Messiah of Evil (1973)

Truly Dreadful Film

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I was very disappointed. It was too slow and mostly boring with no interesting characters. They also threw in a flashback of what happened 100 years ago which I don't know what that has to do with the zombies or her finding her father.

If this town has been zombified for awhile then why are fruits and veggies in the supermarket fresh? And why was the meat fresh? - should have been all rotten if the town really was zombified for a long while. I'm just glad the zombies decided on a fresh kill to get their meat. Yea the only scene worth watching.Boring, awful film. It's not the low budget factor because I love many low budget films but this film is just lame - LAME! It's awful in every way I can think of.If you want to see a GOOD zombie movie watch White Zombie (1932) or Night of the Living Dead (1968) and the rest of that series - those films are so much better than this Messiah of Evil crap.This film is forgotten for a reason so they say but it does have a strong following for a forgotten film - lots of people seem to like this movie and I still don't know why.I give this one a 2 out of 10 just for the grocery store scene.2/10

If you overlook the first 40-minutes of the dragging foot of crippled dialogue, narration and senseless jabbering, you may find an entertaining lost episode of Scooby Doo. Correction. Scooby Doo has a more convincing creepy atmosphere. This is a dull, bus ride of underplayed overly dramatic characters. It has the dream-like quality of a bad movie nightmare. One where you're having pee dreams and can't wake up. By the time you finally escape the nightmare, you have wet your bed. Messiah of Evil, a.k.a. Dead People obviously tried to capitalize on the success of Night of the Living Dead, but forgot the most important element...terror. Its attempts at terrifying moments just seem to lie there like the Dead as a Doornail Not-so Living Dead. It has the pacing of a sloth.

An attractive brunette by the name of "Arletty" (Marianna Hill) gets a strange letter from her father and decides to drive to a mysterious town on the California coast called Point Dune to see him. Stopping at a gas station on the way she meets a frightened service station attendant along with a strange man who also pulls up for gas. The next day she goes into town and meets a man named "Thom" (Michael Greer) and two of his "traveling companions" named "Toni" (Joy Bang) and "Laura" (Anitra Ford) who end up staying with her at her father's home for a few days. Now, rather than spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just add that this is a type of film more on the lines of "Carnival of Souls" than a usual zombie film. One thing that puzzles me is the fact that this film was supposedly released in 1973. However, if a person actually does any research, they will find that the scene in which Toni goes to the movie is out of place for that year. While the movie marquis lists the film being shown as "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" the actual movie being played is "Gone with the West" which was made in 1975. This leads me to believe that "Messiah of Evil" was reissued with additional footage and possibly relisted under the same title or perhaps as "Dead People" in 1975. Whatever the case may be, this film is still worth a watch for those who enjoy bizarre movies of this type.