Fiend

"Fiend" is definitely one of the better examples of low budget "z-grade" horror. When I put this on, I expected it to be one of those "so bad it's hilarious" horror films, and even though the first scenes initially had me in fits of laughter, it's not one of these films.

Once you've seen 5 minutes of the atrocious acting, jumpy editing, bad frame composition, laughable special effects and poor lighting and colour matching, its humour wears off. However, it actually creates a surreal and dreamy atmosphere reminiscent of the classic "Night Of The Living Dead" that will linger even when the film is finished.

The story revolves around a married man trying to prove that his neighbour, a "fiend" that is an evil spirit in the body of a corpse who must feed on the living to retain his youthful appearance, is responsible for the spree of murders that have been occurring in the neighbourhood.

"Fiend" will brilliantly draw you into that neighbourhood yourself and make you suspend your disbelief and the unnatural dialogue and amateur acting soon appears normal as you become a part of the surreal world the film creates.

The surreal atmosphere, predictable yet intriguing story, and climatic ending make "Fiend" a forgotten gem that I'd recommend to all fans of low budget horror.

Is this movie really as bad as the former comments made it out to be? Personally I don't think so. Sure, the acting is (sometimes painfully) bad, the special fx are laughable and the lightning sucks (some parts are so dark you can hardly follow what's happening) but who rents forgotten curiosities like this for it's production values? And does a minimal budget, inexperienced crew and a very 'functional' script necessarily result in cheezy, grade Z 'good for laughs'-kind of movie? I strongly disagree. Somehow the B movie seems to have got mixed up with the grade Z-movie...

Anyway, to the film: the plot is about a devilish fiend (some kind of evil spirit in a human form) that has to kill people and steal their 'lifeforce', so thats it's stolen human body won't decompose. The fiend is a pathetic walrus-looking guy who spends his time giving violin-classes and listening to bad synthesizer music in his lonely apartment. The only people who get in the way of his killing spree is a nice, typical smalltown, middle class couple who of course starts playing detectives. The couple works great, and gives the films greatest performances. The actors are no professionals, but they act and look so normal it gives the film a genuine feel, and even moments of real warmth. The film has no fright or speed, so you'll have to have both patience and appreciation for the rare glimpses of creativity, dreams and simple humanity that sometimes surround B-movies like this one.

I somehow kind of ended up liking this little oddity, but don't take my recommendation too seriously - I often end up liking this kind of nice-spirited, slow horror-sleepers that nobody seems to remember. Also worth mentioning is that there is no gore or nudity, so gorehounds and fans of euro-horror cinema better stay far away.

I'll give it 5/10 for it's heart and humanity. Failure can be beautiful.

Everyone should see at least one (and preferably more) of Don Dohler's low budget indie movies. Fiend is consistent with the Dohler brand; put together on the cheap, stars a bunch of his friends and relatives, and is just good crazy horror movie fun. They're usually horror/sci-fi cross-breeds, and Dohler showcases his specialty, special effects, in the production.

This time, a ghost or spirit looking like a bright light enters a grave and reanimates a body. The walking dead man, frequent Dohler star Don Liefert, gives an adequately sinister touch to his blood thirsty character. He draws life essence from his victims, and has a voracious appetite to do this, since he has to replenish his energy frequently. Of course, this means there will be a high body count unless the fiend is stopped quickly. Only a neighbor of his suspects the guy, who is living amongst his victims in suburbia.

The tone is more sinister and bloody than other Dohler films; even a child is among the victims. The rampaging beast is merciless, and the violence somewhat masks the mediocre acting of the cast.

The low budget is visible at times throughout the movie, and the MST3K gang probably would have bludgeoned this film if they had ever shown it. Still, like all of Dohler's bargain basement horror flicks, it makes for a good thrill ride.

FIEND is awful. It's hilarious. It's about a dead guy who strangles people and takes their lifeforce away from them in order to replenish himself with blah, blah, blah. Who cares about plot? This cheese ball is good for only one thing. Ridiculing it. Dig the scene where the woman gives her friend a ride home and conveniently drops her off a mile away from her house. Another priceless piece of entertainment from Prism Pictures.

FIEND is an indisputably anorexic little presentation, but it does have a certain something...a hard-to-pin-down eerie quality that makes it click, if only in a small way. The elementary bubblegum story could easily have been lifted from a classic EC horror comic, and concerns a ghoul who kills people in order to claim their souls, sustenance which he requires to perpetuate his own abominable existence.

The special effects in this dime-store spook-show are expectedly primitive, most notably the cartoon neon-blue lightning zaps(a cheap effect which was tremendously overused in tight-budget 80s horror flicks). No worries, though...the murky atmosphere makes up for it.

As with most dirt-floor regional cinema, your average Joe Anyman is unlikely to have an especially positive experience with FIEND. Horror fans of a more lax and forgiving savoir-faire, on the other hand, should have some good fun with it.

5.5/10...Dohlericious!