MovieChat Forums > Messiah of Evil (1974) Discussion > talk about a gem

talk about a gem

posted 17 years ago by westing000
17 replies | jump to latest

i seriouly love this movie, and if it made sense, i wouldn't love it so much. it is definitely one of the ultimate drug experience horror films. i think it may top my personal list of most underappreciated horror films. some other contenders:

Lisa and the Devil
La Rose de Fer (The Iron Rose)
City of the Dead (Horror Hotel)
Silent Night, Bloody Night
Aswang
Frankenstein Created Woman
Grave of the Vampire

probably some others i can't think of right now
thanx for listening, feel free to argue with me

[–] hey_eddie 17 years ago

You have excellent taste! "Dead People"(the alternate title I prefer), is a trippy brilliant, terrifying film. It deserves BETTER than the terrible washed out VHS & DVD copies floating around. I've e-mailed all the major Distributors I can think of to clean this one up & give it a decent release!
Other top favs that deserve a dvd release:

1. SCARECROWS
2. THE REFLECTING SKIN
3. HOMEBODIES
4. DARK SECRET OF HARVEST HOME

"Give a girl a pair of shoes, & she walks out on you!"

[–] DilvishW 17 years ago

Night of the Creeps.
IT doesn't get any better than a hottie with an oversized flamethrower.

[–] HOTsunrise 17 years ago

Dead People is one of my very favorites. Love the atmosphere. The house, gas station, grocery store, & especially the Movie Theatre, all great.

[–] nyspooky 16 years ago

Numbers 1 and 2 here on your list are among some of my favorite films... so I am definitely going to check out 3 and 4 (which I've not seen nor heard of before). Thank you!

"Something witty"

[–] newdisaster 16 years ago

SCARECROWS!!!!Hell yeah..I'm surprised anyone remembers this movie..it creeped me out as a kid...definately should get a re-release

[–] lauriescreams 16 years ago

I wanted to like it, and well, I liked parts of it. Charles Dierkop gives an excellent (if sadly brief) performance, and the voice over in the beginning is a nice touch. I also loved the schmaltzy song, which I found almost as delcious as the Love Me Deadly theme song.

However, the clumsy editing doesn't do the film any favours. It shifts choppilly from one angle to another, with little or no fluid camera movement. This makes the action and suspense scenes stilted and unexciting, and that seriously impaired my enjoyment of the film.

For what it's worth, I do think the story makes sense. I had no trouble figuring out what happened and why.

[–] smerd_70 16 years ago

"For what it's worth, I do think the story makes sense. I had no trouble figuring out what happened and why."

I didn't either, the story wasn't hard to follow at all.

My head hurts, my teeth itch, my feet stink, and I don't love Jesus.

[–] summerisle 16 years ago

lauriescreams: "However, the clumsy editing doesn't do the film any favours. It shifts choppilly from one angle to another, with little or no fluid camera movement. This makes the action and suspense scenes stilted and unexciting, and that seriously impaired my enjoyment of the film."

I guess you have seen a full screen version of the film. So shifts and additonal editing may come from the video transfer.

The film was shot in the Scope OAR 2.35:1. I have seen a german video which comes close to this ratio and thought editing and especially camera (and lighting) were fantastic.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] lauriescreams 14 years ago

I have just watched the Code Red disc, and wow, did it change my opinion on this movie - definitely a gem! The cinematography is much more careful than I had first given it credit for - a good transfer (in the OAR) really shows the odd, three-dimensional artwork in the beach house to the greatest effect. Being able to actually hear the dialogue doesn't hurt either.

I am also willing to take back what I said about the editing. It does at times feel abrupt, but deliberately so, as it contributes to the dreamlike quality of the film - watching a movie has been compared to dreaming with your eyes open, and that was definitely what I felt was happening when I watched this film.

Anyone who's interested should stay away from the cheap fullscreen bootlegs and buy the Code Red release instead.

[–] Xcalat3 15 years ago

you are absolutely right

an little known Gem indeed

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

[–] nina_beretta 15 years ago

heck yeah!
OMg my husband bought this box dvd set of various b horror movies. Only three of the 6 were actually watchable. One of course was Messiah of Evil, the other was Christmas evil (A classic!) and House at the end of the park (or something like that. weird swinger murderer movie) So messiah of evil was a great find. It was scary but not in a gross way as zombie movies are now often are. The scariest part of the movie was the albino....still creepy!

[–] nyspooky 15 years ago

I have that same box set! lol Christmas Evil blew me away too... the ending was completely outrageous and amazing! Hahaha! House by the Edge of the Park is your typical Italian sleaze and is especially nasty (and by that, I mean Awesome) and I've yet to have watched Messiah of Evil... I will definitely make a go of it thanks to Nina's review!

"Something witty"

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Dream_Demon 11 years ago

I definitely think it should be a cult movie, but unfortunately it's not to my taste. I'd give it a 6/10 though.

Welcome to my Nightmare- Freddy Krueger

[–] KMR 9 years ago

I saw this a few weeks ago on You Tube at the behest of a friend and fellow horror film fan and loved it. The scene in the movie theater knocked me out.

[–] ElectricWarlock 8 years ago

I saw it for the first time today and enjoyed it very much. It reminded me a bit of Let's Scare Jessica to Death which is a great compliment. Overall I am very glad I watched the film and look forward to seeing it again soon.