it's not all that special. The plot is something of a mixture between the popular demonic horror theme, and the even more popular haunted house theme as we follow a group of people trapped inside an old house that happens to have something to do with an old Indian burial ground. The film was obviously shot on a low budget, and it's nowhere near as grisly as its eighties counterparts - so The Evil is unlikely to give you any nightmares. The plot follows psychologist C.J. Arnold. He buys an old mansion at a low price and decides to ask some of his college pupils to help him fix things up. Everything's going fine until somebody is stupid enough to remove an old cross from a basement door - and then all hell breaks loose! It would seem that the devil wants everyone inside dead, and so begins a night of terror as the occupants try to escape.'Evil' is a very general term, so any film dealing with it as an entity needs an original way of handling things. This film does it in a similar fashion to how The Evil Dead went on to do, as the evil is explored through certain characters going mad and others being chased by a disjointed camera angle. The film does feature a number of set pieces that show the effect of 'evil', and these vary in quality although in the main body of the film is really terrible. The film features things such as a man sawing through his own hand, a ghost taking possession of a woman and a man being dragged into the ground quicksand style after escaping from the house. The acting is all pretty terrible, and the copy I saw was of rather poor quality; so my overall impression of the film's production values isn't exactly good. The Evil isn't exactly a famous film, but one sequence that does have a fair amount of people talking about comes at the end. Victor Buono gets to appear as the Devil in one of the most of the oddest satanic scenes I think I've ever seen. Quite why the producers decided to film the Dark Lord in this way is anyone's guess - but I can't say too many bad things about it because it is at least memorable! Overall, I wouldn't exactly call this film a must see; but its decent enough and you could do a lot worse!