Fear No Evil

Director - Frank LaLoggia (Lady in White, Mother)
Starring - Stefan Arngrim (Arrow, Supernatural), Elizabeth Hoffman (Dante's Peak, The River Wild), and Kathleen Rowe McAllen (All My Children, As the World Turns)
Release Date - 1981
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Meet Andrew.  The road to hell is paved with his victims"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     A few years ago I was sent the 1988 horror film intended for children.  The film, Lady in White, was directed by Frank LaLoggia and one I watched three or four times in one day and several more in the course of that month.  I absolutely fucking loved that movie.  I've watched it a few more times since then but nothing like I did that first year I had it.  Sometime back Scream Factory announced another release from LaLoggia.  This time they were handling the release of the 1981 religious horror film Fear No Evil.  This is one I've actually owned on DVD for sometime after finding it for cheap in a used record store.  I had never seen the film before but this was the perfect opportunity to check it out.  Thanks Scream Factory for sending it my way.
     The film follows Andrew (Arngrim) who is actually possessed by Lucifer after his original body was destroyed by Raphael 18 years earlier right as he was born.  Now, he is growing with power and prepares for the second coming of Satan.  To stop him is two angels disguised as two elderly women and two high school boys who don't always have the greater good in mind.
   

     What the fuck did I just watch?  LaLoggia released a god damn masterpiece with Lady in White but Fear No Evil is a jumbled mess that is part confusing and part missed opportunity.  The movie is not the cinematic experience that LiW is and this is one that I struggled with to finish.  The acting in this one is decent but there was plenty of room for improvement.  The characters are full of personality which typically results to fun when it comes to 1980s cinema.  However, the cast in this one is on the boring side.  Even when the scene has a moment that could be etched in cinematic history we are still given a lackluster performance which pulls the impact of the scene down drastically.  The only performance that I enjoyed was from Stefan Arngrim.  His Lucifer possessed performance was highly entertaining and at times highly energetic.  The story for this one is extremely confusing but I don't blame the writing for this one.  I put my blame purely on the editing team behind this one.  The scenes jump from one to another with no relevance to the story which really makes it difficult for the viewer to focus.  It's almost as if you are eaves dropping and trying to put together what two people are discussing.  They jump from topic to topic because it makes sense to them but to those watching it makes absolutely no sense.  Editing needs to be tighter with this one and more coherent.  Finally, this is not a gore soaked horror film that most look for from the 80s.  The film does have some practical effects and some decent make-up effects but the gore is not here.  The kills we get fit the film itself but are not memorable.  The same can be said for the effects.  We do get some cheesy visual effects that are very dated but I found myself really enjoying these.  Overall, Fear No Evil is a confusing watch that has an interesting story but the execution is mind boggling.  The film looks great on blu but the movie itself is a bit of a rough watch to make it through.