The Evictors

"The Evictors" takes place in a rural Louisiana town in 1942 and is also based on a true story. A young couple from New Orleans move into their dream house in the woods of Louisiana. The home seems ideal for a wife to fix up while the husband is out working his new job. The previous owners are still attached to the house and will do anything they have to in order to get it back for themselves. The new owners begin to fear for their lives as a mysterious stranger stalks and violently threatens them.

I've found a new favorite director in Charles B. Pierce. He is the perfect example of a filmmaker who doesn't need to lean on graphic imagery and gore to get a viewer's blood pumping. He is a believer in the "less is more" school of thought and it works perfectly for him. Pierce slowly builds tension and then lets it explode on you at the last minute. You know something dreadful is coming but are still creeped out about it when it finally arrives.

Although "The Evictors" isn't a completely true story, all you have to do is a little investigating to know there's still quite a bit of validity in what happens on screen. I think that's what makes the film even more frightening. The thought that real people went through these ordeals in some form or another.

I also found it interesting that besides some bad language, "The Evictors" was rather clean for this type of movie. There wasn't any nudity to be seen. I was wondering why this was until I read that director Pierce was a Baptist.

In 1942, Ben and Ruth Watkins have just moved into an old Louisiana farmhouse. It's a beautiful place, but they soon learn of it's morbid past. Apparently, the previous few tenants all died in ways that raise suspicion. This doesn't sit well with Ruth, who stays at home alone most of the day while Ben is at work. As if she weren't spooked enough already, it isn't long before she finds herself menaced by a prowler who keeps showing up.

Charles B. Pierce, the man behind such southern-flavored gems as 'The Town that Dreaded Sundown' and 'The Legend of Boggy Creek', scored again with this outstanding mood piece. Atmosphere always was Pierce's strongest point, and 'The Evictors' features it in spades. The slow-burn pacing works brilliantly here, allowing the ominous tone to fester. The 1940's setting and impact of World War II on the financially struggling town are also well-realized, the former all the more so thanks to the lovely scope photography Pierce so expertly utilizes. Some effective sepia-toned flashbacks further the mood, as does the hushed nature of the townspeople in regard to the house's history.

Jessica Harper and Michael Parks play the married couple, and there is an obvious chemistry between them. It was great seeing the lovely Harper in a horror film other than 'Suspiria' for a change. Vic Morrow is on hand as the shady real estate agent who sales them the house and has eyes for Ruth. His role isn't the largest despite him getting top-billing, but it's an important one. Sue Ann Langdon also deserves mention as the crippled neighbor whom Ruth befriends.

The film offers up it's fair share of surprises as it heads toward the climax. There's one aspect of the story that was easily predictable, at least in my case, but others not so much. This is one of the true unsung gems of the 70's. The thought of it either not getting a release or being relegated to a shitty MOD DVD-R disgusts me to the core.

As horror films go, THE EVICTORS is slightly above the usual stuff that was released back then. The acting and production values are good. The cinematography is gorgeous. The Vestron VHS tape I watched had the film in an uncompressed anamorphic transfer. Everything looked squished but my TV has a 16x9 option and when I activated it, the VHS image was widescreen and beautiful. I loved the sepia toned scenes (they are flashbacks). They give the film a distinctive quality. The film's biggest weakness is the story. It sorta comes into its own by the end of the film but even so it's still pretty weak.

The story is about a couple who are terrorized by a mysterious man who lurks around a house they recently moved in, a house with a long history of suspicious violent deaths. The wife (played by the wonderful Jessica Harper) is repeatedly terrorized by the lurker when the husband is away. This storyline works on a certain level but the character who plays the lurker/murderer is no Michael or Jason. That aspect of the story was severely underwritten and when the revelation of who this lurker is and why he's terrorizing the couple, what gloomy & mysterious atmosphere the film so meticulously created vanished in a blink of an eye. But the revelation is not bad enough to destroy the whole film. It's just too corny, too a la Scooby Doo.

The other annoying thing about this film is the pacing. It's a tad slow going. The action eventually picks up in the second half but the first half was very casual.

Even with all its faults, I still enjoyed THE EVICTORS. It's a gorgeous looking horror film and there's Jessica Harper, which always makes anything worth watching.

In 1942, a couple moves into an old farm house in Northern Louisiana only to discover all the previous tenants have met with sinister fates. But does this eerie history have anything to do with the ominous stranger that's now terrorizing the young wife?

Director Charles B. Pierce may be best known for his docu-chillers The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972) and The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), but The Evictors may just be the over-looked gem of his film career. Like his previous films The Evictors has a splendidly gritty, rural atmosphere that gives it a raw believability. This becomes all the more effective when the story builds to some strong tension as our heroine is stalked by a phantom prowler. There are also a number of flashbacks, shot in stylish black and white, that have a chilling creepiness.

The story is fairly well-written, as the plot takes a few unexpected and surprising turns. Its only real flaw is a final revelation that's a bit improbable. Pierce does well at creating a 40's era atmosphere, much like that of The Town That Dreaded Sundown. The camera work is nicely done and the music score solidly spooky. The biggest highlight here may come from star Jessica Harper's understated performance. Harper (best known as the heroine of Suspiria and Phantom of the Paradise) makes a truly convincing role here.

Over all, The Evictors is definitely a film worth checking out for horror fans, particularly those who are fans of Pierce or Harper. This is an underrated effort in need of a new audience.

*** out of ****

Keep your expectations low and you might have some fun with this movie from director Charles B. Pierce, which, like his earlier "The Town That Dreaded Sundown", is a period thriller based on a true story. It doesn't add up to much when it's all over, but it's well made and has some good moments. It's really the cast that helps to maintain viewer interest as it plays out with a rather deliberate pace.

Michael Parks and the lovely Jessica Harper play Ben and Ruth Watkins, a couple who move into a house in a small Louisiana town in 1942. It seems, however, that realtor Jake Rudd (Vic Morrow) hasn't been forthcoming with them about some details. The house has a violent history: all people who previously tried to move into the house came to bad ends. And before long Ruth begins to be menaced by a glowering redneck who shows up, usually at night, with a big sharp knife.

Pierce gives this movie some semblance of style, especially the flashbacks - set in 1928, 1934, and 1939 - which are shot in a sepia tone. The scare scenes that occur really aren't that scary, but Harper is just so watchable that she makes up for any lack of suspense. She and Parks make for a very likable couple, and they're well supported by Morrow and the great Sue Ane Langdon as cheery neighbour Olie Gibson. Familiar character actors Dennis Fimple and Bill Thurman can be seen in small roles.

As in "The Town That Dreaded Sundown", the period recreation is nicely done, and the score by Jaime Mendoza-Nava adds a lot to the atmosphere.

Ultimately, there's really nothing here that's surprising, but "The Evictors" is still passably engrossing, and it does offer up a fairly interesting ending.

One of the final few films for the legendary American International Pictures.

Seven out of 10.