Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Evilspeak Blu-ray Movie Review

Stan and Satan are only one letter apart, after all.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 13, 2014

Some wise man once informed humanity that the meek shall inherit the earth, but certain mild, unaggressive types aren’t content to merely wait for their legacy to be handed them and instead decide to opt for a little help. Lots of people through the years have compared the 1981 horror opus Evilspeak to Carrie, pointing out the similarities in a bullied loner who finally strikes back with a little supernatural aid. Carrie had the benefit of some roiling family dysfunction underpinning its tale, and its setting in a high school rife with cliques and boorish behavior made it instantly accessible to many people, even if they had never been drenched in pig’s blood. Pigs actually show up in Evilspeak, too, but here the formulation of the mild mannered little sad sack rising up to take his revenge has little of Carrie’s impact since it’s divorced from a commonplace setting and perhaps even more importantly from any sort of larger background with regard to its main character, one Stanley Coopersmith (Clint Howard), a picked on young man at a military academy. When Stanley stumbles on an old cache of Satanic materials in a kind of cavern like cellar at the institution, suddenly there seems to be a potential route forward for the afflicted kid. Evilspeak is in fact a fairly basic revenge saga— albeit with an underworldly bent—that goes wandering in search of some actual surrounding story in a number of directions, an approach that may have some viewers checking the hands of their watch at regular intervals, at least until all hell starts breaking loose in the final melée that caps the film. With a number of tangential elements that include everything from occasional female (and even male) nudity to a supposedly “high tech” computer program helping to summon forth Satan (an aspect that may remind some of John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness), Evilspeak is often fairly gruesome (to the point that it was labeled a “video nasty” in the United Kingdom), but it never really works up much of a head of steam, despite the blood and gore.

Evilspeak begins with a brief prelude which seems to suggest that some people may indeed have expected the Spanish Inquisition, despite Monty Python’s assertion to the contrary. On a supposedly Spanish beach (actually Malibu, according to writer-director Eric Weston in his commentary included on the Blu-ray), a coven of Satan worshiping monks led by one Father Esteban (Richard Moll, soon to be the bailiff on the long running Night Court sitcom) are being banished from the country, at least until they come to their senses and begin worshiping the “correct” God. There’s really no background information imparted here, and certainly no rationale offered as to why the church figures didn’t just have the Satanists summarily executed (which was, after all, the preferred method for dealing with this kind of “problem”), and instead we’re left to watch Father Esteban and his acolytes sacrifice a young woman, virginal or otherwise.

A smart and funny jump cut which, while perhaps not quite up to the standards set by Stanley Kubrick when he segued from a monkey bone to a spacecraft early in 2001: A Space Odyssey, still provides the film with a little comedic kick in the pants (and/or soccer ball as the case may be). It also supplies a shift in time to the present day, where we meet hapless Stanley Coopersmith out on the soccer field, unhappily the brunt of several of his more jocked out teammates' wrath. Stanley is obviously the odd boy out at the military academy, and things aren’t helped by a coterie of equally mean adults, including the frequently apopleptic Sarge (R.G. Armstrong).

When Stanley is tasked with cleaning up the figurative bowels of the academy, the plot begins in earnest after he comes across Father Esteban’s journal and begins to try to recreate a demonic ritual. He utilizes what appears to be about a crushing 2 MHz processing speed to decipher Esteban’s Latin mumbo jumbo, at which point he considers himself ready to be summoning a certain horned creature from Hades. His initial attempt is met with an “incomplete” grade from the computer (which is oddly sentient throughout this entire film), though when Stanley is once again accosted by (this time costumed) bullies, he thinks he’s been successful. This brings about the first instance of the computer kind of “reaching out and touching” a character, which in turn sparks a revelation about the ultimate fate of Esteban and his followers.

Meanwhile clumsy Stanley has left the jewel encrusted journal out in the open, and when it’s pilfered by the school secretary, Evilspeak cavorts into what is arguably its most bizarre sequence. The secretary, obviously interested in the gems protruding from the book’s cover, takes it home to perhaps pry the stones loose, but instead she is met with a marauding herd of wild boars whilst taking her (semi-nude of course) shower. It’s just bat guano crazy stuff, with absolutely no rhyme or reason (and certainly no real explanation, other than being generically supernatural), but it gives Evilspeak a little jolt that helps to carry it through to the ultimate climax, when Stanley actually finally ends up doing something right, and does indeed summon a spirit. It may not actually be the Devil, but it’s a suitable replacement, at least for the purposes of the climactic conflagration.

The best horror films manage to create a tether between at least one character and the audience, but there’s absolutely no emotional connection here, something that makes Evilspeak play out in a kind of middling way that’s occasionally macabre enough to generate a baseline of interest, but which never really explodes into really scary or compelling material. Ironically, there's just enough sympathy for Stanley to undercut any perceived comedic elements, since it's hard to generate laughs in an atmosphere this rife with oppressive bullying. Howard is really good as Stanley, his kind of odd, hangdog appearance naturally creating sympathy, even if the actual screenplay doesn’t provide us enough backstory to become fully involved with the character. Armstrong is a lot of fun chewing the scenery as Sarge, and several of the other supporting players, including Joseph Cortese as the academy’s priest, are also commendable. While generally technically competent, including with its practical effects work, Evilspeak never articulates clearly enough to have much of an impact.

Evilspeak Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Evilspeak is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory (an imprint of Shout! Factory) and Code Red with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Press materials tout a new high definition transfer (sourced from a "newly discovered" 35mm IP) supervised and approved by Eric Weston, and if expectations are kept at a reasonable level, most fans should be generally well pleased with the results. Elements are in generally very good shape, with only the expected amount of flecks and specks occasionally serving as a minor distraction. The film has several opticals, including a longish prologue with credits, which can look really grainy and soft at times, as should come as no surprise. Colors are very nicely saturated and accurate looking. While contrast is stable and black levels good, there are still some deficits with shadow detail in the darkest scenes, as when Stanley is poking around underneath the chapel, where it's next to impossible to make out what's happening some of the time. Perhaps the biggest issue some will have with this presentation are fairly noticeable compression artifacts which crop up with regularity, not necessarily limited to the darkest moments. On the whole though, this is a solid presentation, with an organic appearance that features abundant natural grain. The image is not sharp by contemporary standards, but looks very true to its source.

Evilspeak Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Evilspeak features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono mix that is really rather appealing from both a sound effects and (especially) a musical standpoint. The film's score, by fabulous pianist-arranger Roger Kellaway, plies much the same territory that won Jerry Goldsmith an Oscar for The Omen, with Carmina Burana-esque choral moments interspersed with some jarringly dissonant orchestral cues. Dialogue comes through loud and clear, with no issues whatsoever to report.

Evilspeak Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Producer/Director Eric Weston. For any of you who have ever hung out with aging Hollywood types and listened to their sometimes hilarious meanderings through the windmills of their minds, this commentary track will be like manna from heaven. Moderated by one Bill Olson, who struggles mightily to keep Weston on track, this may not provide a surplus of actual information, but it's (appropriately) a hell of a lot of fun to listen to.


• Satan's Pigs and Severed Heads: The Making of Evilspeak (1080p; 27:48) is a lot of fun, and features such priceless quotes as Claude Earl Jones' "I thought it was the worst script I had ever read when I read it." Jones does go on to qualify that less than ringing endorsement. In fact several other cast members also express at least some passing befuddlement with various plot points, but this gives a ton of background information and is highly enjoyable.


• Effects Speak with Allan A. Apone (1080p; 14:37) is an interesting interview with the film's effects supervisor.


• Cast Interviews include:

  Clint Howard (480p; 11:39)

  Donald Stark (480p; 10:09)

  Joe Cortese (480p; 6:55)

• Theatrical Trailer (480p; 1:51)

Note: I had some issues with accessing menus on my PC drive. After selecting a Bonus Feature and watching, the disc returned to the opening screen though without any menu choices. Oddly, pressing my arrow keys then revealed little fragments of the menu links, which allowed me to press enter and ultimately get back to the Main Menu with a little trial and error.

Evilspeak Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Genre enthusiasts or those with a certain cynical nostalgic streak will probably find enough in Evilspeak to make it worthwhile, but those looking for a totally unsettling horror or even horror-comedy experience will probably find the film lacking. The practical effects are rather good by eighties' standards, and the film is well crafted and well acted, if never really very involving. Technical merits here are very good to excellent, and the supplemental package is also nicely done.