Evil Spirits

EVIL SPIRITS is a fun, schlocky, madhouse of a movie starring the incredible Karen Black as Ella Purdy. Ella runs a boardinghouse in much the same way as Norman ran the Bates motel. Her tenents just can't seem to stay alive for long, leaving Ella with the chore of burying them and cashing their Social Security checks.

This movie is filled to bursting with oddball characters including a nonverbal girl who dances continually, a drunk, a medium, and Michael Berryman as a writer / peeping Tom. There are murders aplenty, as well as cannibalism, a seance, and the disembodied voice of Ella's late husband.

Watch for Arte Johnson as a Social Security operative, Yvette Vickers as a nosey neighbor, Robert Quarry as a doctor, and Hoke Howell as the mailman!

This is Cinema...

Batty widower Ella (Karen Black!) rents out the rooms in her giant house to various boarders in order to make ends meet. When one of his clients goes missing from the residence, a snoopy social services agent discovers her boarders have an abnormally high "turnover" rate. YES! "Evil Spirits' is tailor made for fans of Karen Black's zany side. While this film is really just a vehicle for her weirdness (at one point she's talking with her parrot, making the strangest noises I've ever heard come out of her mouth, all while crossing her eyes and smiling at it like it's lunch), it's actually a pretty good ride. Unlike later films where her charm is the only redeeming quality, such as "Auntie Lee's Meat Pies," "Evil Spirits" is an all-around hoot. Ella is such a kooky character. Several scenes just feature her laughing maniacally for extended periods of time. This is priceless, prime Karen Black! Even though her husband is dead, Ella still talks to him on a regular basis (the Danny Devito-ish voice that retorts back with silly comment is one of the movie's more grating downsides.) While many of the boarders are older and/or ready to kick the bucket (hmm!), she does have a few eccentric younger folks staying with her. A young lady named Tina is like a throwback to Vulnavia from "Dr. Phibes," gracefully dancing (or, um, flailing) about the other characters at random times, except instead of ornate outfits and headpieces she has a leotard and 80s hair. There's also a spastic and pretentious author (Michael Berryman refreshingly playing against type) who spends much of his time staring through peepholes at Tina undressing as she dances. And don't forget "Neighbor," a bitchy middle-aged lady who doesn't appreciate that the yard next door smells like doody! It's a witty performance by drive-in starlet Yvette Vickers*. So, okay, okay, "Evil Spirits" is not incredibly original and it's completely predictable. It's a bit of a throwback to films like "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?" and even Black's film from two decades earlier, "Burnt Offerings." However, it's tongue is planted so firmly in it's cheek that it bursts right through. Black and company go full throttle with the whackiness, and it's a wonderful time.

*not to be confused with Aussie icon Jacque Vickers.

Boardinghouse owner Mrs. Purdy (Karen Black) likes to off her elderly tenants but keep their Social Security checks coming. Her deadly scam risks exposure when investigator Lester Potts (Arte Johnson) starts sticking his nose around. This is really lousy stuff and moves at a snails pace. There are a few slightly gory murders and one big nude scene but you'll be heading for the film enhancement button (FF) with the "loony" stuff of Purdy always hears her dead husband's voice crack wise whenever anyone says or does something. There is a surprisingly game cast including Martine Beswick, Virginia Mayo, Bert Remsen, Yvette Vickers, Robert Quarry, Anthony Eisley, and Michael Berryman (whose face with a gouged out eyeball adorns the VHS cover). Sadly, none of them are given anything interesting to do outside of of Berryman being a peeping tom.

"So-so" sums it up...simply marginal on every level, with ensemble "anything for a paycheck" cast the only redeeming quality. Karen Black is her usual hammy self as the psychotic landlady of a rooming house for various misfit characters. They mysteriously disappear at random, while smiling Ms. Black continues collecting on their monthly government checks. She converses with an unearthly male voice from time-to-time...a spirit from beyond the grave, or just a madwoman's rambling dementia?

Not many great thrills to be had in this, but not bad enough to be harshly criticized, either...EVIL SPIRITS is a take-it-or-leave-it crap shoot- some may find this one entertaining(and gore mongers should find it acceptably gross), but I personally was left underwhelmed and rather put off by it's occasionally over-the-top comical silliness.

Hmmm.... 4.5/10, coulda been worse.

It can never be a good sign when you have a cast literally chock-full of fantastic and beloved B-movie actors/actresses, and yet the film itself is completely unknown.

Oh well, "Evil Spirits" perhaps isn't the schlocky & purely fun horror flick that it should have been, but it's worth seeing if only for the names in the cast and the wondrously absurd characters they are depicting. Karen Black, one of the most astounding horror-wenches in history, shines as utterly deranged landlady Ella Purdy who butchers the residents of her LA boardinghouse, but keeps collecting their social security cheques. That's not such an unusual plot for a cheap horror flick, but the film is memorably because every single resident in the house is utterly insane. Mrs. Purdy herself, of course, because she kills and still has conversations with her sarcastic dead husband George. Also her tenants are quite bonkers, including a peeping tom novelist (Michael Berryman), a self-declared spiritual medium (Martine Beswick), a mute girl addicted to dancing (Debra Lamb), and an alcoholic who somehow resurrects after every murder attempt. Oh right, there's also a sort of cannibalistic ghoul chained in the basement.

"Evil Spirits" is primarily silly and tongue-in-cheek; - not too gory and definitely not scary or suspenseful. There are a couple of lovely highlights (Lamb's strip-dance, a few eye-stabbings, dead George's sardonic remarks, ...) but the film is overall too slow-paced, occasionally dull, and unsurprising. More veteran horror icons show up in tiny supportive roles, like Robert Quarry, Bert Remsen, and Yvette Vickers.