Forever Evil

My dear Aunt Lucille, may she rest in peace, always told me that if I don't have something nice to say, then I'd best say nothing at all. With those wise words in mind, I will retain a humble silence while you enter your neighborhood movie rental store and approach the counter with this pissant excuse for a supernatural horror film.

That's right. I'm not going to say a single word while you shake your head in disbelief as a girl gets dragged into the night by A SINGLE FLIMSY STICK. Nope. I'll hold my tongue throughout the scenes of a rubber-mask-zombie wreaking very minor havoc upon characters you wish would die in pain and fear.

I'll politely refrain from commenting on how the folks who made this seem to have read someplace that THE EVIL DEAD was a virtual no-budget project, and, being aware of the considerable buzz which that film generated, decided to utilize a 3-day weekend to concoct this pallid "homage". And when the "surprise ending" comes around, don't expect my opinion to be forthcoming...I'll just sit quietly and listen as you hurl expletives at the video box.

2.5/10. But I'm not saying a damn thing.

Grand cheese fest from the late 1980s, FOREVER EVIL draws on Lovecraft and EVIL DEAD to tell the story of two survivors of separate mass killings who go on a hunt for the demonic killer. Shot in Texas with a community theater-type cast, it is perfect for late night TV viewing. The special effects are sparse, and the villain (although ultimately just a henchman and not the master killer) is a rotting zombie right out of Return of the Living Dead. Clumsily executed, badly written and atrociously acted, it may not be up there with such grand 80s fare as Night of the Demons, but it should appeal to cheese lovers and insomniacs everywhere. A huge stretch of the film goes by with little or nothing happening, so beware. And where there might have been a decent bedroom scene near the finish is sadly cut short.

This movie has bad everything. Bad acting(by actors I have never seen before),laughable special effects,awful writing.The only thing good I can say is that it was consistent.Bad! So why did I get into the story so much? Why do I keep renting it? Go figure...

Freeman Williams and cast were all part of the Texas Renaissance Festival many years ago (I was a wench), and Freeman told me late one night after too much mead about his desire to film this movie - a remake, no less, of another really cheesy horror film - and... oh, boy!

I loved it! But then... I know the inside jokes... and I just about wet my pants laughing each time another schlock death occurred...

This is a popcorn film, folks, don't take it seriously, take it for what it was written for - Freeman wanted it to appear on USA latenight with - gad, what was her name, the vampy looking woman with the wild black wig? Elvira? And that's really where it belonged! This was great!

After his friends are massacred by an evil being that is attempting to bring about the return of 'Old God' Yog-Kothag, Marc (Red Mitchell) joins forces with fellow survivor Reggie (Tracey Huffman) to try and prevent the end of the world as we know it.

The Evil Dead gets mentioned a lot in the same breath as Forever Evil and it's easy to see why: not only do both films have the word 'Evil' in their titles, but both feature a group of friends gathering at a remote cabin for the weekend where they are killed by an ancient demonic force. One of the girls even gets attacked by a tree! Other similarities include ancient Sumerians, a sacrificial dagger and the Necronomicon, while the hero keeps a sentimental reminder of his dead girlfriend that comes in handy when faced with dark powers (Ash uses Linda's necklace and Mark keeps a Zippo lighter, a gift from girlfriend Holly).

Sam Raimi's '82 cult classic succeeded by keeping the plot simple, the gore excessive and the action pacy; Forever Evil's director, Roger Evans, also gives splatter fans some enjoyable gore but tries to make his story more expansive; in doing so his film becomes far too bloated, suffering from irrelevant subplots and a little too much exposition (Mark's in-depth demonstration of his emergency grappling hook and all that stuff about pulsating quasars). The final film clocks in at a whopping 107 minutes, which is at least thirty minutes past acceptable for this kind of thing.

Still, fans of H.P.Lovecraft should enjoy all of the stuff about the Old Ones and Yog-Kothag, while fans of low-budget '80s horror will get a kick out of the practical effects: the discovery of a mutilated woman in the shower (the earlier shower scene providing viewers with some T&A), a dream sequence that sees the ghost of the shower victim ripping a demonic baby from her womb, and a manky zombie that just won't die, even after being doused in gasoline and set on fire.

5.5/10, generously rounded up to 6 for IMDb.