The Tomb of Terror: Messiah of Evil (1973)

April 2nd, 2011 | POSTED BY John Portanova

There are some very good sequences within this patchy framework. Eventually Laura gets fed up with Thom spending time with Arletty (I guess three girls and one guy is ridiculous…) and wanders off on her own. She wanders into town and finds every store and hotel devoid of people. When she finally lays eyes on someone, they are walking in a trance into a grocery store. Keeping a safe distance, Laura walks into the store. At first it appears empty, but then she rounds a corner and comes face to face with a mass of people eating raw meat from the frozen food section. This is a very bizarre and frightening sight, especially when they realize they are being watched.

The other bravura sequence sees Jodi heading to the movies. I’m not sure why she does this as so far it’s obvious that everyone in town is out to get her and her friends, but the characters in this movie aren’t too bright. She finds herself in an empty theater. Slowly behind her, mindless drones fill up the seats. The tension is built expertly as she munches away on popcorn, oblivious to the danger behind her.

Unfortunately, some good sequences don’t make a good movie. A lot of the stuff tying these scenes together is mediocre at best, boring at worst. None of the characters are given much to do or anything in the way of a personality. So, between the scenes of terror, we get long passages of Arletty lying in bed while a voice over says “I was lying in bed.” In the bonus features on the 35th Anniversary Edition DVD, it is explained that these voice overs were meant as place holders for editors. When the investors took control of the film away from Huyck and Katz, they left all the voice over as is. That might explain why most of the voice over is very bland and obvious, but not why so much of it was necessary. Every scene with voice over contains no dialogue and was obviously always meant to be a long sequence with some sort of narration. Maybe it was because of the low budget, but Messiah of Evil features a whole lot of tell and not nearly enough show when it comes to the story.

The acting doesn’t help the thinly-written characters. Both Marianna Hill and Michael Greer give nothing in the way of screen presence. Most of their line delivery is flat, and emotions don’t ring true until the action scenes of the finale. Anitra Ford and Joy Bang (yes, that is her real name) as Thom’s girlfriends fare much better. Their characters are almost non-existent, but they bring at least some charisma to their performances. The best acting in the film comes from a couple of veteran actors playing bit parts, Elisha Cook Jr. as the town drunk and Royal Dano as Arletty’s father. If the overall performances had been better the film might’ve been more bearable during the stretches between fright scenes.

Messiah of Evil had a troubled distribution. The investors and producers re-released the films numerous times under various titles including Dead People, The Second Coming, and even The Return of the Living Dead! A lawsuit by George Romero put a stop to that ridiculous title change. The film built a small cult following over the years thanks to the unique atmosphere, suspense sequences, and the fact that there honestly aren’t many films like it. After viewing the film, it seems obvious to me that Huyck and Katz had no interest in horror and just wanted to get a foot in the door of the film industry. This makes for a disjointed film, where the French New Wave homage clashes with scenes of zombie terror. If you’re a horror fan who thinks you’ve seen it all, the film is worth checking out. Where else will you see a scene where a creepy albino eats a rat while declaring the musical genius of Wagner?

Final Grade: C

DVD Releases:

Messiah of Evil is a favorite among horror budget packs. These versions all feature a muddy full frame transfer and no extras. The best bet for fans is the 35th Anniversary Special Edition from Code Red Releasing. This edition features an anamorphic widescreen transfer that really shows off the great compositions in the film. Bonus features include a commentary by writer/director Willard Huyck, writer/producer Gloria Katz, and moderator Lee Christian. This track is more entertaining than the film itself, with many stories on how to survive the making of a low-budget film. Highlights include Huyck talking about how he had to steal the film print from investors so he could edit it, and Katz explaining how she was able to avoid going to jail for bouncing checks. The 20 minute featurette “Remembering Messiah of Evil” covers a lot of the same ground as the commentary, especially when Huyck and Katz are interviewed. But there are other interesting stories shared by crew members not featured on the commentary. An audio interview with actress Joy Bang is hard to hear, but she is very candid about what she feels doesn’t work in the film. Also included are two student short films, The Bride Stripped Bare, directed by Katz, and Down These Mean Streets, directed by Huyck. These shorts are low on entertainment and high on pretension, but their inclusion is welcome for fans of the filmmakers. Wrapping things up is an easy to find easter egg featuring an audio interview with mural painter Joan Mocine.

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Anitra Ford, elisha cook jr, George Lucas, Gloria Katz, Howard The Duck, Joy Bang, Marianna Hill, Messiah of Evil, Michael Greer, Royal Dano, Walter Hill, Willard Huyck