Das Haus des Bösen

There were a lot of brilliant and spooky TV movies made in the seventies (Night Stalker etc),and it's a lost art now. This is, in fact, one of Spielberg's best films and is chilling. I saw it on a farm in the middle of nowhere, so the whole bit with the barn was terrifying. A reminder of what suggestion and the mind can conjure up without gruesome special effects and pointless noise. What was the horrible thing in the jam jar? What were the buzzing objects falling onto the windscreen of that car? Eerie stuff and brilliantly done. Also features a rare appearance by the unusual and authentic Sandy Dennis who died tragically and is sadly missed. Best scare is the demon eyes caught during the filming of a commercial at the haunted house.

I know that The Possession Of Joel Delany (1972) is often cited as a possible cinematic influence on Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), but I had never seen this little gem until recently. The finale has little Johnny Whitaker (yes, from Family Affair) possessed by a "devil" yelling weird demonic gibberish in a surprisingly creepy and effective vocal track and attacking his mother (Sandy Dennis) as objects fly around the room. The devil is driven out by the chanting words of love from mom. It's a brief scene that might elicit giggles from some, but it's strange how similar some scenes in The Exorcist would play out nearly two years later.

Perhaps coming so soon after his masterful DUEL, SOMETHING EVIL is a slightly weaker effort from Steven Spielberg, who in 1971-72 was still learning his craft.

Nevertheless, this supernatural TV horror movie of a family besieged by an unknown evil force in their home (represented by an ominous baby's cry) is almost a prelude to Spielberg's later 1982 production POLTERGEIST, as well as films like THE SHINING and THE SIXTH SENSE. The screenplay by Robert Clouse also echoes Robert Wise's classic 1963 thriller THE HAUNTING. Darren McGavin and Sandy Dennis give very good performances as the heads of this household under threat. Ralph Bellamy somehow oozes rational menace the same way he did for ROSEMARY'S BABY. Tricky but excellent cinematography by Bill Butler (who later worked with Spielberg on JAWS) enhances this somewhat underrated and rare made-for-TV horror pic.

Your basic horror story: A family moves into a house and they do not realize it's haunted but will soon become believers and it's haunted by demons. A quote from Marjorie Worden: "Can you believe that I believe that the devil's in my house?"

This TV movie was back when they made fun and interesting movies for television. Not all of them were great but they were at least worth watching. When real life society changed, the TV shows and movies changed - I quit watching - but I hear the TV movies today are nothing like these older films and not nearly as good. This particular film is not grand but it's not a bad watch either - mildly entertaining demonic horror.

6/10

Early Steven Spielberg TV movie that is a considerable step down from Duel released the previous year, but showing signs of a directorial craft to follow.

Something Evil is not a great horror movie, well it was to those of us at a very young age who were allowed to watch it that is. The plot finds a family of four moving into a pastorally pleasing Pennsylvania farmhouse only to find a demon resides there. Hubbie works all hours in the city while mama and the two young children fall prey to something that manifests itself as red goo in jam jars or via a wind machine. Cue mama fighting the demon trying to take control of her family with love and pentacle art. Yep, it's really that simple, the budget doesn't stretch beyond that.

Spielberg shows some nice skills with his dissolves, close-ups and distorted angle shots, but much of the impact is undone by poor acting and a musical score that belongs on a ghost train ride at the funfair. A couple of characters appear, and then vanish until the last third of the movie needs them, while the special effects on offer are understandable low in quality. For its time, its budget and as an observation to the early work of a man who would become one of America's biggest directors, it's a curio piece worth sampling. But it's hardly essential for horror fans or Spielberg completists. 6/10