Tower of Evil (1972)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Jim O'Connolly

Writers:

George Baxt (novel)
Jim O'Connolly (writer)

Release Date:

1 May 1974 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

They came, they saw, they died!

Plot:

Some experienced and accustomed archeologists are searching for an old and mystic Phoenician treasure...

Plot Keywords:

Treasure | Good Versus Evil | Expedition | Impalement | Cave

Cast

Bryant Haliday	...	Evan Brent
Jill Haworth	...	Rose Mason
Anna Palk	...	Nora Winthrop
William Lucas	...	Superintendent Hawk
Anthony Valentine	...	Dr. Simpson
Jack Watson	...	Hamp Gurney
Mark Edwards	...	Adam Masters
Derek Fowlds	...	Dan Winthrop
John Hamill	...	Gary
Gary Hamilton	...	Brom
Candace Glendenning	...	Penelope 'Penny' Read
Dennis Price	...	Laurence Bakewell
George Coulouris	...	John Gurney
Robin Askwith	...	Des
Seretta Wilson	...	Mae Harvey
Fredric Abbott	...	Saul Gurney
Mark McBride	...	Michael Gurney
Marianne Stone	...	Nurse

Directed by
Jim O'Connolly

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
George Baxt		novel
Jim O'Connolly		writer

Produced by
Richard Gordon	....	producer
John Pellatt	....	associate producer
Joe Solomon	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kenneth V. Jones

Cinematography by
Desmond Dickinson

Film Editing by
Henry Richardson

Casting by
Rose Tobias Shaw		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Disley Jones

Makeup Department
Gordon Bond	....	hairdresser
Jimmy Evans	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ted Lloyd	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Price	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Ken Ritchie	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Norman Jones	....	camera operator
Harry Gillard	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Other crew
Kay Rawlings	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Grenadier Films

Distributors

• Anglo-EMI Film Distributors (1972) (UK) (theatrical)
• MGM-EMI (1972) (UK) (theatrical)
• Fanfare Films (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Independent International Pictures (I-I) (1980) (USA) (theatrical) (as "Beyond the Fog")
• Astral Films (Canada)
• DD Home Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Elite Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (USA) (TV)
• Sovereign Multi-Media (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Video Instant Picture Company (VIPCO) (1993) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Rank Film Laboratories  processed by
• Shepperton Studios  made at

Also Known As:

Beyond the Fog (USA) (reissue title)
Horror of Snape Island (Canada: English title)
Horror on Snape Island

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (video rating) (1982) | Italy:VM14 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Finland:(Banned) (1972) | UK:18 (video rating) (1993) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | Australia:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Grenadier Films

Trivia:

Star Jill Haworth was reluctant to appear in the film. In an interview with the actress she stated, "I remember in Horror of Snape Island (Tower of Evil) my character stumbles upon five dead bodies and I had to say with a straight face, 'Oh the police aren't going to like this' and the crew just kept laughing every time I said it."

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Tower of Evil (#1.53)" (2008)

In the middle between 60s Hammer and 80s splatter

One of the better low budget horror movies I've watched recently. Although the German alternative title "Turm der lebenden Leichen" ("Tower of the Living Dead") promises zombies, there is no-one returning from the dead here. Well, maybe that's better anyway ;-)

The film tells the story of a bunch of hippies (remember, this was made in the early 70s) who spend a night on a lonely island. All of them are killed except for one girl. Logical thinking leads the police to conclude she must be the murderer then, and they lock her up at the lunatic asylum. Relatives and local fishermen, however, believe there must be someone else - or something else - lurking on the island. They are courageous or stupid enough to start exploring the dark caves in the rocks... The whole set looks really cheap, but apart from that I liked the movie. It is exactly in the middle between old-fashioned 60s Hammer horror and 80s splatter movies, which means there are still traces of gothic atmosphere like the lighthouse in the fog, but already a few effective, vicious shock effects, too.