Dissatisfied with the family architectural business, a man and his wife pack up and move out to his great-grandfather’s old house in the country. While trying to patch it up, the house starts to make it clear to him that it doesn’t want him there, but the local church (with some off-kilter practices of their own) seems to take a shine to him…
Director: Bernard Girard.
Writers: Bernard Girard (screenplay), Andrew Lytle (novel).
Stars: Robert Culp, Samantha Eggar, Sheila Sullivan, Mike Lane, Sue Hathaway, Ted Greenhalgh, Clarence “Big” Miller, Barbara Tremain, Reg McReynolds, Walter Marsh, D. Goldrick.
A great horror movie.this movie should be on dvc
Which cut of the film is this ?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070435/faq?ref_=tt_faq_1#fq0008989
Mmm, I didn’t know there were different versions, this is the only one I’ve been able to find out there, it’s sourced from a commercial DVD I believe so it’s probably cut.
Thanks. Yes, always something to watch out for, what with the 5 or so different versions of “Blade Runner” and “Apocalypse Now” kicking around. (Those are probably among the extreme examples.) IMDB is generally pretty good at tracking such things. In looking for most titles, we hope to find the least cut or messed with version. Not always possible of course, given factors like available subtitles and so forth.
All your efforts with this site are greatly appreciated !
Never heard of this one, but you had me with Samantha Eggar. Can’t wait to watch!
By every available metric of film-making, A Name For Evil is a mess. It was green lit by MGM, shot in 1970 but funding ran out before the film was finished. It languished in MGM’s vaults for a time while Culp and Eggar went to court to try and get control of the film in an attempt to make money off it that they had been denied. Eventually it was picked up by the film division of Penthouse Magazine. Reshoots took place and the film’s focus changed from a psychological horror film to an examination of a deteriorating marriage and male sexual desire.
The biggest problem is both elements remain in the film, but neither are given any sense of focus or resolution. The film is incoherently scripted (Culp claims that the true ending to the film was never shot), sloppily edited, narratively unfocused and awash with continuity errors. It’s a shambles.
So, why did I give it 3 stars? Because for all its faults and incoherence, the film is never dull. Topless belly dancers, spaghetti inspired orgies and liquid photography sex scenes all play their part in maintaining interest – the sex scenes between Culp and Sullivan, who would go on to marry after the initial filming was completed are genuinely erotic. But even the moments where the supernatural elements predominate have something to recommend them. As a horror film, this is a dead loss, but both Culp and Eggar do a good job of suggesting that the cursed house is having an effect on them. They play off each other very well, and I’m curious now to potentially see more stuff with Culp, Eggar and Sullivan in it.
I could well see myself going back and rewatching this.
The New Beverley Cinema showed the longer 84 minute cut in 2017 and include more detail about the film’s troubled production:
https://thenewbev.com/blog/2017/04/a-name-for-evil/