Brightlyme
i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Helllins
It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
Coventry
In case you want to watch a horror movie for the first time and need to be sure from beforehand that you won't be disappointment with the outcome, it always helps to research the names that are involved. For example, in the case of "A Taste of Evil", I felt pretty comfortable thanks to the involvement of three reliable names (excluding the cast). The film comes from the nearly inexhaustible stable of producer Aaron Spelling. Long before he produced sappy TV- series like "Beverly Hills 90210" and "7th Heaven", Spelling was responsible for a large number of genuinely tense and spine-chilling TV-thrillers, including this one. The man in the director's chair is named John Llewellyn Moxey and his repertoire is also quite astounding, with legendary titles such as "Horror Hotel", "The Night Stalker", "Nightmare in Badham County" and about three dozen of other worthwhile titles. Then, last but certainly not least, the script was penned down by Jimmy Sangster. He was one of the creative masterminds behind the awesome British horror studios Hammer and wrote some of their greatest classics ("Horror of Dracula", "The Curse of Frankenstein") as well as some of their underrated but ingenious gems. How could "A Taste of Evil" possibly go wrong, especially if you also take into consideration that cast features a few impressive names like Barbara Stanwyck, Arthur O'Connell and Roddy McDowall? Well, "A Taste of Evil" certainly doesn't disappoint and I won't hesitate for one second to recommend it to fellow horror fans, but still one of the aforementioned prominent names cheated a little bit… As the story slowly unfolded and tension mounted, I suddenly became more and more conscious that the plot felt familiar. Poor Susan Wilcox returns home to her mother Miriam and the parental house, after she spent seven long years in a Swiss mental hospital to recover from the trauma of getting assaulted in her garden playhouse at the tender age of 13. Although her mother and Susan herself are determined to get her life back on track, Susan's tangled nerves are soon put under pressure again since she repeatedly spots the corpse of Miriam's second husband Harold all around the estate. She must somehow suffer from hallucinations, as Harold is very much alive, although on a business trip and corresponding with his wife and stepdaughter via the phone. Now, where have I seen this plot before? Oh that's right… it's as good as identical to that of the unsung Hammer treasure "Taste of Fear / "Scream of Fear". Sneaky Jimmy Sangster must have thought that nobody in the United States ever saw or even heard about this film that already got released in 1961, so if he changed a few details left and right and gave different names to the main characters, he could cash a quick and easily earned paycheck! And yet, I certainly don't blame Jimmy. The story is still solid as a rock and capable of evoking a handful of genuine scares and mild shocks. The build-up takes quite long and feels overly derivative, because you know of course that somebody is deliberately trying to push Susan into another mental breakdown and that her hallucinations are staged. But then the script offers not one but two twists that are surprisingly effective and quite unconventional for a made-for- TV flick. "A Taste of Evil" touches upon a few sensitive themes, like child molesting and family rivalry, and the extended climax (taking place during a good old-fashioned pouring rain thunderstorm) is action-packed and wild.
MartinHafer
When the film begins, a young girl, Susan, is attacked and raped. Suddenly the film jumps ahead many years and you learn, through some clumsy exposition, that for the intervening time Susan (Barbara Parkins) has been in a mental institution. During the first two years of this stay, she was catatonic and now she has suppressed the identity of her attacker. Through the course of the film, it's obviously folks are screwing with Susan's mind....and here is where the film gets VERY bad. She supposedly sees a dead person...and then conveniently faints. When she is awakened, the dead man is gone and no one else has seen him. A bit later, she sees another dead guy and runs away to tell others...and when she returns this one is gone as well. In fact, this sort of silly thing seemed to happen again and again. This is so clumsy and stupid and really took a decent story idea and relegated it to a sub-par made for TV film and nothing more. By the way, as a retired psychotherapist, the notion of anyone completely blocking out the identity of their attacker is a bit tenuous. It seems possible, at least temporarily, but it a plot device way overused in films. Also, if Barbara Parkins seems familiar, she's one of the folks who starred in "Valley of the Dolls"--a truly awful and stupid (but thoroughly enjoyable) bad movie of the late 60s.
jkinoz
I just found a copy of this classic 1970's chiller on ebay. To my surprise, it is just as effective watching today as I remember seeing it as a child. There are many genuine thrills and chills as Barbara Parkins plays a young woman returning to the creepy mansion where she was traumatized as a child. Barbara Stanwyck plays her mother. Both actresses, fresh off their respective 1960's TV series' "Peyton Place" and "The Big Valley," give excellent performances. Parkins was an underrated actress and is truly memorable in her role of the terrorized girl. She is also very beautiful. Stanwyck is dignified and elegant and this film is a reminder of the great talent that was hers. This movie is a forgotten gem. It would be great to see it released on DVD someday.
terri-20
As this movie does not appear to have been released to video, you may not find it anywhere. If you do PLEASE contact me! There were some classic jump up and scare-you-silly scenes as only Barbara Stanwyck could do. I remember sitting in front of my T.V. and jumping backwards across the room! If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this movie, I'd be truly grateful. Thanks Terri (e-mail address) longer1@home.com
