BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Mr_Ectoplasma
"Fear No Evil" focuses on teenaged Andrew, who is awkward, withdrawn, and the reincarnation of Lucifer. To make matters worse, he is tormented by his peers, primarily a homosexually-repressed bully. Meanwhile, an elderly local woman, and one of Andrew's female classmates, assume the roles of Biblical archangels, and band together to defeat Andrew.This was Robert LaLoggia's first feature (he would later become known for his autumnal oddity "The Lady in White" in 1988), and rookie mistakes abound here, mainly in terms of script cohesion. The film is a disaster of styles and plot lines that don't entirely run through, and a great deal of the film feels undercooked. There are elements of teen revenge thrillers such as "Carrie" here as well as Gothic horror films, but LaLoggia's script is overtly Catholic and revels in its biblical underpinnings. This is where the film is somewhat interesting, especially as it seems LaLoggia uses the Lucifer plot line as a metaphor for being an outcast teen; the entire film is essentially the biblical coming of the antichrist set in a 1980 high school. While certainly not innovative, it is clever.Many have noted that the film is rife with homoerotic undertones that are never quite elucidated but they are impossible to ignore. For example, Andrew's main tormentor, Tony, engages in a passionate kiss with him as a form of "bullying" in the communal locker room showers as their classmates look on; and later during the finale, Andrew appears in an almost Rocky Horror-esque getup as he summons the undead. These elements are another example of the film's wild inconsistencies and frank weirdness, but overall I found the hodgepodge nature of the film somewhat endearing. The finale set at the castle ruins is reminiscent of the greatest of the Hammer horror films—it's supremely Gothic, even amidst the firework special effects which are very dated by today's standards.In the end, I have mixed feelings toward "Fear No Evil." It's a film that feels like a first-time effort in many ways, and in others, not so much. It is richly atmospheric, relatively well-shot, and has shades of your typical teen horror flick combined with the most sophisticated Gothic, all strung together on a (flimsy) neo-biblical narrative. It's a mess, but it has heart. My biggest gripe would probably be the underdevelopment of the characters, whose union feels arbitrary and vaguely- drawn. Aside from that, I did find the film enjoyable with all of its quirks. Bonus points for the soundtrack, which boasts the likes of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, and Talking Heads. 6/10.
BA_Harrison
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.
Vomitron_G
I remember a friend taping this for from a TV movie channel back when I was too young to watch these type of flicks (must have been at age 11). Anybody else of you who first saw it at that age, must know "Fear No Evil" tends to stick in your memory. In 2007 I managed to pick up the US Anchor Bay DVD edition and re-watch it. It will always remain very much a flawed affair all the same, but it's a guaranteed fun watch. You'll just have to be able to handle 80's horror cheese. A whole lot of it. "Fear No Evil" is a pretty ambitious movie (and the same goes for the story and the orchestrated score). Some tension, sometimes frightening, sometimes shocking but safe to say that most of the time it doesn't make a lick bit of sense. Unbelievable how many songs by 80's bands they managed to put on the soundtrack (great stuff like The Ramones, Talking Heads, Sex Pistols,...). So what do we have here? We've got the Devil incarnated, naked breasts (obviously), angels and demons at play, zombies, some weed-smoking, basket balls that crush & kill, (and for the ladies) we got an all-boys showering scene with all the dudes generously flapping around their ding-dongs (and some male/male kissing with almost deadly consequences). Not nuts enough yet? We also got a solid on-screen hint at female masturbation with a gun. More? How about immensely enjoyable make-up effects & some highly psychedelic, colorful animated effects... 80's Horror rocked, simple as that.
kaos_katt9
I would have to say that I was not expecting anything. The last random film I watched on FearNet turned out to be boring. This time before watching this movie I looked it up on IMDb and saw that it had a 2.9 rating, so I expected something horrid. I ended up watching this film and finding a gem! There are many things that I loved about this film. Basically the film is about a teenage boy named Andrew who is the Devil incarnate. The movie had a very creepy feel to it the whole time. The acting was not very good except for Stefan Arngrim (actor who played Andrew). I thought that he was a good choice. I found his acting to be very well done and he looked the part perfectly, normal yet creepy, and somewhat sinister all at the same time. I think that one of the most eerie parts of the entire film is how innocent Andrew seems to be all the time. He looks, acts, and just seems so shy and innocent that when he does horrible things it really hits you hard. Most of the effects were good, but not used in the best ways, which made most of the deaths seem quite phony and sometimes laughable. I quite enjoyed the happy sounding music when Andrew's father starts flipping out and yelling that his son is the devil. There was a big cliché used in the film, the cliché of having a nightmare and waking up only to realize that I happened, yet it is used quite well and does not seem cliché at all. The shower scene was genuinely creepy, and for a random low budget 80s flick it was very surprising. Though I could have gone without seeing the guys penis flop.... The scene where Andrew kills the dog, squeezes his head until the blood rushes into a cup, drinks the blood and proceeds to start to eat the dog is equally scary and disturbing. Another disturbing scene was at the end in the play where the person playing Jesus started bleeding where he would have been nailed to the cross. For this film there are many disturbing parts that I had not expected at all, and it was great that I do not get disturbed by many things at all. I would also have to say that the movie had a great soundtrack, including Blitzkrieg Bop by Ramones, Anarchy in the UK by Sex Pistols, and Psycho Killer by Talking Heads. A great film that I recommend to everyone!
