La noche que Evelyn salió de la tumba

Emilio Miraglia's "The Night Evelyn came out of her Grave" is an entertaining slice of perversely manipulative and seedy Gothic Euro-horror. The way the format works out (Gothic crossed Giallo) is a delicious web of eerie uncertainty and devilish twists, where is it the cracking mind of the protagonist or maybe the supernatural has something to do with the mysterious occurrences and demented happenings. Where never quite sure how it will pan out, despite its strictly routine and what you think a simple set-up. It does create many effective and spontaneous passages, like a layer upon layer structure, which compellingly builds up to its show-stopping, and unforeseeable conclusion. Which eventually goes out of its way to shock. Miraglia sharply paints a sombre atmospheric setting that at times embraces a dreamy elegance and for the darker, glum moments it's covered with moody shades due to its shadowy lighting. There's plenty of rough, jolting blocks of viciously nasty violence, sensual nudity and sordid fetishes. Bruno Nicolai's peering camera-work is smoothly orchestrated and Gastone Di Giovanni's wicked, bustling music score fits every scene. The pacing can get rather stumpy and editing can lumber with little rhythm, but it has a certain glow and the strangeness of the idea seems to hold you. The performances fair up decently, with a voluptuous Erika Blanc looking rather stunning and nailing down her part. Antonio De Teffè's nervous wreck portrayal is finely tuned in a neurotic sense and Marina Malfatti is there to shower us with her gratuitous looks. Rod Murdock colourfully hams it up, with winning results and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart is suitably adequate as the stable-headed doctor. There are able performances from Joan C Davis and Roberto Maldera too. The story can get patchy with few plot-holes, but it has a sedately arresting, stylised appeal.

Emilio Miraglia's crossover between Gothic horror and Italy's finest cinematic export, the Giallo, really is a delightful film for the fan of cult horror. While the movie is certainly no masterpiece, the story moves well and the imagery on display and imagination on the part of the director that is shown throughout elevates a rather simple tale of insanity and murder into an amazing slice of cult cinema. The title alone is graphic and lurid enough on its own, and I'm pleased to say that the film itself carries on this style throughout, with some well worked and ingenious death scenes, as well as plenty of nudity and some truly beautiful cinematography. The story takes place in a castle just outside London, England. We are introduced to Lord Alan Cunningham and a hooker that he is taking home. After brutally torturing and eventually killing her, we discover that his mental trauma is due to the loss of his wife, Evelyn. His friend and doctor talks him into remarrying to ease his mental anguish, and that's a piece of advice that he takes upon meeting the ravishing Gladys...

Despite the fact that this film is very much a piece of schlock cinema, the director appears to have taken it very seriously, and the result is a film that puts a lot of emphasis on the plot and characters, and ultimately this means a stronger show as Miraglia takes time to draw his audience in, rather than just showing blood and nudity and leaving it at that. The acting performances aren't bad, and even though Spaghetti Western star Antonio De Teffè is a little hammy, he convinces in his role; while Marina Malfatti provides eye-catching eye candy. The murder sequences on display are typically gruesome and beyond the immediately obvious, as we watch a woman being ripped apart by foxes and a scene that sees a man burn in a pool containing sulphuric acid. Bruno Nicolai's rock score works very well and brilliantly accents every scene. The film all boils down to a satisfying ending, which despite seemingly coming out nowhere; works well and adequately describes many of the loose ends up until the conclusion. Overall, while this film isn't the best of its kind; it's certainly a very good one and I'm sure that fans of cult cinema won't be disappointed!

Lord Alan Cunningham has been a troubled man since the death of his wife. The only release he can find from his torment is by luring women that remind him of his dead wife to his castle and then brutally murdering them. That is until he meets Gladys. The two are quickly married and Lord Cunningham appears to be cured. But a series of strange events involving the possibility that his first wife has returned from the grave seems to send him over the edge.

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is one part Giallo and one part Gothic horror. It's not the greatest example of either sub-genre you'll run across, but I was reasonably entertained throughout. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing up to the very end. While I've seen enough of these Gialli that I'm rarely surprised anymore, there's no way I could have predicted all the twists in the last act. The acting is about average for this kind of film, but it was nice to see Marina Malfatti with a large role as Gladys. Most of the rest of the cast will be familiar to fans of 70s Italian films.

A word of warning about the DVD - there are a bunch of El Cheapo DVD companies out there that offer The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. One appears to be about as good as the other. The best that can be said about these DVDs is that they are watchable (and I'm being generous). If this sounds like a movie that would be of interest, I've read that NoShame DVD has acquired the Region 1 rights. Based on their track record, it should be worth waiting for. I'll definitely upgrade once it's released.

Edit (5/7): NoShame's new DVD of The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is, in a word, stunning - especially when compared with what's been available until now in Region 1. I have a new appreciation for the film and actually enjoyed it much more than I did just a couple of months ago. It's like watching a whole different movie.

OK, maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so. If you want to watch great cinematography maybe you should watch this for a base to judge it on. I have the r rated version and I've seen more breasts in this than in a regular porn movie. This is a wonderful movie to have with a ton of friends over. If there were only more spaghetti horror movies like this.

From the get go, there are red heads galore. And more S&M than you'd have thought could be filmed back in the 70s. I'm not saying this is the best movie of the age, but the costume designer should have won an Oscar. Can you say "Titty"? And the under lying theme of "Get rid of your old flame's s**t!" can't be denied.

Perhaps those who don't appreciate this film aren't the "artsy fartsy" types but this movie also can boasts non-stop high quality Sets. And any flick that involves Red head chicks naked, Rufees, and gore can't be bad. Oh!, and foxes eating intestines.

And let's not mention Aunt Agatha getting her head knocked in ala. Apollo Creed in Rocky IV.

Nice mix of giallo an Gothic horror, brought to you by Emilio Miraglia, writer/director of Red Queen Kills 7 Times. Maybe Miraglia likes red, as this is a tale of a dead red-headed wife, and a series of red-headed prostitutes brought home by the rich widower, Lord Alan Cunningham (Anthony Steffen).

Not only does Alan bring a lot of redheads home to his castle, which means a lot of flesh for your enjoyment, but he has a propensity to engage in a little sadism while he is at it, as Susan (Erika Blanc) finds out.

After Susan, he meets Gladys (Marina Malfatti) at a party. He is instantly attracted (and who wouldn't be?) even though she is a blond, not a redhead. So much so, that he asks her to marry before he even gets her in bed. She is much more practical, and goes to bed without marrying, though I suspect she feels it will lead there eventually.

When they are married, the title comes alive as does Evelyn, his first wife. Naturally, I suspected Albert (Roberto Maldera) and Aunt Agatha (Joan C. Davis) in this ruse, but that is quickly dispelled. Needless to say, the foxes didn't have any appetite for breakfast after a late night snack.

Things move forward with a double double cross and a surprise ending. Interesting giallo with boobilicious treats.