Evil Town

This movie is for B horror movie lovers only. The idea of the film is really good, though the execution is awful. The acting is terrible, though you might recognise a few actors. Dean Jagger, who plays the evil doctor looks the spitting image of Arthur C Clarke, which in itself is creepy. Surprised this hasn't been remade, in the right hands it could be good.

Somewhere in the mid-90s, when I was actually too young for it, I read a terrifying book entitled "Darkness" by John Saul. The plot, if I remember correctly, was about a community of elderly people that structurally extracted a serum from the younger inhabitants and passers-by to maintain their own youthfulness. Back then already, I thought about how cool it must be if there existed a horror film version of this book.

Of course, the idea has been used in horror films already, and apparently even long before "Darkness" got published in 1991. Today I found out that "Evil Town" also features a very reminiscent plot, but despite the enormous potential, it's one of the worst and most boring horror movies of the 80s (and that's saying something).

"Evil Town" can only be described as hectic, unstructured, and hopelessly inept. What do you expect from a film that has three different directors and four different scriptwriters? What started out in the early 70s as a good idea by a promising young director (Curtis "L. A. Confidential" Hanson) quickly ended up in production hell and oblivion, until it was picked up again during the 80s and expanded with gratuitous nudity and dull sub plots. The nudity, primarily provided by voluptuous Lynda Wiesmeier, still stands as the highlight of the film; - even though shot quite distastefully. The essence of the story, namely the mad doctor and his rejuvenating serum, is totally ruined by the lack of tension, the absence of half-decent special effects, and by the actor (Dean Jagger) who can't even pronounce simple medical terms correctly.

My review was written in November 1987 after watching the film on Trans World Entertainment video cassette.

"Evil Town" is a perfunctory horror thriller, which began production in 1984 and is notable mainly for the oddity of four directors credited with shooting it. Pic is a direct-to-home-video title.

Vet talent includes Dean Jagger as a mild scientist doing aging research involving the pituitary gland, which requires human organ donors. Various inhabitants of the remote village Smalltown (population: 666) help out by capturing unwary tourists and travelers, knocking them out and delivering them to Jagger's clinic.

James Keach is a young doctor out camping with his girlfriend and another couple, whom Jagger tries to shanghai to become his research assistant. Ultimately, Keach and his girl escape, Jagger is killed and the clinic patients riot. Film seems unfinished, with unsatisfactory stock footage in place of an ending.

Standard slasher horror film action to dispatch a series of young campers is highlighted by very lengthy topless scenes by former Playboy model Lynda Wiesmeier, obviously constituting the pic's potential draw in pay-cable showings. Tech credits are weak and fans of Jagger or other vets like Regis Toomey and Dabbs Greer will be disappointed by their work here.

From what I understand this film was actually started in 1984 and completed in 1987. However, it used segments of other films which were produced earlier such as "God Bless Dr. Shagetz" and I suppose this is the reason "Evil Town" carries a production date of 1977. Regardless, this movie is essentially about a scientist named "Dr. Schaeffer" (Dean Jagger) who has invented a serum extracted from the pituitary gland which can extend a person's life. This is great news for the elderly residents of the small town who benefit from Dr. Schaeffer's research. Unfortunately, it is terrible news for any unlucky travelers who have the misfortune to stop there for gas as they are subsequently abducted and used as donors. This results in their becoming mindless creatures who are incapable of supporting themselves. That's not to say that they are necessarily "zombies" but rather poor souls who are reduced to a semi-vegetative state. As such, I don't consider this to be a "zombie movie" by any current standard. In any case, although the movie certainly had potential, there really wasn't any great horror or suspense which might have made this movie stand out and as a result I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

At least that's how I was hoping this movie would end. I managed to NOT absolutely hate this movie, although the rental synopsis was misleading. The only reason I tried "Evil Town" was my weakness for zombie movies, and this movie promised to be about a doctor who creates an army of the living dead. Not quite.

I regard "Evil Town" as an ultra-cheap "Pulp Fiction" of B-grade horror movies. It basically has three plots, all involving the same group of people in a sleepy town. (If anything, watch this one to see the sign in the opening minute of the movie - Smalltown, Pop. 666, Elev. 13) One plot involves two perverts who get a kick out of kidnapping girls who are passing through. Another is about an escaped patient from the local hospital. And the third and major plot is about the aforementioned doctor performing experiments at the same hospital, creating an army of the brain-dead who don't end up doing anything anyway.

So the acting is terrible. So the gore is non-existent. So the directing is flat and talentless. (The movie had 3 - count 'em, three - directors!) So the entire thing could be made by a group of friends and their immediate families. Hey, I know I've never seen a movie involving a town of rampaging senior citizens! If you want to see a movie where the only thing that sets the hero apart from all the other characters is his willingness to beat up old people, I say give "Evil Town" a quick view.