Good Against Evil is a 1977 American ABC TV movie directed by Paul Wendkos (The Mephisto Waltz) from a screenplay by Hammer veteran Jimmy Sangster (Dracula; Paranoiac; Fear in the Night). The film was a pilot for a TV series that was not subsequently commissioned.
Cast:
Dack Rambo (Nightmare Honeymoon), Elyssa Davalos, Richard Lynch (The Premonition; Puppetmaster III; Halloween (2007)), Dan O’Herlihy (Halloween III), John Harkins (Amityville 3-D), Jenny O’Hara (Wishmaster; The Sacred), Lelia Goldoni (Hysteria; Blood Fiend; Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Peggy McCay (Amityville: The Evil Escapes; An Irish Vampire in Hollywood), Peter Brandon (Altered States), Kim Cattrall (Modern Vampires; Peter Benchley’s Creature), Natasha Ryan (Kingdom of the Spiders; The Amityville Horror; The Entity), Richard Sanders (Lover’s Lane), Lillian Adams (Tormented), Erica Yohn, Richard Stahl (Beware! The Blob).
Plot teaser:
A travel writer, Andy Stuart (Dack Rambo), teams up with an exorcist, Father Kemschler Dan (O’Herlihy), to battle Satan, and a group of Devil worshipers led by Mr. Rimmin (Richard Lynch)…
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Reviews:
” … the film’s opening sequence is rather tense, with director Paul Wendkos in full command. The remainder of the movie fluctuates between romantic drama and horror, with the horror used to retain the tension of the beginning. There are some attempts to use cats as a horror element, and these work okay, although the cats are far from cooperative.
The exorcism sequence is done as well as can be expected, although hardcore horror fans will find it lackluster.” Examiner.com
“The thing you’re likely to remember the most about this movie is how relentlessly unoriginal it can be. The opening sequence suddenly turns into the ending of Rosemary’s Baby. Later, a long sequence exhaustively copies the style and content of the exorcism sequence from The Exorcist. Perhaps if a series followed this movie pilot, it would’ve been rip-off of the week.” Jabootu’s Bad Movie Dimension
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“A cat attack, halfway through, is the camp highlight. For quality, you at least get the presence of the underrated Richard Lynch (The Premonition), some decent music and some cute San Francisco locations. The pacing is fairly brisk, especially in the first third.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers
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Choice dialogue:
“All men are demanding. All men are self-serving. All men are insensitive.”
Amusingly inappropriate Devil Doll DVD artwork for this 1977 TV movie!
IMDb | Image credits: The Dwayger Dungeon
