Evil Altar

When a horror film is as dull as this, I don't understand why they don't add a bit of blood for at least some minimal entertainment. Even if they had of used red paint, it would have been more interesting. As it is, Evil Altar is a deadly boring film that could have been good if directed properly. I mean come on, the plot involves abducting children for sacrifices, and yet there is virtually no gore or blood in this film! There aren't even any bare breasts. There is perhaps only one half-decent scene when a man is set alight and falls into a swimming pool, but apart from that the pace just plods along like a tortoise.

This is another 80's "horror" flick to be avoided, unless you're a die-hard collector.

EVIL ALTAR has very little going for it except for the story, which in more capable hands could have been compelling, in an epic and gruesome sorta way. But as it is now, the whole production is almost amateurish. I've never seen so many continuity errors or truly bad framing. The camera's positions were often at the wrong spots, which created a confusing sense of placement. The acting was nonexistent. The characters were nearly all awful. Only Robert D'Zar was sorta convincing as the evil sheriff, and the evil man himself was well cast but his acting was, for the most part, lazy (which is understandable. He must have known this flick wasn't worth it). The dialogue was totally pitiful. You could see the microphone bobbing up and down at the top of the picture. And the horror elements of the story were, for the most part, unintentionally funny. A floating killer baseball? One has to see the scene to believe it. Who would have imagined that anyone would have ever conceived the idea that a floating ball would be terrifying or scary?!?! Certainly in the way it was made in the movie. Then there's the whole bit with the collector appearing on TV and killing the reporter. I really laughed out loud then. The "Freddy Kruger-inspired" scene doesn't make any sense and is ineptly done, making it golden in my book of really bad cinematic moments.

I like watching horror movies. The more obscure, the better. Unfortunately, there's very little to recommend of EVIL ALTAR. As bad as a lot of it was, there were simply too many boring moments for the movie to be entertaining on a continuous basis with its sheer ineptness. I recommend this only for horror completists. Others should steer clear from this crap.

An evil Satanic occultist keeps the denizens and law enforcement of a small U.S. community in a stranglehold with his supernatural powers. He also regularly dispatches his hulking indentured drudge to abduct children so that they may be used as barter with the Devil.

A man and his son stop at a fuel station in said town, and quickly find themselves sucked into the mysterious local quandary. A search for the missing soon commences as the clock ticks away toward a scheduled blood rite...the sacrifice which will bestow the warlock with eternal life.

A barely commensurate product, EVIL ALTAR's base material is dull in the first place, and worse yet, it's given a stolid, roustabout production which lacks imagination and tenacity. This is cookie-cutter stuff which may be of menial interest to only the most cursive B-horror zealots.

3.5/10

My review was written in July 1989 after watching the movie on South Gate Entertainment video cassette.

Satanism rears its head once more in "Evil Altar", a direct-to- video release with few new wrinkles for the genre.

William Smith portrays a guy sho's sold his soul and become powerful enough to run the little town of Red Rock. He's sent his minion (Pepper Martin) to collect 103 young souls for sacrifice.

With burly local cop Robet Zdar under Smith's spell, the disappearance of various youngsters is covered up until a visiting lawyer (Tal Armstrong) teams up with locals to root out the evil.

Pic suffers from meager special effects, including a poorly done climax in which heroine Theresa Cooney is threatened in her bedroom by a floating ball reminiscent of "Phantasm". Bald-pated Smith makes a solid villain.

Ok, so this movie is crap, but it's my kind of crap and I've seen much worse. Much worse where, you ask? Well, try turning on the TV or take a look at what is playing in the theaters for starters. This piece of junk is high art by comparison, at least by my standards. Slow, plodding, unimpressive gore, and only a dusky, side-boob glance at Connie Woods' hearty chest meat makes for some tedious viewing for a lot of folks to be sure, but it's passable 80's shlock by my criteria. These types of movies take me back to a better time and provide enjoyment on a level that I suppose doesn't come across to some folks. William Smith and Robert Z'Dar? Hell, why even bother having a script at all? Those guys are entertaining in and of themselves. Not really as bad as some of these other guys are saying but, yeah, not exactly top shelf.