Fear No Evil (1981)

User Rating:

2.9/10   

Director:

Frank LaLoggia

Writer:

Frank LaLoggia (writer)

Release Date:

January 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Meet Andrew. The Road to Hell is paved with his victims

Plot:

High school student turns out to be personification of Lucifer. Two arch angels in human form (as women) take him on. |

Plot Keywords:

Student | Angel | High School | Lucifer | Passion Play

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Stefan Arngrim	...	Andrew Williams
Elizabeth Hoffman	...	Mikhail / Margaret Buchanan
Kathleen Rowe McAllen	...	Gabrielle / Hulie
Frank Birney	...	Father Daly
Daniel Eden	...	Tony
John Holland	...	Rafael / Father Damon (as Jack Holland)
Barry Cooper	...	Mr. Williams
Alice Sachs	...	Mrs. Williams
Paul Haber	...	Mark
Roslyn Gugino	...	Marie
Richard Jay Silverthorn	...	Lucifer
Marianne Simpson	...	Brenda (as Mari Anne Simpson)
Joyce Bumpus	...	Susan
Patricia Decillis	...	Betty
Chris DeVincentis	...	Richard

Also Known As:

Lucifer (Philippines: English title)
Mark of the Beast

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Australia:R | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Boldt Castle, Alexandria Bay, New York, USA

Company:

LaLoggia Productions

Trivia:

The school used for the high school in the film was the junior high school that director Frank LaLoggia attended as a child. Many of the extras were actual local students.

Soundtrack:

Love Goes to a Building on Fire

Ambitious first movie that's very murky

FEAR NO EVIL was the first movie directed by Frank LaLoggia, who was in his early 20s when he made it. This alone should be reason enough to overlook the film's many faults, certainly when you consider that the story is ambitious, to say the least. And because of this, I actually give props to the film because it's not the all-out disaster everyone says it is. For a first film, it's at times surprisingly good. But the story and direction are, nonetheless, extremely murky. Some scenes are dreadful, like the shot of the front of the house which shows the passage of time and we see the house getting more dilapidated by the second. When the scene ends, the house looks like a tornado hit it but when we see inside the house, everything looks fine. Huh?!?! Moments like these, plus the unknown cast, who at times look like they're acting in a high school theater production, don't help much to create a solid, focused production. The ending was good but you saw it coming a mile away.

I don't understand why this movie is so despised. It's probably due to the shower scene. Fan boys can't take moments like this, which are, oddly enough for a horror movie, too shocking for them. Oh the irony!

In the end, FEAR NO EVIL is an adequate first movie made in the early 1980s. Like I already said above, it's not the worst horror movie ever made like so many have claimed it to be (see PLEDGE NIGHT!). But the director's ambitions exceeded his inexperience and the film's low budget.