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Movies => Bad Movies => Topic started by: The Burgomaster on January 08, 2006, 09:47:15 AM

Title: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: The Burgomaster on January 08, 2006, 09:47:15 AM
Here is a zombie movie from Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who also gave us AMERICAN GRAFFITI and HOWARD THE DUCK!  It is in the CHILLING CLASSICS 50 MOVIE SET.

The story is about a young woman who goes to visit her father who is an artist living in a house on the Pacific Coast.  She discovers that the town is overrun with flesh eating zombies.  

Overall, this movie is pretty slow and uninteresting.  It's an American film, but it has the look and feel of a 1970s European horror movie.  It does have 2 inspired scenes:

1.  Zombies in a supermarket eating raw meat out of the refrigerated display case.

2.  Zombies crashing through skylights and windows to attack people in a house.

It isn't a terrible movie, but I can't recommend it.  However, if you're a fan of zombie movies and you haven't seen it, you might want to give it a try.  Maybe you'll like it better than I did.
Title: Re: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: Herodotus on January 08, 2006, 09:41:57 PM
If only they had better pacing this might have been a good one! It has its moments like you said, and a good premise, but it just beats you down with its long slow sections and the artsy craftsy opening. "Listen people, its a zombie moive not  fricken Bergman film!" However, Joy Bang (what a name) was quite cute in a 70's sort of way.
    I ripped though the first 11 discs on that 50 movie set, but then I did like the British in A Bridge too Far and couldn't go the that last mile or in other words I haven't watched the last disc. I think the sheer badness of many of the films finally broke my will. Good luck with finishing it.
Title: Re: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: ToyMan on January 09, 2006, 01:42:14 PM
this movie has about a dozen different titles, too. if i'm not mistaken, it is sometimes billed as "night of the living dead".
Title: Re: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: Scott on January 09, 2006, 08:57:13 PM
MESSIAH OF EVIL is one of the worst and most boring B-movies around. The two scenes mentioned about were the only parts worth anything and even that isn't enough to help this film in my opinion. Nice sounding title. Bad movie. (in a boring way that is).

The other film on the disk I had was THE DEVILS NIGHTMARE and was a much much better film. Think it was a double Diamond Entertainment DVD.
Title: Re: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: ToyMan on January 10, 2006, 01:54:30 PM
personally, the only thing i liked about the movie was seeing royal dano, more famous for his work in ghoulies II, house II, killer klowns from outer space, and spaced invaders in the same film as elisha cooke, notable for appearing in the maltese falcon, the great gatsby, house on haunted hill, blacula, and salem's lot.
Title: Re: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: The Burgomaster on January 11, 2006, 11:48:03 AM
Scott:

I also have THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE on DVD.  I have the version that was released by Redemption (one of my favorite DVD companies for Euro horror movies of the 1970s).  I think it is one of the better movies of its kind.  The Redemption version includes lesbian scenes that were supposedly cut for the U.S. drive-in release years ago.  How did I get on THAT topic????
Title: Re: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: Scott on January 11, 2006, 11:54:48 AM
Yes, I happen to have both the Redemption DVD's and the Diamond Entertainment. If I remember correctly both have the scenes mentioned.
Title: Re: MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
Post by: The Burgomaster on January 11, 2006, 05:50:45 PM
The one thing I love about DVDs from Redemption is that they usually have scantily clad, punk-look vampire women on the covers to make you buy them.  However, none of these women are actually in the movie.  Packaging design at its finest!  A great lesson for any marketing student!