The Force of Evil

Talk about being baffled, as I popped the tape in the player and I sat down to watch this movie with the opening credits blaring with the title of Quinn Martin's 'Tales of the Unexpected'. Huh… that was unexpected and then the title 'Force of Evil' appeared. Phew. I knew I was going to watch a made for TV movie, but I didn't entirely know it was originally apart of a series which would have narrator William Conrad opening and closing the feature. I don't know what happened with this TV series, but this entry 'Force of Evil' was a captivating experience despite being almost a rehash up until the end involving a houseboat of the 1962 dark thriller 'Cape Fear'. If you can look pass that, you get a tight, lingering and menacingly solid thriller with excellent performances by the reliably classy Lloyd Bridges, Pat Crowley, John Anderson and a magnetically dominating William Watson as the terrifying ex-con Teddy Jakes who was convicted for the rape-murder of a girl seven years ago is now on parole seeking torturous revenge on Dr. Yale Carrington and his family.

Despite its plain look (well it's for TV); it's exceptionally presented and suspenseful even when the action is low-key. This clever character drama with an almost supernatural twist(?) to certain plot details (mainly that head-scratching end to the climax), is slow burn with its tit for tat between the doctor and con. This guy won't go away, and leaves the moral question of going beyond to protect love ones even though it means entering their frame of mind. There's a genuine feel to it, and the relationships and turmoil are committed in the way they are brought across. Going against it, is the predictable layout and some problems with pockets of stodgy pacing. Nonetheless director Richard Lang's sturdy approach makes good use of the vast rural dust-bowl locations and infuses some hauntingly harrowing images with an eerily high-pitched score.

A sure-footed family in peril thriller with a larger-than-life villainous performance.

Flagrant (and uncredited) rewrite of "Cape Fear", originally made for the "Tales of the Unexpected" TV series, has paroled rapist-killer stalking an affluent surgeon and his family, whom he blames for his guilty verdict and seven-year stretch behind bars (why William Watson's psychopath wants revenge on this particular surgeon isn't made entirely clear). Lloyd Bridges keeps a cool head in the Gregory Peck role, while Watson (in a cowboy hat and shades, menacingly chewing gum) has the showier part originally played by Robert Mitchum. Producer Quinn Martin's work for television wasn't in the same league as, say, Aaron Spelling's. He was, however, capable of assembling decent second-string acting talent, and he doesn't skimp on the production. This melodrama is mounted with suspenseful precision...but it was all unpleasant enough the first time around.

I still remember this creepy movie. It was creepy in a subtle sort of way like most episodes of Kolchak, The Night Stalker. I wasn't very sophisticated as a child but I think this must have been something for me to remember it all these years later. If anyone knows where you can get it on VHS, I would be interested in seeing if it were still as disturbing after all these years.

It's always good and useful in case you learn a few things from watching a movie, is it not? I learned two things from "The Force of Evil". Number 1: the basic plot of the classic thriller "Cape Fear" remains effectively disturbing and scary regardless of the setting, characters and production values. Number 2: like with Leslie Nielsen, it has practically become impossible to watch an older and serious role of Lloyd Bridges without being reminded of his slapstick roles in "Airplane!" or "Hot Shots". The second learning might as well be very personal, so I feel it's better to elaborate on the first. "The Force of Evil" is a modestly produced and rather anonymous late 70s TV-movie that also got released as a 60-minute episode in the cult series "Tales of the Unexpected". Although not credited as such, it's a pure imitation of J. Lee Thompson's "Cape Fear" (adapted from the novel "The Executioners" by John D. MacDonald) with a few minor changes in the plot and the adding of a supernatural atmosphere. The villainous, downright evil role put down by Robert Mitchum in "Cape Fear" is obviously unsurpassable, but I'll gladly admit that William Watson also depicts a truly menacing and uncanny monster here in this version. He, Teddy Jakes, is a rapist/murderer on parole and returning to the remote little Arizonan town where he used to live and work in the local clinic. The eminent surgeon there, Dr. Carrington, refused to provide him with a fake alibi 8 years ago, and that's why Jakes ended up in jail. He's back with an intense grudge against Dr. Carrington and his family, but Terry Jakes is smart enough to stalk and terrorize people without leaving any evidence or even doing something illegal. The good and noble Doctor is driven to desperation so badly that he's even ready to take the law into his own hands.

You see, it's "Cape Fear" all over again, but "The Force of Evil" is nonetheless worth tracking down for its tense atmosphere, the strong performances and a handful of noteworthy creep-moments. For example, the home delivery of a box of flowers (or are they?) is quite grim, and so is the first confrontation between Teddy Jakes and Dr. Carrington's daughter on her horse. Oh, and I also want to congratulate the casting director with his/her choices. The odd-faced Watson is perfect and the pairing of Lloyd Bridges and John Anderson as brothers is also really smart.

This was actually a pilot for the short lived, but very effective "Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected." It's sad that no one seems to rebroadcast this series. William Conrad provided the narration for the movie pilot and the series. The series had one of the creepiest and visually scary introductions that I ever have seen. It puts you in mind of the intro for the 80s version of the Twilight Zone series.

You could pretty much sum this movie up as a supernatural version of Cape Fear. The actor who played the angry ex-con was an effective character actor who did a lot of work during the 70s. He showed up a lot on shows such as Cannon as a heavy. Bridges and the rest of the cast do good jobs as the family living in fear of this man with a serious grudge. I hope Sci-Fi or someone will reshow both this movie and the series.