A Taste of Evil

A Taste of Evil is a very interesting movie that tackles a pretty big issue for it's time. It involves the sexual assault of a young girl, and for 1971 I'm sure the topic was not as talked about as it is today. Anyways, the film starts with the young girl who is alone in her playhouse when a man (who we don't see) enters and attacks her off-screen. Fast forwards years later to when she is an adult. After spending years in a psychiatric institution, Susan travels home with her mother Miriam to tackle her demons. We meet some potential suspects of the rape; the mother's boyfriend Harold and a long time groundskeeper John. While at the family home, strange things start to happen. Susan sees someone lurking in the shadows, she feels someone following her in the woods, and a very dead looking Harold keeps popping up around the house.

The imagery of this movie is amazing. The usage of dark shadows in the house adds a very spooky feeling to it all. About halfway through the film we discover what/who is causing these strange occurrences, and I must say I was surprised by what it was and who assaulted Susan years ago. We then get another twist that leads us to a satisfying ending. It's a typical 1970's made for television thriller which I love, but this one adds a lot more such as the shocking storyline of the rape.

The acting was alright, Barbara Stanwyck was the best part about it. Overall a very satisfying TV movie that is impossible to purchase on DVD or VHS. Best thing to do is search it out online or hope for it to pop up on TV one day.

8/10

In case you want to watch a horror movie for the first time and need to be sure from beforehand that you won't be disappointment with the outcome, it always helps to research the names that are involved. For example, in the case of "A Taste of Evil", I felt pretty comfortable thanks to the involvement of three reliable names (excluding the cast). The film comes from the nearly inexhaustible stable of producer Aaron Spelling. Long before he produced sappy TV- series like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "7th Heaven", Spelling was responsible for a large number of genuinely tense and spine-chilling TV-thrillers, including this one. The man in the director's chair is named John Llewellyn Moxey and his repertoire is also quite astounding, with legendary titles such as "Horror Hotel", "The Night Stalker", "Nightmare in Badham County" and about three dozen of other worthwhile titles. Then, last but certainly not least, the script was penned down by Jimmy Sangster. He was one of the creative masterminds behind the awesome British horror studios Hammer and wrote some of their greatest classics ("Horror of Dracula", "The Curse of Frankenstein") as well as some of their underrated but ingenious gems. How could "A Taste of Evil" possibly go wrong, especially if you also take into consideration that cast features a few impressive names like Barbara Stanwyck, Arthur O'Connell and Roddy McDowall?

Well, "A Taste of Evil" certainly doesn't disappoint and I won't hesitate for one second to recommend it to fellow horror fans, but still one of the aforementioned prominent names cheated a little bit… As the story slowly unfolded and tension mounted, I suddenly became more and more conscious that the plot felt familiar. Poor Susan Wilcox returns home to her mother Miriam and the parental house, after she spent seven long years in a Swiss mental hospital to recover from the trauma of getting assaulted in her garden playhouse at the tender age of 13. Although her mother and Susan herself are determined to get her life back on track, Susan's tangled nerves are soon put under pressure again since she repeatedly spots the corpse of Miriam's second husband Harold all around the estate. She must somehow suffer from hallucinations, as Harold is very much alive, although on a business trip and corresponding with his wife and stepdaughter via the phone. Now, where have I seen this plot before? Oh that's right… it's as good as identical to that of the unsung Hammer treasure "Taste of Fear / "Scream of Fear". Sneaky Jimmy Sangster must have thought that nobody in the United States ever saw or even heard about this film that already got released in 1961, so if he changed a few details left and right and gave different names to the main characters, he could cash a quick and easily earned paycheck!

And yet, I certainly don't blame Jimmy. The story is still solid as a rock and capable of evoking a handful of genuine scares and mild shocks. The build-up takes quite long and feels overly derivative, because you know of course that somebody is deliberately trying to push Susan into another mental breakdown and that her hallucinations are staged. But then the script offers not one but two twists that are surprisingly effective and quite unconventional for a made-for- TV flick. "A Taste of Evil" touches upon a few sensitive themes, like child molesting and family rivalry, and the extended climax (taking place during a good old-fashioned pouring rain thunderstorm) is action-packed and wild.

A Taste of Evil (1971)

** (out of 4)

Disappointing made-for-TV movie is pretty much a remake of Hammer's SCREAM OF FEAR. In this film, a young girl is raped and years later she (Barbara Parkins) returns home only to fear that someone is trying to drive her crazy. Her mother (Barbara Stanwyck) is trying to figure out if her daughter is crazy or perhaps there's someone really after her (and especially since the rapist was never caught). A TASTE OF EVIL comes from writer Jimmy Sangster who also wrote the previously mentioned Hammer movie so it's clear that he knew what he was doing. The biggest difference in the two films is that the original was actually quite eerie and that's certainly far from the case here because this entire film is just downright boring and doesn't feature a single character that you really care for. Director John Llewellyn Moxey had previously made THE CITY OF THE DEAD but he doesn't bring any of the same style or beauty to this thing. The entire movie has a very slow pace as if the director wasn't sure what he wanted to do with the material or perhaps he just knew the material wasn't all that good. Parkins is pretty good in the role of the daughter but the screenplay doesn't give her much to do outside of screaming and running around. Stanwyck is always watchable but this here certainly wasn't among her best work. Roddy McDowall was fun to see in his supporting role as was William Windom. Another problem with the film is that there's simply nothing going on that ever really keeps the viewer interested. The story is decent but nothing much is done with it and this is especially true if you've seen the original version, which was one of the best thrillers from the studio.

As this movie does not appear to have been released to video, you may not find it anywhere. If you do PLEASE contact me! There were some classic jump up and scare-you-silly scenes as only Barbara Stanwyck could do. I remember sitting in front of my T.V. and jumping backwards across the room! If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this movie, I'd be truly grateful. Thanks Terri (e-mail address) longer1@home.com

Not a bad little late night chiller-mystery to keep me interesting throughout the entire film. Atmospheric, thrilling and with a couple of plot twists.

It's always nice to see Barbara Stanwyck grace the screen and she's good as usual. Roddy McDowell is a delight! I love these old made for TV films.

6.5/10