Forever Evil

My dear Aunt Lucille, may she rest in peace, always told me that if I don't have something nice to say, then I'd best say nothing at all. With those wise words in mind, I will retain a humble silence while you enter your neighborhood movie rental store and approach the counter with this pissant excuse for a supernatural horror film.

That's right. I'm not going to say a single word while you shake your head in disbelief as a girl gets dragged into the night by A SINGLE FLIMSY STICK. Nope. I'll hold my tongue throughout the scenes of a rubber-mask-zombie wreaking very minor havoc upon characters you wish would die in pain and fear.

I'll politely refrain from commenting on how the folks who made this seem to have read someplace that THE EVIL DEAD was a virtual no-budget project, and, being aware of the considerable buzz which that film generated, decided to utilize a 3-day weekend to concoct this pallid "homage". And when the "surprise ending" comes around, don't expect my opinion to be forthcoming...I'll just sit quietly and listen as you hurl expletives at the video box.

2.5/10. But I'm not saying a damn thing.

Freeman Williams and cast were all part of the Texas Renaissance Festival many years ago (I was a wench), and Freeman told me late one night after too much mead about his desire to film this movie - a remake, no less, of another really cheesy horror film - and... oh, boy!

I loved it! But then... I know the inside jokes... and I just about wet my pants laughing each time another schlock death occurred...

This is a popcorn film, folks, don't take it seriously, take it for what it was written for - Freeman wanted it to appear on USA latenight with - gad, what was her name, the vampy looking woman with the wild black wig? Elvira? And that's really where it belonged! This was great!

This movie has bad everything. Bad acting(by actors I have never seen before),laughable special effects,awful writing.The only thing good I can say is that it was consistent.Bad! So why did I get into the story so much? Why do I keep renting it? Go figure...

Grand cheese fest from the late 1980s, FOREVER EVIL draws on Lovecraft and EVIL DEAD to tell the story of two survivors of separate mass killings who go on a hunt for the demonic killer. Shot in Texas with a community theater-type cast, it is perfect for late night TV viewing. The special effects are sparse, and the villain (although ultimately just a henchman and not the master killer) is a rotting zombie right out of Return of the Living Dead. Clumsily executed, badly written and atrociously acted, it may not be up there with such grand 80s fare as Night of the Demons, but it should appeal to cheese lovers and insomniacs everywhere. A huge stretch of the film goes by with little or nothing happening, so beware. And where there might have been a decent bedroom scene near the finish is sadly cut short.

My review was written in December 1987 after watching the show on United video cassette.

Originally titled "Nemesis", "Forever Evil" holds the dubious distinction of being perhaps the longest made-for-video horror effort to date. Bloated running time features a few good ideas and acceptable gore effects, but definitely would have been cut if theatrical release were envisioned.

Story is derived from the popular mythos of H. P. Lovecraft (not credited, with no screenplay credit displayed), as various survivors of encounters with a Grim Reaper-styled caped monster team up to find and fight some supernatural entity. Referring to mythical books such as Lovecraft's invention, "The Necronomicon", they deduce that the ancient god Yog Kothag, exiled to a distant star system, is being brought back by cultists to take over the Earth.

Pattern of murders on the map (pic was shot in Houston and Cold Springs, Texas) forms a pentagram, leading our heroes to descend upon Nash Realty for a bloody climax. It turns out evil realtor Nash (Howard Jacobsen) is over 100 years old, using as his zombie assistant a guy he killed over 60 years ago. Hero Marc (Red Mitchell) is turned into a zombie at film's end but stabs Nash to put a halt to Yog's Earth takeover bid.

Best thing here is an intriguing puppet designed by Luis Ibarra representing a monster baby, which recalls the fine Rick Baker creations for "It's Alive".