Der Hauch des Bösen

A Taste of Evil is a very interesting movie that tackles a pretty big issue for it's time. It involves the sexual assault of a young girl, and for 1971 I'm sure the topic was not as talked about as it is today. Anyways, the film starts with the young girl who is alone in her playhouse when a man (who we don't see) enters and attacks her off-screen. Fast forwards years later to when she is an adult. After spending years in a psychiatric institution, Susan travels home with her mother Miriam to tackle her demons. We meet some potential suspects of the rape; the mother's boyfriend Harold and a long time groundskeeper John. While at the family home, strange things start to happen. Susan sees someone lurking in the shadows, she feels someone following her in the woods, and a very dead looking Harold keeps popping up around the house.

The imagery of this movie is amazing. The usage of dark shadows in the house adds a very spooky feeling to it all. About halfway through the film we discover what/who is causing these strange occurrences, and I must say I was surprised by what it was and who assaulted Susan years ago. We then get another twist that leads us to a satisfying ending. It's a typical 1970's made for television thriller which I love, but this one adds a lot more such as the shocking storyline of the rape.

The acting was alright, Barbara Stanwyck was the best part about it. Overall a very satisfying TV movie that is impossible to purchase on DVD or VHS. Best thing to do is search it out online or hope for it to pop up on TV one day.

8/10

Although I've only seen this film once, it lingers in my memory: I saw it at age 1O in 1971 when it was originally broadcast on television. Although the rest of the cast, i.e. William Windom, Roddy McDowall & Barbara Perkins, etc. did fine jobs with their roles, it's Stanwyck's playing of Miriam Jennings which lingers in my memory: talk about an unsympathetic role for an older Hollywood star to take! If fans of Davis and Crawford doing their bits in the macabre thought Stanwyck stopped with THE NIGHT WALKER, think again! This is definitely her tour-de-force in the thriller genre. Although it probably looks a bit tired and dated today, I remember the diabolical twist as being memorably sadistic and cruel plus there was a helping of LES DIABOLIQUES in the plotline. The atmosphere was creepy - thunder and lightning and all - and I remember sinister Barbara dismissing her gardener (Arthur O'Connell) thusly: "You have until noon"...

"A Taste of Evil" focuses on a woman, Susan, who returns to her family estate after having been institutionalized following a sexual assault that she experienced as a young girl in the woods outside the home. Soon after arriving home, however, visions, flashbacks, and sinister occurrences galore begin to intrude on her life.

I was actually surprised by how darkly and disturbingly this film began—a young girl is sitting inside a playhouse built by her parents, isolated in the woods. As she draws a picture of her Raggedy Ann doll, a man enters the doorway, his features obscured by the sunlight. "Who are you?" she asks. The camera turns, the clatter of the table echoes through the scene, and the dolls are thrown across the room onto the bed as the girl screams bloody murder. Sound rough for a television film? I think so. Especially for being in the early seventies.

Based on Jimmy Sangster's Hammer-produced "Scream of Fear," "A Taste of Evil" was also scripted by Sangster, an produced by Aaron Spelling. Like all of the glorious made-for-television films of the decade, "A Taste of Evil" is wonderfully atmospheric, with its obvious staged interiors, as well as the moody photography of the mansion exteriors (John Llewellyn Moxey, who later directed the phenomenal Christmas horror tele-flick, "Home for the Holidays," directs here with a keen eye on mood). There are some fantastic scenes in the woods post-Susan's return, as well as nightmarish sequences and appearances of her apparent assailant.

The film benefits greatly from having a phenomenal cast; Barbara Stanwyck leads as the matriarch, while Barbara Parkins is adequately emotive as the unstable woman. Neither performances are award-worthy by any means, but both manage to muster an appropriate chemistry. Roddy McDowall is a welcome presence as the psychiatrist, and William Windom is sleazy and sinister as Susan's drunken stepfather.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and at times legitimately suspenseful film. It is also daring enough to tackle such a topic as child rape, and the understated yet unflinchingly brusque opening sequence establishes a no-holds-barred attitude from the outset. The film's plot twists are also surprisingly wicked. An enjoyable watch for a rainy evening; recommended highly to fans of the made-for-television horror and thriller films of the 1970s. 8/10.

A Taste of Evil is a 1970's Made-For-TV film that had some very serious and dark themes for a movie at that time. It's plot revolves around the rape of a young child, and the discovery of who her assailant really was.

After being assaulted by someone she couldn't identify, Susan spent years in an institution trying to revere the trauma. We meet an adult version of her who is returning home for the first time since the attack many years prior. Her mother Miriam (played by Barbara Stanwyck) has since married a family friend that Susan used to call an uncle after the passing of Susan's father.

As soon as she settles in at home, she begins to think she is being stalked by someone she can't see. First she is chased by a man in the woods, and then she believes hears someone breathing in the darkness and the shadows in her large family house. The question is has the rapist come back to silence Susan or is she simply imagining someone coming after her. All is revealed in an explosive second half to the story.

A Taste of Evil is a VERY spooky and well done made for TV film from ABC. Terrific acting from legend Barbara Stanwyck and Barbara Parkins. She plays the trauma riddled Susan extremely well. We get all the beats of Susan's trauma of the rape and coming home. We also get the creepy mystery of who the assailant was years ago. There are some twists and turns throughout the film, and some eerie stalking scenes when the attacker comes for Susan. Overall, a great little horror gem from the 70's that deserves a proper DVD release.

7/10

I just found a copy of this classic 1970's chiller on ebay. To my surprise, it is just as effective watching today as I remember seeing it as a child. There are many genuine thrills and chills as Barbara Parkins plays a young woman returning to the creepy mansion where she was traumatized as a child. Barbara Stanwyck plays her mother. Both actresses, fresh off their respective 1960's TV series' "Peyton Place" and "The Big Valley," give excellent performances. Parkins was an underrated actress and is truly memorable in her role of the terrorized girl. She is also very beautiful. Stanwyck is dignified and elegant and this film is a reminder of the great talent that was hers. This movie is a forgotten gem. It would be great to see it released on DVD someday.