Review

by Natacha V

surprisingly good

There's something about the atmosphere of this film that draws you in despite any feelings of indifference you may have had at the start. Maybe this unusual atmosphere comes from the fact that the director - Willard Huyck - is the same one who later turned his hand to 'Howard the Duck'. Maybe not of course, but this film certainly does more with its meagre resources than you'd expect it to. Ranging from brutal gore to creepy scenes of blank-faced dead people in pale make-up walking slowly down the street, Messiah of Evil leaves few genre staples unused, but becomes more than sum of its parts. This, I think, is mainly due to the music, by Phillan Bishop, which sounds like John Carpenter drunkenly falling over his synth collection (in a good way). Whilst not exactly a classic, Messiah of Evil is still worth your time.