Something Evil

Of course Steven Spielberg is a very talented filmmaker. He knows perfectly well how to create tension and give you creeps on your spinal cord. He is one of the best. In this one he was helped by exceptional actors. Sandy Dennis is a unique phenomenon, can not be compared to any other, was and remains a great great actress. It's a shame that she died so young! Darren McGavin and Ralph Bellamy are also two very good actors, natural and credible in everything they do and say. It's not one of the greatest movies by Spielberg, the script is very simple, to not say poor, but is very well made. Worth to be seen!

Perhaps coming so soon after his masterful DUEL, SOMETHING EVIL is a slightly weaker effort from Steven Spielberg, who in 1971-72 was still learning his craft.

Nevertheless, this supernatural TV horror movie of a family besieged by an unknown evil force in their home (represented by an ominous baby's cry) is almost a prelude to Spielberg's later 1982 production POLTERGEIST, as well as films like THE SHINING and THE SIXTH SENSE. The screenplay by Robert Clouse also echoes Robert Wise's classic 1963 thriller THE HAUNTING. Darren McGavin and Sandy Dennis give very good performances as the heads of this household under threat. Ralph Bellamy somehow oozes rational menace the same way he did for ROSEMARY'S BABY. Tricky but excellent cinematography by Bill Butler (who later worked with Spielberg on JAWS) enhances this somewhat underrated and rare made-for-TV horror pic.

I remember watching this movie as a child and it scared the crap out of me.

For years I couldn't look in a dark window without seeing those glowing yellow eyes. After I became an adult I waited patiently for years for this movie to show up on late night TV so I could watch it again and see what scared me so much. It never happened, the movie seemed to have disappeared from the face of the planet. A few weeks ago I ran across a pirated copy of this movie and bought it, My wife still can't understand why I paid almost 30 dollars for a old VHS tape. We watched it last night and of course it was no where near as scary now as it seemed to an 8 year old almost 32 years ago. That being said, I found it to be quite a watchable movie that held my interest despite moving a somewhat slow pace. And the twist at the end caught me totally off guard. Overall I would give this movie a thumbs up especially when comparing it to other movies of its genre and era. If you run across a copy have a look.

Your basic horror story: A family moves into a house and they do not realize it's haunted but will soon become believers and it's haunted by demons. A quote from Marjorie Worden: "Can you believe that I believe that the devil's in my house?"

This TV movie was back when they made fun and interesting movies for television. Not all of them were great but they were at least worth watching. When real life society changed, the TV shows and movies changed - I quit watching - but I hear the TV movies today are nothing like these older films and not nearly as good. This particular film is not grand but it's not a bad watch either - mildly entertaining demonic horror.

6/10

It's easy to knock something like this because it's cheap, but you have to look beyond production values and see quality for what it really is. On paper, 'Something Evil' is pretty routine stuff, but it has the kind of energy you only get from young, hungry directors. There's a great sense of atmosphere that transcends the movie's low budget, something that would have never been achieved through routine direction. I've always been indifferent to Spielberg, but this is great.

The fact that you could turn on your television in the 70's and find something like this every week makes me wish I grew up a decade earlier.