A Taste of Evil

As this movie does not appear to have been released to video, you may not find it anywhere. If you do PLEASE contact me! There were some classic jump up and scare-you-silly scenes as only Barbara Stanwyck could do. I remember sitting in front of my T.V. and jumping backwards across the room! If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this movie, I'd be truly grateful. Thanks Terri (e-mail address) longer1@home.com

I just found a copy of this classic 1970's chiller on ebay. To my surprise, it is just as effective watching today as I remember seeing it as a child. There are many genuine thrills and chills as Barbara Parkins plays a young woman returning to the creepy mansion where she was traumatized as a child. Barbara Stanwyck plays her mother. Both actresses, fresh off their respective 1960's TV series' "Peyton Place" and "The Big Valley," give excellent performances. Parkins was an underrated actress and is truly memorable in her role of the terrorized girl. She is also very beautiful. Stanwyck is dignified and elegant and this film is a reminder of the great talent that was hers. This movie is a forgotten gem. It would be great to see it released on DVD someday.

Not a bad little late night chiller-mystery to keep me interesting throughout the entire film. Atmospheric, thrilling and with a couple of plot twists.

It's always nice to see Barbara Stanwyck grace the screen and she's good as usual. Roddy McDowell is a delight! I love these old made for TV films.

6.5/10

I was finally lucky enough to find an excellent copy of this film. I fell asleep watching this movie late one night and woke up assuming I would one day get the opportunity to see it again. Sure,they will show it again,it was a great movie. Eleven years later I found it. Very few people seem to know about this film,it is indeed one of the hardest to find. It was produced by Aaron Spelling,back when he was young and still had some good ideas. Barbra Stanwyck and Roddy McDowell star in this chilling sleeper about a woman who return home to a country estate after spending years in a mental institution after being abducted there as a child. Some truly scary scenes with some great plot twists that always keep you guessing. Atmospheric and very strong for television in those days,maybe thats why it has been forgotten but that's exactly why it should have a strong cult following but as you can see by the reviews(or lack thereof)it seems pretty lost. I'm pretty picky when it comes to movies and I would highly recommend it to any horror/suspense/mystery buff. Two scenes that stuck with me all those years were the shadowy figure entering the child's playhouse and the main character looking out a second story window and seeing someone standing on the lawn watching her on a dark and windy night. That's what it's all about! They were still as I remembered them all those years ago. Alot like a Kubrick image,these never left. GET A COPY IF YOU CAN!

A Taste of Evil is a 1970's Made-For-TV film that had some very serious and dark themes for a movie at that time. It's plot revolves around the rape of a young child, and the discovery of who her assailant really was.

After being assaulted by someone she couldn't identify, Susan spent years in an institution trying to revere the trauma. We meet an adult version of her who is returning home for the first time since the attack many years prior. Her mother Miriam (played by Barbara Stanwyck) has since married a family friend that Susan used to call an uncle after the passing of Susan's father.

As soon as she settles in at home, she begins to think she is being stalked by someone she can't see. First she is chased by a man in the woods, and then she believes hears someone breathing in the darkness and the shadows in her large family house. The question is has the rapist come back to silence Susan or is she simply imagining someone coming after her. All is revealed in an explosive second half to the story.

A Taste of Evil is a VERY spooky and well done made for TV film from ABC. Terrific acting from legend Barbara Stanwyck and Barbara Parkins. She plays the trauma riddled Susan extremely well. We get all the beats of Susan's trauma of the rape and coming home. We also get the creepy mystery of who the assailant was years ago. There are some twists and turns throughout the film, and some eerie stalking scenes when the attacker comes for Susan. Overall, a great little horror gem from the 70's that deserves a proper DVD release.

7/10