Something Evil (1972 TV)

And you thought Steven Spielberg did cutesy movies with adorable characters just waiting to be made into toys, action adventure with the world's most athletic archeologists, aliens resembling a pile of doodoo with eyes ... well you thought WRONG! Ole Steve-o also did horror movies. Well at least this one horror movie, which scared the living crap out of me when I was a young critter back in 1976. Granted it was back in the 70s, and that I was a young critter and all ... but it did the near impossible: it gave me nightmares. What caught me in the jewels was the idea of pure evil in the form of the devil. It was creepy as hell, and it made me remember about the creepiest thing I have ever seen until today: a jar of jam screaming. Yep, you read that right. This movie has a jar of jam possessed by the devil until it could scream out "mama ... mama .... mama ..." Hows that for horror? 

The Skinny: A farmhouse is haunted by the devil with poltergeist activities causing havoc to a small, innocent family. Initial distrust of the chain of events soon leads to full fledged acceptance of the nature of the devil. Horror action ensues. 

The Helmer: Steven Spielberg - he did helluva lot of films. Just click on his name and movie oracle imdb.com will reveal all ... 

The Casts: Darren McGavin, Sandy Dennis, Ralph Bellamy

The Verdict: When everyone thought The Exorcist (1973) was hot shit back in the day, this little TV movie was scarier, at least to me. Why? Because you don't see the face of evil, instead you feel its presense throughout the whole thing. But honestly, horror movies of the 70s far exceeds any generation of horror movies to date. What we have now are just feasts for gore hounds and nothing more. It can make you sick to your stomach, yes, but it doesn't crawl under your skin to chill your spine. 70s horror movies did that, and they did it with low budget, excellent score and weird camera angles to disturbing results. 

Trailer

Wiki on Something Evil

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) flashback

This is one of those horror movies which still gives me a nostalgic chill whenever I think about it. Was it the hand crawling out from the soup bowl? Was it the spinning hammer and pike hovering menacingly above Bill Pullman's family jewels as he sits strapped down on a metal chair quivering in fear? Was it the hellish descent into a neverending grave with hands grabbing from all sides? Or was it the horror of being buried alive? With a spectacular opening scene where Pullman discovers his true inner animal and walks 3000 miles out from the depths of the Amazon basin, this film carries the audience through a roller-coaster ride of spills and chills in downtown Haiti and introduces one of the most underrated but memorable villain committed to the silver screen.

The Skinny: Anthropologist gets mixed up in some voodoo shit in Haiti as he tries to uncover the secrets behind a zombie making potion. imdb.com has a great synopsis: 

Dennis Allan is an scientist who visits Haiti on the strength of a rumour of a drug which renders the recipient totally paralyzed but conscious. The drug's effects often fool doctors, who declare the victims dead. Could this be the origin of the "zombie" legend? Alan embarks on a surprising and often surreal investigation of the turbulent social chaos that is Haiti during the revolution which ousted hated dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Often a pawn in a greater game, Alan must decide what is science, what is superstition, and what is the unknown in a anarchistic society where police corruption and witch-doctory are commonplace. Written by Murray Chapman

The Helmer: Wes Craven - Scream 4 (2011), My Soul to Take (2010), Paris, je t'aime (2006),  Red Eye (2005), Cursed (2005), Scream 3 (2000), Music of the Heart (1999), Scream 2 (1997), Scream (1996), Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), New Nightmare (1994), Nightmare Cafe (1992), The People Under the Stairs (1991), Night Visions (1990 TV), Shocker (1989), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), The Twilight Zone (1985 - 1989 TV) .

Deadly Friend (1986), Casebusters (1986), The Hills Have Eyes (1985), Chiller (1985 TV), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Invitation to Hell (1984 TV), Swamp Thing (1982), Deadly Blessing (1981), The Evolution of Snuff (1978), Stranger in the House (1978 TV),The Fireworks Woman (1975), Last House on the Left (1972).


The Verdict: Wes Craven is a basically a giant in the wonderful world of horror. He was instrumental in the release of 3 successful horror franchise: The Hills Have Eyes series, the Nightmare on Elm Street series and the Scream series. But even before he went mainstream he did a number which today still has the power to scare, with The Last House on the Left; a detailed study into the crazed minds of evil people. Which is no wonder why this little gem still shines after all these years - it has the Craven touch. The images, the ideas, the concept successfully combined to make a truly effective horror movie: the fear of being buried alive, of being persecuted even through your dreams and the fear of facing your demons for one last final confrontation. Pullman shines as a embattled man staring down true horror in the guise of a mad dictator who refuses to let him go. This is a classic.  

Trailer 
Wikipedia on Serpent and the Rainbow