Beyond Evil (1980)

So much average

Fantastic!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

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.

Beyond Evil was directed by Herb Freed (you might know him from Graduation Day) and stars John Saxon as Larry Andrews, a construction worker or contractor of some sort who moves with his wife, Barbara (Lynda Day George) into a new home in the Caribbean. His friend Del Giorgio (Michael Dante) and Del's friend Dr. Frank Albanos (Mario Milano) - who adds barely anything to the plot except being a tag-along to Del, and a suspicious yet unfulfilled character - obtained the place for them after the owners died, and it's a damn castle. Of course, Barbara and Larry are taken with it, even after the tale of the owners' deaths. It seems that the lady who had owned the house was in a loveless marriage with her husband, who would fool around on her, and she practiced black magic as revenge on him. He ended up killing her, but not before she killed him too, and now the house is supposed to be haunted by the vengeful black witch. The hoodoo doesn't get to the newlyweds, until Barbara is possessed by the evil spirit, and then it's up to Larry to save his wife before it's too late.If it sounds like a familiar plot line, it is. It plays out exactly like anything from The Exorcist to The Amityville Horror. While not original, it is pretty entertaining. I love John Saxon - he's a great actor and seems like a pretty cool guy. But one thing that gets me in this movie are all the flaws.For example, at one point it seems like Del Giorgio is out to get Larry and Barbara. For what reason? Well, it would make sense to assume that Del is trying to break it off between Larry and Barbara, since it is mentioned that Del had had a fling with Barb in the past. It almost plays out - Barb is possessed, and starts making out with Del, and the audience thinks that maybe, just maybe, this vengeful plot arc will play out, only to find that Barb kills Del before anything can actually happen and makes everything suspicious that Del was planning a moot point. I just wonder if it was actually supposed to seem like Del was in cahoots with Dr. Frank Albanos, or if it was just something that I misinterpreted. Either way, I also found it weird that Frank was both a doctor and always at the construction site.Which leads me to another question - what's up with the construction site? It's never really explained what's going on, and while it's not important, there are scenes at the work site where I was left wondering what exactly they were doing.The movie's not boring - the hauntings are semi-dramatic, and it was fun to see Saxon almost get killed by a falling wooden idol, but much of the movie is really loosely pulled together into a coherent plot. There's also a witch doctor that Saxon goes to to help exorcise the demon in Barbara, but to no avail - nothing happens. There's also only about 5 deaths in the whole movie, but they're spaced out enough so that one doesn't get bored too quickly.Bluntly, though, the movie has too many wordy moments and not enough action. And whoever's idea it was that possessed bodies are cloaked in, and shoot, green mist was a little whacked. Barbara seriously looks spooky - that is, until she becomes Superman with green lasers firing from her eyes - then it just throws the suspense all down the drain.I will use a Playwriting vocab term here - deus ex machina. In Beyond Evil, Freed uses this to max effect. A little backstory to let you in on what happened here - Larry gets fed up with the wooden idol doll that he has upstairs and throws it in the river outside. Yet at the end of the movie, what magically apparates in the fireplace? That same idol doll. No one ever picked it up, or made mention of it, in the last 20 or so minutes of the film when it was thrown away, but it magically appears in the fireplace, and Larry burns it to exorcise the demon spirit from Barb. So basically, what happened was the writers got too confused as to how to end the film and decided that the easiest way was to miraculously place the idol in the fire to be consumed by flames, freeing Barb. It's a suspension of disbelief that just doesn't seem to work well, and it's pretty confusing, actually.But hey - you could do worse for an hour and a half movie. It's not original or creative, or even scary, but it's pretty funny AND fun to watch, and also, the music is pretty catchy. So if you're in the mood for a possession, or John Saxon (that dreamy hunk, and here, he's pretty young) then rent this movie. It's not evil, but it'll have to do.

John Saxon ("Black Christmas"!) and Lynda Day George ("Pieces"!) form a fabulous horror couple in this cheap and bizarre, but nevertheless intriguing little 80's film, set on a remote Southern island. The story isn't exactly original, blending cliché horror premises like haunted houses, soul-possessions, spiritual tribes and witchcraft, and yet, there isn't a dull moment to detect anywhere. This is largely thanks to the enthusiast acting performances and the surefooted direction of Herbert Freed. "Beyond Evil" is quite an oddity, because the special effects are very amateurish (sometimes even downright laughable) and still the wholesome remains a spooky and unsettling horror tale. Upon their arrival at the island, newlyweds Larry and Barbara are offered a beautiful and gigantic mansion to live in. Through a very atmospheric flashback-story, however, we learn that this same mansion was once homed by the sinister Alma Martin and her unfaithful husband. He poisoned Alma but her restless spirit still dwells around the mansion. Now, 100 years later, Alma Martin sees her change to reincarnate through Barbara and she won't hesitate to destroy everyone that tries to prevent this from happening. As previously stated, the special and visual effects are terrible… They often exclusively exist of funky green laser beams projected from the eyes of Alma Martin and they're not very convincing. Still, the film does offer some genuine shocks whenever budget isn't required, like Alma's ghostly appearances out of nowhere or the creepy shots inside the crypt. Especially since it's such an inexplicably fascinating movie, "Beyond Evil" should be categorized under 'interesting failures' and not just under 'worthless horror junk'! If you can pick up the DVD for a reasonably cheap price, it's definitely worth buying.

A very satisfying film, with incredibly good acting, especially for such a low budget movie. John Saxon.(From Dusk Till Dawn, Dario Agento's Tenebrea, to name but a few of his many starring roles) and his wife Linda Day George (who starred in such different works as Pieces and the TV series Roots) go to an island for a building project the husband works on, and while there, are offered a wonderful mansion to live in. As it is on islands in horrormovies, the locals have some superstitions about the house, which are not far from the horrible truth. I won't tell too much, because it would spoil the fun of watching this well crafted film.OK, the special effects are very seventies, and in those days probably could even have been slightly better - but if the filmmakers decided to spend whatever budget they had rather on great actors than on the effects, I would say this was money well spent. This is a good story that borrows a little here and there, but never crosses any line of plagiarism as so many recent Hollywood productions get away with shamelessly. Adding a lot of itself and a rather disturbing atmosphere (which is enhanced by Saxon's brilliant acting) this results in a very enjoyable and sometimes frightening horror movie.

Totally boring movie about a man and his wife who move into a house or villa and soon his wife becomes possessed with the spirit of an evil one who once dwelled within its walls. As the possession takes hold more people and friends of theirs begin to die, many in rather unintentional humorous ways. So her husband (John Saxon) wants her back and consults a local "spiritual healer" to help defeat the evil one. After confrontation he gets his wife back. This movie is a waste of time unless your looking for some laughs. Truly bad and stupid with special effects that are poor even for the time. Some notable funny moments the eye lasers, mans car falls apart then explodes (laughable), man gets crushed with pile of junk, and a rather fake looking devil doll that tries to possess his wife. Saxon is cool and works with what he has, but that's not much leading to a typical turkey that belongs where i saw it... in the middle of the night. 2 out of 10 stars avoid this bore.