Evilspeak (1981)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Eric Weston

Writers:

Joseph Garofalo (writer)
Eric Weston (writer)

Release Date:

26 February 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Data incomplete... Human blood required. Thus spake the computer.

Plot:

A military cadet who happens to be a social outcast taps into a way to summon demons and cast spells on his tormentors through his computer.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Satan | Revenge | Nude Woman Murdered | Gore

Cast

Clint Howard	...	Stanley Coopersmith
R.G. Armstrong	...	Sarge
Joseph Cortese	...	Reverend Jameson
Claude Earl Jones	...	Coach
Haywood Nelson	...	Kowalski
Don Stark	...	Bubba
Charles Tyner	...	Colonel Kincaid
Hamilton Camp	...	Hauptman
Louie Gravance	...	Jo Jo
Jim Greenleaf	...	Ox
Lynn Hancock	...	Miss Friedemeyer
Loren Lester	...	Charlie Boy
Kathy McCullen	...	Kelly
Lenny Montana	...	Jake
Leonard D'John	...	Tony

Also Known As:

Evilspeaks (USA)

Runtime:

89 min | Canada:97 min (video version) | Germany:92 min | UK:100 min | Argentina:98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | West Germany:18 (cut) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Australia:R | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Leisure Investments

Trivia:

The title "Evilspeak" was derived from the phrase "computer-speak", a term used to describe the shorthand used by computer specialists for the otherwise complex. In the film the protagonist uses computers to summon evil spirits.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious dummies in a number of gore scenes, the dummies' bodies and body parts are often different colors and sizes than the actors' real bodies. Most obvious is the dummy used in the opening decapitation scene. The actress's breasts change size and her nipple and skin color changes before she is beheaded.

Demonic pigs + Clint Howard + Richard Moll + computers that summon Satan worshipers = WEIRD!

Early 1980's B-horror outing is a standard "Loser Strikes Back" story of military school nerd Stanley Coopersmith (the inimitable Clint Howard) who, after suffering eternal mistreatment by almost everybody at the school, discovers the treasure trove of Satanic artifacts in the dungeon-like basement of the chapel. He sets up a computer down there and attempts to get some Satanic powers of his own.

While inevitably dated due to the limited technology of the time and also limited by the size of its budget, this picture is not what I would call "good", but it is entertaining. It's cheesy, silly, and disgusting, and also funny - if not always in an intentional way. Howard does reasonably well in his debut starring role, earning just enough sympathy for me to want to root for him, and the villains despicable enough for me to yearn for their demise.

The movie does admittedly move at a deliberate pace, setting up just about every possible event to ensure that a viewer may care about Coopersmith and cheer when it reaches its inevitable conclusion. The major set piece - the mass murder in the chapel - is saved for the climax, about fifteen minutes from the end, but I think that gore hounds will most likely be glad that they waited. Be prepared for lots of fire, screams, and bloodshed.

It might be better if the film didn't go so far in showing us just how much the young cretins at the school deserve to die: by having them get drunk one night and ritually sacrifice a helpless puppy in the most disgusting manner possible. (At the very least, this isn't shown on camera. I gotta admit, though, it *does* get me worked up.)

Plenty of familiar actors can be seen supporting Howard, with the younger generation including Haywood Nelson ('What's Happening') and Don Stark ('That 70's Show') and reliable working veterans like R.G. Armstrong, Joseph Cortese, Claude Earl Jones, Charles Tyner, Hamilton Camp, and Lenny Montana. The aforementioned Richard Moll, the towering, bald-pated bailiff of the 1980's-1990's sitcom 'Night Court', plays the demonic Father Esteban, just one of a couple of villainous roles that he played in the early 1980's before finding his true fame on TV.

For all its limitations, the films' sets actually do look pretty good, and I have to say that I liked the music score as well.

All in all, "Evilspeak" is for me decent hardcore horror; the silliness of the whole affair makes it one of those films that works in spite of itself. I find it worth revisiting on occasion, so its availability on DVD is most welcome. Dumb, graphic, no-holds-barred cult horror doesn't get much better (or should I say worse?) than this.

6/10