ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - February 26th
'EVILSPEAK" released in 1981
An outcast military cadet taps into a way to summon demons and cast spells on his tormentors through his computer, in Eric Weston's Evilspeak!
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During the Dark Ages, Satanic leader Father Estaban (Richard Moll) and his followers are approached by a church official on the shore of Spain, telling them that they are banished from Spain and denied God's grace unless they renounce Satan and their evil ways. In the present, Stanley Coopersmith (Clint Howard) is young cadet at an American military academy, where he is a social outcast who is bullied by his classmates due to him being an orphan, and treated unfairly by his instructors who believe him to be inept at everything. When he is punished for no clear reason by cleaning the church cellar, he finds a room belonging to Father Estaban which contains books of black magic along with Father Estaban's diary. He then uses his computer skills to translate the book from Latin into English, in which the translation describes Estaban as a Satanist and the book contains rituals for performing the Black Mass along with a promise by Estaban citing "I Will Return".
Over the next few days, Coopersmith sets up the computer and runs some inquiries into the requirements for a black mass. Searching through various bottles in the cellar left by Father Estaban, he attempts to initiate a mass but the computer informs him that he is still missing crucial ingredients, namely blood and a consecrated host. Coopersmith steals the host from a church, and, using the translation, he attempts the ritual and is suddenly attacked by his classmates wearing masks and robes. Waking up from the beating, Coopersmith, thinking he has successfully performed the ritual, is told by his computer that the ritual was incomplete and a pentagram appears on the computer screen. Believing he failed, Coopersmith endures further torment from his classmates, including the death of his puppy. In desperation, Coopersmith finally translates the remaining entries in the diary and releases Estaban's demonic spirit, unleashing a brutal and bloody vengeance on all his tormentors!
Over the next few days, Coopersmith sets up the computer and runs some inquiries into the requirements for a black mass. Searching through various bottles in the cellar left by Father Estaban, he attempts to initiate a mass but the computer informs him that he is still missing crucial ingredients, namely blood and a consecrated host. Coopersmith steals the host from a church, and, using the translation, he attempts the ritual and is suddenly attacked by his classmates wearing masks and robes. Waking up from the beating, Coopersmith, thinking he has successfully performed the ritual, is told by his computer that the ritual was incomplete and a pentagram appears on the computer screen. Believing he failed, Coopersmith endures further torment from his classmates, including the death of his puppy. In desperation, Coopersmith finally translates the remaining entries in the diary and releases Estaban's demonic spirit, unleashing a brutal and bloody vengeance on all his tormentors!
Stanley Coopersmith: I command you, Prince of Evil, heed my call. Give life to the instruments of my retribution.
[Stanley's face changes into that of Father Esteban]
Father Esteban: Imbue these creatures with your strength and force. Let them avenge me, and I will pledge my soul to you and serve you for all eternity!
Top: Satanic priest Estaban (Richard Moll);
Above: Centuries later, bullied cadet Stanley Coopersmith (Clint Howard) discovers Estaban's diary
Shot in three weeks using locations in Santa Barbara, the production also shot at a South Central church in Los Angeles, that had been condemned and scheduled to be torn down. When the aged minister saw that the crew were refurbishing the church, he didn't understand that this was "show business refurbishing" and that the church would ultimately be burned down, dropping down on his knees and thanking God. Nobody had the heart to tell him the truth at the time, but the church was burned down three days later, filming the finale.
According to star Clint Howard, one night after shooting a scene he drove home while still wearing his bloody cadet outfit. When he stopped at a light and noticed a woman staring at him from a nearby car, Howard turned and smiled at her - and she responded by immediately locking all of her car's doors! Howard, however, did experience some difficulty during filming. While filming the church massacre scene, one of the prosthetic heads was accidentally made too tough for the decapitation scene it was intended for, and when 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.
According to star Clint Howard, one night after shooting a scene he drove home while still wearing his bloody cadet outfit. When he stopped at a light and noticed a woman staring at him from a nearby car, Howard turned and smiled at her - and she responded by immediately locking all of her car's doors! Howard, however, did experience some difficulty during filming. While filming the church massacre scene, one of the prosthetic heads was accidentally made too tough for the decapitation scene it was intended for, and when 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.
TRIVIA: Clint Howard and Don Stark agreed not to socialize during filming so that they could maintain the hostility that existed between their characters.
Top and Above: Constantly bullied by his fellow cadets, Coopersmith uses a computer to translate Estaban's diary and unleash demonic forces to wreck his revenge!
Amazingly, Evilspeak earned over $400,000 the first week of its release, quite a large sum for its time, especially since it was only shown on 91 screens in Los Angeles and New York, although received mostly mixed to negative reviews. PopMatters gave the film a 7/10 grade, despite writing "What started as a standard wish fulfillment/revenge scheme mixed with Satanism flounders with a lack of focus", while DVD Verdict wrote "Evilspeak is a crazy movie. Like, crazy. In a good way. Unfortunately, it's also kind of boring at times, taking well over an hour to get where it's going. [...] Despite the slower spots—and there are plenty of slower spots—Evilspeak remains an enjoyably overlooked horror film just for its eccentricities."
In the United Kingdom, Evilspeak was banned for a number of years as part of the Video Recordings Act 1984 (otherwise known as the infamous "video nasties" ban), thanks to its gory climax and themes of Satanism; although, according to Howard, director Eric Weston's original version of the film that was submitted to the MPAA was longer and contained more blood, gore and nudity than the unrated version of the film, especially during the shower/pig attack scene and the final confrontation. Evilspeak was reclassified and re-released in 1987, but with over three minutes of cuts, which included the removal of most of the gore from the climax and all text images of the Black Mass on the computer screen. It was then subsequently passed uncut by the BBFC in 2004 and is now available in both an uncut form and a version re-edited by the distributors to tighten up the dialogue.
In the United Kingdom, Evilspeak was banned for a number of years as part of the Video Recordings Act 1984 (otherwise known as the infamous "video nasties" ban), thanks to its gory climax and themes of Satanism; although, according to Howard, director Eric Weston's original version of the film that was submitted to the MPAA was longer and contained more blood, gore and nudity than the unrated version of the film, especially during the shower/pig attack scene and the final confrontation. Evilspeak was reclassified and re-released in 1987, but with over three minutes of cuts, which included the removal of most of the gore from the climax and all text images of the Black Mass on the computer screen. It was then subsequently passed uncut by the BBFC in 2004 and is now available in both an uncut form and a version re-edited by the distributors to tighten up the dialogue.
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 43%
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