Fear No Evil

This movie featured some excellent acting by Stefan Arngrim, who grew up a lot from his days in the tv series "Land of the Giants". Not only is he an outcast among his classmates, but he turns out to be the anti-Christ. One of the better scenes is when he gets his revenge on his classmates for a gym shower beating he took.

A teenager discovers he is Lucifer in human form and begins to gruesomely kill all those who torment him. Classic story is given immature and irresponsible treatment all around with slack performances, direction, etc. A total bummer. My rating: 1 out of 10. Do not waste your time.

Fear No Evil, the low budget debut from director Frank LaLoggia (Lady in White), is one strange little film: made during the golden age of the slasher but inspired by such films as The Omen, Carrie, and Night of the Living Dead, this offbeat oddity mixes rebellious teen shenanigans with biblical horror, throws in random homo-eroticism without a moment's notice (in the film's most memorable and unintentionally hilarious scene, a supposedly macho bully victimises Andrew in the boys shower by trying to engage him in a naked kiss, whilst cheered on by his enthusiastic pals—it makes A Nightmare on Elm Street 2's towel whipping seem perfectly reasonable), boasts a surprisingly good new wave/punk soundtrack (The Ramones, The Boomtown Rats, The Sex Pistols, Talking Heads), and culminates in a burst of dazzlingly crap visual effects that wouldn't have looked out of place at a Jean Michel Jarre concert. An undeniably ambitious project for a first-time director, the film features sincere performances, several well executed sequences (the rise of a horde of zombies is particularly effective), and one or two genuine 'WTF?' moments (a guy grows breasts for no discernible reason, and a church production of the Passion Play attracts massive crowds), but it simply doesn't work as a whole: the film changes tone a little too abruptly throughout; Stefan Arngrim is terrible as Andrew, Lucifer in human form, especially when he's hamming it up and howling like a banshee in his character's more demonic state; LaLoggia makes sure he gets his money's worth out of a smoke machine; and there are far too many boring scenes where very little of interest happens. 3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up for the decent tunes.

The plot is murky (at best). Something about the devil in disguise as a teenage high school boy. The boy is tall, very thin and is teased on by the other kids. When his powers come out he takes revenge. And there are also some archangels out to do battle with him. Now this isn't a good film. The acting is terrible! No one is good but the WORST has to be the high school gym teacher who acts like a Nazi during a game of Dodge Ball---and actually KILLS one student (don't ask). The dialogue is lousy and the film looks bad but it was shot independently (it shows). But the film has a kick-ass soundtrack and has two STRONG homoerotic scenes--at one point a boy gives a lengthy kiss to another in the shower when they're both *. Also we get a good look at one guy's best parts. Later on they share ANOTHER kiss (fully clothed this time) and one grows BREASTS! Easily these are the two best parts of the film. Let's face it--most horror films totally ignore gay subtexts or use it as a joke. Not here. I applaud the movie for those scenes alone. Some fan boys have attacked these scenes saying they were "unnecessary". I wonder how they would have reacted if it were between two girls... The film has some interesting ideas and it was a labor of love for the director--but it was cut by an hour (the original print was 2 1/2 hours) which may explain some plot loopholes and the story wanders all over the place. It has acquired a cult following and Anchor Bay put out an incredible looking DVD of it back in 2002 along with a directors commentary. So, I really wanted to like it and it has some great scenes but it just doesn't work. I give this a 5.

I don't know if this is the worst movie I have ever seen (because I walked out), but it is the only time I ever demanded a refund from a theater. This movie was supposed to be scary; but instead it was just a jumbled mess of gore scenes. The plot was incoherent at best, and nonexistent at worst. My brother can usually sit through any movie (no matter how awful it is), but HE was the first one to suggest that we get our money back. This movie is simply awful. Don't waste your time.

Teenager is the son of Satan and he's plotting a demonic uprising, while a teen girl and a local old woman are actually angels sent to stop him. Fear No Evil is an interesting oddity among the numerous teen horror flicks of the early 80's. For one, it's not a slasher movie. Fear No Evil is a low-budget, but well done throw back to the Gothic horror films of Hammer given a touch of the modern. The storyline is compelling, with some touches of nicely artistic direction from first time director Frank LaLoggia. Still, it's flawed by some awkward moments of silliness (death-by-dodge ball, shower make out) and some supporting performances that aren't as good as those of the leads. The best of the cast are Stefan Arngrim as our devilish villain and Elizabeth Hoffman as the elder angel desperate to stop him. Daniel Eden is also memorable as the school bully who gets a most crazy demise. Fear No Evil is a unique entry in the teen horror genre. Though it's not flawless, thanks to its low budget, it still has enough imagination to be a entertaining and memorable late night movie. ** 1/2 out of ****

Andrew is a brilliant teenage boy who does well in school but does not get along with his peers. His parents are frightened of him because he has exhibited disturbing behavior ever since he was born. When he starts having problems at school, people start dying. It turns out Andrew is Lucifer reincarnated and apparently doesn't know it. His old woman neighbor and his high school crush discover they are archangels on a mission to stop him. So this obviously has a silly and unoriginal plot. There are so many things wrong with this movie. The pacing and structure of the story is terrible. The acting is awful, especially by the 20-something actors playing the high school kids. And what annoying high school kids they are! There's a group of "sassy" girls called The Queen Bees (think The Pink Ladies) and an obnoxious perverted bully who smacks his girlfriend and mouths off to teachers. And then there's Andrew, who is quite an enigma. The movie may have benefited from being told through Andrew's perspective, because you never know what is going on with his character. One of the other bad things about this movie are the dated and cheesy animated "laser beam" effects that evoke laughter instead of horror. Also amusing is that the Apocalypse appears to only be happening on a very local level. But there are a few things about "Fear No Evil" that set it apart from the other "satanic" horror films of the late 70s/early 80s and make it worth checking-out. While some attempts at creating a creepy atmosphere fail, others are somewhat of a success. Especially of note is the opening sequence in a murky cavern with dangling animal bodies, a freaky possessed girl, and Lucifer himself. There's an unforgettable scene in the movie where the religious townspeople gather to watch an annual outdoor Passion play. The poor fellow playing Jesus literally gets crucified, and most of the people in the audience get attacked by a stigmata sign! Towards the end there are some zombies in the movie, beckoned by Andrew, and the make-up is great. There is also a scene where a gym teacher (who is apparently on speed) is encouraging aggressive dodgeball and, under the influence of Andrew's rage, accidentally kills one of his students by slamming a dodgeball into him! Another interesting feature of "Fear no Evil" is its treatment of gender and sexuality. The archangels are both played by women who claim to have been "bonded" together. Andrew is an effeminate boy and this does not go unnoticed by his jockier classmates. There is a shower sequence where Andrew gets sexually harassed by the school bully, who forces a kiss as a joke. Andrew turns the kiss into a violent makeout session! The two characters share a "kiss" again later in the movie in a more frightening/disturbing/hilarious scene. Also significant is the all-male nudity in the shower scene. While none of these men are particularly attractive, this sequence is rather cutting edge and controversial at a time when only female nudity was frequent in horror movies. Make no mistake, "Fear No Evil" is an average low-budget 80s horror movie. But it has tiny quirks and somewhat subversive sequences that, while somewhat random and out of place, successfully set it apart from other early 80s American horror movies. It also features a kickass late 70s/early 80s alt-rock soundtrack featuring Patti Smith, B-52s, Talking Heads, Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and a witty use of Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays." Recommended if you like movies about the devil, or if you are looking for an early 80s horror movie that was very different from its peers.

"Fear No Evil" combines two of my favorite genres: Horror and Hannah-Barberra animation. I did not expect the film to turn into a cartoon in the last ten minutes, but apparently the producers couldn't get any real special effects wizzards for the final confrontation between Satan and God's angels, so they got the animators from "The Wonder Twins." What starts as a bloody battle turns into mind-bogglingly bad laser beams that literally look like they were taken from a late 60's sci-fi film. The film then takes off into what one might call "Xanadu" territory," where the actors are no longer on film, and we see a series of lights flashing at the screen to crazy music. I guess the filmmakers were going for a "2001" type effect here, but what they got was a discount version of the old HBO animation they ran before movies in 1982. The film is a mixture of pretentious, poorly-acted, poorly-scripted, and shoddily directed discussions about heaven and hell, with some brilliant early 80's high school scenes, set to the music of the Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, and The Ramones. It makes you wonder how a director who is so completely out of touch with how to make an interesting horror film could assemble such a brilliant soundtrack. The high school scenes are worth the rental: all the guys look like they're 30, all the girls have giant afros and yellow satin jackets, and the teachers have tweed jackets. The one stoke of genius on director Frank LaLoggia's part is to have a number of scenes with "general chatter," where people aren't really speaking any lines specific, but are just hubbub-ing very enthusiastically. The first time we see this LaLoggian touch is when baby Satan is born in 1963, and the proud father is handing out cigars to his buddy. They are babbling like a bunch of chimps, yet you cannot understand a word they're saying. It's amazing - you think they're speaking another language, it's just a lot of "Heeeeey! Wheeeeaaaay! Yaaaahaaaa! Cigar, cigar, cigar, whoooooaaaa hoooooo!" The next time is after a gym class, which apparently went so well that all the teens run into the locker room indecipherably yelling "whoo-hoo, alllriiiiight, yeeeeeah, gimme that locker, whooooaaaa hoooooo!" This unique touch of Frank LaLoggia, a trademark in all two of his films, truly gives weight to the credit "A Frank LaLoggia Film" that appears before the main title. It definitely is, Frank. It definitely is.

This boring mess is so long that it serves for nothing more than a cure for sleepless nights, and is one of the few sorry films that I use a Blockbuster Video coupon on. A high school student (Stefan Arngrim) -- in the form of Lucifer -- takes on fellow classmates and has a showdown with two archangels. Avoid this sleeping pill at all costs. My evaluation: (no stars).

I can't believe I've never heard of this before. Got it at the comic book show today. I'm remind of a better satanic school kid movie called 'Evilspeak'. Get that one if you can, but if you wind up with 'Fear no Evil' you will be entertained and surprised. During a showing of a Passion Play the crowd begins to bleed. Yes, there is quite a bit of religious matter in this movie. Angels in human form versus the devil. That is not all though. There are high school teens up to their 80's activities (having sex). Also, naked boys for an odd scene with a violent kiss. This movie is more homoerotic than 'Jeepers Creepers 2'! In the final scene you can see the devil boy's genitals if you pay close attention. I don't know why!?! Then, there are light shows and I expected the beams to come out of the screen in 3-D! Punk soundtrack with the Rezillos, Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Talking Heads.