Eternal evil

Eternal Evil (1985) is a Canadian horror 🇨🇦 film currently available on Tubi. The story follows a Canadian film director who learns a method to leave his body, only to discover he can't control it. When people around him begin dying, he's left struggling to stop the chaos.

Directed by George Mihalka (My Bloody Valentine), the film stars Karen Black (Five Easy Pieces), Winston Rekert (The Art of War II), John Novak (Legends of the Fall), and Vlasta Vrana (Upside Down).

This film is worth watching primarily for Karen Black, as the rest feels underwhelming. The storyline comes across as lazy and poorly executed, with dated horror effects. While the dream sequences offer a few decent jump scares, the kill scenes are weak, relying heavily on cutaways. The movie carries some giallo-inspired elements, but they don't fully land. However, the twist at the end is a fun highlight.

In conclusion, Eternal Evil is an average horror film best appreciated for Karen Black's performance. I'd rate it a 5/10.

A Canadian production brought to us by the man who previously gave us the '80s slasher favorite "My Bloody Valentine". As a director, George Mihalka is an interesting fellow, especially when you take a look at his choice of projects during the '80s. He really caught my interest some years ago after having seen his offbeat & eerie hostage thriller/drama "Hostile Takeover" aka "Office Party" (1988). "Eternal Evil" - which may not be the best of aka-titles possible to slap on this production, although "The Blue Man" just sounds too silly - is yet again an interested effort not at all lacking a sense of originality. It deals with a burned-out TV-director who, after having met the mysterious dancer Janus (Karen Black), learns to control the powers of astral projection. 'To control' might be a bit overstating things, as events turn for the worse and people from his circle of acquaintances start dying unnatural deaths. A detective starts puzzling the pieces together. Granted, the film has a hard time to keep the viewer excited, as the pace is a little slow and it's not exactly a spectacular thrill ride. But the story does try to provide a bit of mystery, and that's basically what keeps the viewer going. The film's decently made and Mihalka has some impressive camera-tricks up his sleeve (especially during the astral projection sequences). And the story does have some original elements and a satisfying conclusion (don't expect a terrifying climax, though). So it receives a whole extra point for that. If you want to see another horror film revolving around the concept of astral projection, you might want to check out Brian Trenchard-Smith's "Out Of The Body" (1989). It's also half-way decent.

This is a good plot concept, so why-o-why is it such a poor film. The acting is terrible and every shock is signposted so far in advance that it is almost laughable by the time it reaches you. Spend your time and money elsewhere, this is not worth watching.

A television commercial director is loosing his 'artistic juice' as he calls it. He's also discontent with his wife and complains of her cooking, and with his son who seems to have insomnia. Seems a good prospect for giving his life over to Astral Projection! The main character's been experimenting as of late with astral projection and is finding the time he spends developing this new hobby of his is starting to be much more fulfilling than his actual creative life and career.

Within the first few minutes of the film we see the first of one of his projections. We fly around with him from his perspective and view people and places. There is a sense of foreboding to these travels we witness as we begin to think that he may be able to transcend the physical as he follows people who run, terrified, from something unseen but they can sense.

And then there are some slight horrific moments. Where some of the people in his projections are harmed, well, let's just say there is a subplot of sorts where an investigator is trying to find the reason behind many killings of late where the victims implode or die without any evidence of assailants. When he awakes...he wonders if he was dreaming instead. Or perhaps the projection is not his? As I'm watching the film, though, I am trying to figure out just what I'm supposed to be thinking about. Some films are for simple enjoyment, some have something to say, but this one is just kinda...bland. Ah, then I look and notice it was a made for TV movie, which explains a lot. As the film winds down I still don't know anything more about the subject of astral projection apart from Professor Xavier doing it in comic books and everyone can see a ghost-like form of him, or it being something usually associated as 'hippie' or new age and something about meditating and traveling and all that. Here there is something about taking over another's body in a sort of spiritual vampirism. Is THAT what projection is? Not sure, I don't think it is, but they're trying to sell this as a horror movie and there really is not much horror related in it...more thriller or psychological mystery.

The music is a bit distracting and seems out of place in mood quite a lot. I guess the pan flute and tabla is of course what comes to mind with new age things such as astral projection, huh? It's a little pandering. The acting isn't bad, it's just a bit soap opera quality in it's delivery. Karen Black is here and she always seems to get into her roles, as the spiritual guide who's teaching our main character the art of projection. Yet, in her teachings, nothing is conveyed to us the viewer to have any idea of what exactly it is except closing ones eyes and floating around POV style. The rest of the cast are not as recognizable, except for seeing Lois Maxwell, James Bond's "Ms. Moneypenny" ('62-'85) for a minute.

The title on the DVD I got, which came in a huge 50 pack collection of similar grade films from Mill Creek Entertainment, is "Eternal Evil," but that's the Australian title, for some reason. In Canada, where the film was made, it is aptly titled, "The Blue Man." Ah, yes, you see when the main character is floating around...he IS somehow seen by others as a 'blue man.' We, the lucky viewers, don't get that wonderful opportunity. That would cost more for special effects. But, as the film ends, and with a slight twist in a few spots, you will see that "Eternal Evil" is a bit fitting.

I saw this little bootlegged DVD at the local mom and pop discount store for $1.99 and was attracted by the title. It was released under the title "Eternal Evil" and the distribution company that released this feature isn't even on the box, if that means anything (the back of the DVD only reads, "(c) 2005 Mircale Pictures a division of PMC Corp. De.") I read the synopsis and thought it would be rather interesting ... then i read the credits and find that this film was directed by none other than George Mihalka - - the director behind the cult fave & horror classic "My Bloody Valentine" (which is in my top five of all time, by the way). Well, the premise is great, but it doesn't quite deliver the way it should. There are loops in the plot and the story tends to d-r-a-g in places. Not to mention the forty minutes in the film where I was completely lost as to where the story was going. There are scenes that don't make sense and don't cohere with the story line, also. The final "twist" of the film was satisfying, if I can use the term loosely. I guessed it wrong though, even during the exact moment in the film where you can pretty much tell how it will end...lol. The opening sequence is very effective, and it's one of the few highlights of the film itself. I read somewhere that this was a made-for-TV movie, which would explain the lack of gore and the absence of any type of foul language for a film of this nature. Oh yes, the soundtrack wasn't all that great for the film, but there are one or two scenes where the music shifts in the direction that masters Goblin did with "Suspiria" back in '77 to get your attention. I was sorry that didn't last any longer than it did.

All in all, this isn't a bad film, but it's not as great as I was hoping from the director of a great classic like MBV.