Runtime:
74 minutes
Directed
by: Steven Spielberg!
Starring:
Darren McGavin, Sandy Dennis, Ralph Bellamy, Jeff Corey, Johnny
Whitaker
From:
CBS Entertainment Production; this is a TV movie, you see
Here
is something that would totally be forgotten if it wasn't for who
directed this lousy picture. As is, most people don't know if its
existence and the director prefers it that way:
I am sure most people outside of the film world (and even some in it)
have no knowledge of this TV movie even though the director is
SPIELBERG. There's a very good explanation for the obscurity. I now see
why even Old Steven was not a fan of how this turned out and why he
probably would prefer that no one know about this, especially
considering it came right after Duel and that is much better all around
and from the one time I saw it many moons ago, it was way more
terrifying also.
There were definitely some worthwhile horror TV movies in the 70's; this regrettably was not one of those, despite the director, a cast that had some familiar faces (Sandy Dennis, Darren McGavin, Ralph Bellamy), and a script from Robert Clouse. A family from New York City moves to a farm in “rural Pennsylvania”-obviously filmed in California judging by the hills-and they are a typical family with two young kids, the dad is in advertising and the mom is all about the arts & crafts. Spooky things happen, people die, and mom experiences odd moments connected to the barn. Yep, it's one of those things where the husband does not believe that his wife is experiencing those events as he does not witness them himself.
The plot may sound interesting; unfortunately for Something Evil, this was something that was not too good. It was only 74 minutes long and at times felt very disjointed, as if important scenes were not filmed. It is not really all that scary or frightening, and you can see how that is a huge issue. So is the film having too many shrill and irritating characters. Now, the directing is fine and there is some quality camerawork; the musical score is not bad. But when evil is manifested mainly by the wind as if it's The Happening and glowing jars... yikes. Then the final few minutes happen and while I can't say this wasn't hinted at, a twist happens and how in the blue hell did the characters figure it out? Talk about a revelation that will blindside you as it comes out of absolutely nowhere.
I won't crucify Spielberg for the movie's failings, as even the cinematic titans that are the all-time-great directors have had some motion pictures that did not turn out so well, for a number of different reasons. If you were to go through his entire filmography, this is one that should be saved until the very end as most of the rest are much better than this.
There were definitely some worthwhile horror TV movies in the 70's; this regrettably was not one of those, despite the director, a cast that had some familiar faces (Sandy Dennis, Darren McGavin, Ralph Bellamy), and a script from Robert Clouse. A family from New York City moves to a farm in “rural Pennsylvania”-obviously filmed in California judging by the hills-and they are a typical family with two young kids, the dad is in advertising and the mom is all about the arts & crafts. Spooky things happen, people die, and mom experiences odd moments connected to the barn. Yep, it's one of those things where the husband does not believe that his wife is experiencing those events as he does not witness them himself.
The plot may sound interesting; unfortunately for Something Evil, this was something that was not too good. It was only 74 minutes long and at times felt very disjointed, as if important scenes were not filmed. It is not really all that scary or frightening, and you can see how that is a huge issue. So is the film having too many shrill and irritating characters. Now, the directing is fine and there is some quality camerawork; the musical score is not bad. But when evil is manifested mainly by the wind as if it's The Happening and glowing jars... yikes. Then the final few minutes happen and while I can't say this wasn't hinted at, a twist happens and how in the blue hell did the characters figure it out? Talk about a revelation that will blindside you as it comes out of absolutely nowhere.
I won't crucify Spielberg for the movie's failings, as even the cinematic titans that are the all-time-great directors have had some motion pictures that did not turn out so well, for a number of different reasons. If you were to go through his entire filmography, this is one that should be saved until the very end as most of the rest are much better than this.
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