Durchwahl zur Hölle

I guess I have a soft spot, a very small one, for this forgotten film, which was directed by horror icon Robert Englund. I think it's because it came out at the end of the 80's, which is the decade I saw the majority of my horror films, as I consider myself a horror buff. I've seen it listed as either 1988 or 1989, but I don't think I've seen many more horror films since then, as the 80's wrapped up my teen years. An interesting tidbit has star Stephen Geoffreys basically become a gay porn star not long after this film came out, no pun intended. You probably won't recognize anyone else, other than perhaps Sandy Dennis, and maybe Robert Picardo. I thought the premise of the film was fairly original; you call a "horrorscope" number, and you get to speak to the Devil. There's a catch though, if you don't do what "he" says, you get a strange sounding ring on a nearby pay phone(remember them?)and bad stuff may happen to you. Buyer beware! I'll get the bad out of the way; first off, I didn't like how Hoax decided to play a cruel, but deadly joke on Suzie, considering she was very nice to him, and even tried to protect him from bullies. Her death scene was pretty lame, as far as horror standards go. Also, the way the house turned into a foamy ice inside, and the fire effects under the house, were cheesy at best. I did like the creature's make-up for the most part, although the extra large hands and feet could've been done better. I also thought the fish falling from the sky was interesting, and I haven't seen anything like it before or after this film. Mark Dark was a very cool addition, but I wish there was more background on his character. To finish this review, I'll reiterate that this has some late 80's charm to me, and was probably one of the last horror films I saw, at least from what I can recall, as the 80's gave me some really cool horror film memories, and I'll proudly include this film as well.

I watched this movie after years of really wanting to. Funny that I watch it now in an age where a number such as this is pretty outdated. I also am surprised to see that Robert Englund directed this one and I think he did okay as most of the problems I found with the film came more from the story and from the editing. The imagery is great and it has some okay acting as it is not stiff, the end has the killer getting a bit too cute with the one liners actually reminding one a bit of Freddy Krueger's lines in the Elm Street horror films.

The story has a strange phone number that seems to predict things a bit too well being used by a dude named Spike; however, Spike soon stops using the number after nearly being killed by a runaway car. His cousin, though, finds the number and listens to it and heeds it and is soon transformed into a supernatural killer with the power to take revenge on all those that wronged him.

The story is a bit rushed, we are introduced to Spike who finds the number and then quickly uses it. He has a girlfriend who seems integral to the plot, then cast away suddenly. There is a guy who is sort of a reporter that seems to be important, but at the same time he doesn't. A teacher who seems inconsequential becomes a main character at the end. Editing that made me wonder what was going on at times. Spike, who seems to be the main character, disappears just as his cousin begins his killing spree and does not reappear till the final showdown. Still, loved the imagery especially at the end as Hoax (the cousin) has some interesting powers. Hoax is played by Stephen Geoffreys, best known as Evil from Fright Night. He is pretty much the same character, just a bigger nerd this time around.

The film had some good moments and I liked it somewhat. Just needed work (a running theme in most horrors). They needed to either establish that teacher and reporter more or simply do not have them at all. They could have had Spike try to dig for further evidence or something. The ending though has some nice kills and effects, but it also has some pretty bad one liners. It is as if they were trying to make Hoax sound like Freddy Krueger at the end with the puns and such. I am glad I finally saw this one though, because now I can watch 976-EVIL II as I have that one in a collection of DVDs. I caught this one on Encore.

Receiving a strange calling card, a teen living with his cousin realize that a growing obsession with the horoscope line after it's predictions come true realize he's gained Satanic powers through the line and when a spate of violent murders occurs they ban together to stop him.

For the most part, this here wasn't all that bad. One of the main elements to this one is the fact that this is one of the cheesiest films of it's time, as most of this is taken up by the general tone of the plot. The very idea of it's central premise, being invested of Satanic powers through a horoscope hot-line is pretty goofy, and yet there are certain scenes here that play off that goofiness with gusto here as the action of that occurring is where this one really gets enjoyable. The opening stalking scene of the victim being blown up and set on fire in a phone booth, having the spiders in the oven- dinner, the bathroom stalking when he's possessed taking out the gang- members who bullied him and the second poker game held during the rampage are perfect examples of the cheesiness throughout here, as they should not be taken seriously and yet come across as perfectly serious during it's time. As well, the film's at its best at the last half hour, which is where all the fun really starts to happen since the body count picks up and we get the highlight with the trip through the frozen house is ably chilling as it contains a few nice suspense sequences and features a really nice jump at the end in addition to the big final confrontation that works rather nicely. Alongside the fine gore for the kills and the great cheese here, these are the film's positive points as there wasn't a whole lot against this one. One of the biggest detriments, which is also it's greatest asset, is the high amount of cheese on display. While it makes the film a lot of fun, the fact is that it makes it appealing only to those who enjoy that in their films. For those who want it more serious, the cheese here will make it a lot harder to get into. The central premise is a little hard to swallow, the joke- filled nature of it drags it down slightly, and the biggest drawback is the tone given to the film. There's a bluish hue surrounding most of the film that gives it a low-budget feel and really does make it a little tougher to sit through. The other big problem against it is a slow beginning. This is a necessity to build it up, but to make the first forty minutes of it so uneventful beyond setting up angles to play off later is a problem to overcome. Though not as prominent as the cheese factor, it still hurts it to a degree. Likewise, the rather confusing narrative doesn't help this by seemingly introducing characters here for no real reason and letting them survive as they do is a little surprising, which doesn't really do the film many favors either, and all told these here are the film's biggest issues.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Nudity, a brief sex scene and drug use.

The rebellious teenager Spike (Patrick O'Bryan) lives with his religious Aunt Lucy (Sandy Dennis), her cats and his annoying cousin Hoax (Stephen Geoffreys) in the house he inherited from his mother. Hoax is a teenager bullied by a gang of punks and Spike protects him whenever possible. Spike finds a flyer of a horoscope dialing 976-EVIL, but he does not give much attention to the voice from the other side. He dates the schoolmate Suzie (Lezlie Deane) and they go in his motorcycle to his room. Hoax sees them having sex from his room and when Spike and Suzie leave the room, Hoax steals the panty Suzie gave to Spike and finds the flyer of his cousin. He goes to the movie theater where Suzie and Spike had gone and is bullied by the punks and the disappointed Suzie learns that he had her panty. He decides to revenge them dialing 976-EVIL and following the instructions received from the voice. Meanwhile the snoopy reporter Marty (Jim Metzler) is looking for a scoop and decides to investigate the phone number with the support of Hoax's teacher Angela (María Rubell).

"976-EVIL" is an horror movie directed by Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund and released in 1988 only on VHS in Brazil. The plot has flaws, the special effects are dated but the storyline entertains and is worthwhile watching it again. Another interesting point is to see the cast young thirty-three years ago. Unfortunately, it was not released on DVD in my country. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Força Demoníaca" ("Demoniac Force")

I do not understand why everyone else hates this movie. Yes, it is cheesy in a lot of the standard horror genre ways, but I really got into it. The main reason a horror film doesn't work is because the characters don't hook you. I started to care about the characters after just a few scenes. The mother who is in love with religion is hilarious--we all know people like her. The son, Hoax, is heartbreaking because he is so weak that he will grasp at anything to be strong. I think we all know him too. Robert Englund was very careful to build up the suspense. There are lots of times when you know that someone is going to die, and he draws it out to the point where it is almost painful to watch (I obviously can't give examples without ruining it.) So, I recommend it to anyone who likes horror.