FEAR NO EVIL (1981)
Article 4568 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-28-2014
Directed by Frank LaLoggia
Featuring Stefan Arngrim, Elizabeth Hoffman, Kathleen Rowe
Country: USA
What it is: Tale of the Anti-Christ

A teenage boy comes to the understanding that he is the human incarnation of Lucifer. In the meantime, three archangels in their human incarnations seek to stop him.

With a 3.8 rating on IMDB, one thing is clear; a lot of people don’t like this movie. However, it appears that the movie does have some staunch supporters. Having seen it, I can understand both reactions. Despite a premise that recalls THE OMEN, it feels like some bizarre transmutation between CARRIE, VAMPYR, teen angst dramas, and vampire and zombie movies. I will admit that it has its own sense of style, and that in its way, it is a very daring and ambitious movie. However, the style is as off-putting as it is unique, the story often feels randomly programmed, and several of the performances (especially from the teenage leads) are twitchy and eccentric; they project angst without leaving us with a real sense as to where the angst arises from. The zombie scenes seem unnecessary, but given the fact that they were forced upon the director (as per the trivia section on IMDB), that’s no surprise. Does it work? I’m not sure. There’s some interesting scenes, some awful scenes, and a fair amount of head-scratching events. However, I do sense that there’s something there. It may take another viewing to find out what it is.