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 | Satanism | Heart In Hand

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) (alternative title)

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:

One of the prosthetic heads was accidentally made too tough for the decapitation scene it was intended for, and when Clint Howard struck it with the sword to his embarrassment it merely bounced off. Frustrated, he found a large sledge hammer then took some time to practice swinging it around until the added weight made wielding the sword seem easy by comparison, and when the scene was shot again he finally took the head off.

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.

A Terrible Screenplay Associated to Despicable Characters and Bad Acting

The clumsy military cadet Stanley Coopersmith (Clint Howard) is orphan and completely outcast in the West Andover Academy. He is frequently abused and humiliated by four despicable mates, and has a bad treatment from his teachers, the coach, the colonel and even from the local reverend. When Coopersmith finds a book of black mass that belonged to the evil medieval Father Esteban, he uses a computer to conjure Satan and revenge his harassers.

The first point that calls the attention in "Evilspeak" is the terrible and messy screenplay, with a Spanish priest from the Middle Ages banished from the church in the beginning of the story, and an American Academy located where this priest used to celebrate his black masses. The second negative point to highlight is the despicable characters: with the exception of the cooker Jake and the black friend of Coopersmith, every character is nasty. Sarge, Reverend Jameson, the Coach, Colonel Kincaid, Miss Friedemeyer and of course the annoying quartet, they are "prepared" to die in the blood shed in the end of the story. Last but not the least, and as mentioned in the title of another review, the lead role for Clint Howard defines the quality and level of this forgettable flick. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Mensageiro de Satanás" ("Messenger of Satan")