Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Michael_Elliott Evilspeak (1981) * 1/2 (out of 4) The orphaned Stanley Coopersmith (Clint Howard) gets sent to a military academy where he's picked on by everyone from his classmates to his soccer coach to various teachers. One day while cleaning the basement he comes across a book, which belonged to a priest who sold his soul to the devil. Soon Coopersmith begins entering these devilish words into a computer and soon those who picked on him are murdered.EVILSPEAK apparently has a cult following among some horror fans but to me this was a pretty bad film from the word go. There are countless issues with this movie but for the most part it's just another weak attempt to copy CARRIE. That film was a true masterpiece for the genre but this film here is just a watered down version that has a few memorable moments but overall it's pretty bad.I think the biggest problem is the actual screenplay, which just never makes too much sense and at times it just seemed rushed. What really kills the movie is the fact that nothing really happens for the first two-thirds of the movie. We basically just see Coopersmith cleaning up various things and getting picked on. At nearly the hour mark we finally get our first kill, which is an impressive one and the remaining death scenes are quite memorable but none of them make up for the boring nature of the rest of the film.Howard gives a good performance in the lead and I'd argue that the supporting players are decent for the most part as well. As I said, some of the special effects are quite bloody and they're certainly the best thing about the film. EVILSPEAK was released during the Golden Era of the slasher so it's easy to see why it was overlooked. At the same time, it's pretty weak as far as CARRIE rip-offs go as well as anything dealing with the devil.

cb94 In my personal opinion, this film is absolutely excellent. The perfect mix of teen angst and satanic horror. The last fifteen minutes (or so)need to be seen to be believed.Mainly, it is just about a military school loser who finds an old book whilst on punishment duty, whilst translating the book he finds it works with his computer and becomes an instruction manual for black mass. Which, due to the revenge he wants on his colleagues, performs in the altar room and resting place of Esteban, a Spanish satanic priest who proclaims that he...will...return.The way it is set out reminds me of a Dario Argento film, how it is slow to begin with, but there is consistency but not plenty of kills. But it all pays off in the final moments, especially in this film, a levitating satanic follower with an awesome sword! I can not say enough good things about this film, how Clint Howard makes a sympathetic victim of bullying, to how Bubba is the perfect bully, to how Esteban and his sword looks totally awesome.The only thing that Pisses me off, is that it only gets a 5.0, it deserves much better, this is for the people looking for something different and enjoyable, not for those who want to be scared, this is not that type of film.I F##king Love this film, it is the best horror film, PERIOD!

MovieGuy01 I found Evilspeak to be quite a weird sort of horror film but also a good film. A clumsy military cadet called Stanley Coopersmith who happens to be socially outcast at the West Andover Academy, and is an orphan. He is always abused and humiliated by four despicable friends, and even has bad treatment from his teachers, the coach, the colonel and even the local reverend. When Coopersmith finds a book of black mass that belonged to the evil medieval Father Esteban, he uses a computer to conjure Satan and revenge his harassers. He finds a way to tap into a computer to summon demons and cast spells on his tormentors. that involves man eating pigs and Satanism. this ended up being a very good horror movie towards the end. 5/10

Mysterious-Sunset Evilspeak is a 1981 horror film which was classed as a "Video Nasty" here in the UK, meaning it was originally banned from release. Is it such a bad thing that the main reason this film came to my attention and sought it out was because of that fact? The film starts with a brief introduction set sometime during the Spanish inquisition, as satanist Esteban and his followers are banished from the land. The scene then changes to present day 1981 America, at West Andover Military Academy and we're thrust into the middle of a football game about to be lost mainly due to Stanley Coopersmith's errors.The coach talks to the principle about dropping Stanley from the team to improve results, but is denied so decides to take things into his own hands... or should I say the hands of four jocks on the football team who are also fed up with Coopersmith's mistakes. He strongly hints to them that if Stanley were to have some kind of "Accident" then he would be unable to play anymore, solving both their problems. The four take up the coach on his proposal, and proceed to make Stanley's life then on a living hell.After turning up to class late one too many times, Stanley is assigned to to clear up the Academy's chapel as punishment. There he meets "Sarge", an old, depressed, quick tempered drunk who lives in the chapel to maintain it. As Stanley explores the basement of the chapel he comes across an undiscovered room full of creepy looking statues, ancient books with pictures of devils and the like. One book somehow grabs his attention, the one that Esteban held at the start of the film which you'd know if you've been paying attention up to this point, he grabs it and quickly gets the hell out of there after being spooked.While all this is happening, the reverend is explaining to a minor character along with the audience that the whole academy is built on the land Esteban presided hundreds of years ago. Stanley then delves into the book, using the academy's computers to translate the Latin text. The rest of the film shows Stanley go through life at the academy, while leading a sort of double life as he comes closer to completing the ritual. The chapel basement becomes a sort of safe place for him, no matter how dark and eerie it looks to the viewer.As a character, Stanley gains your sympathy and respect as you see what he has to put up with from the other characters throughout the film. While the other teens are there for going off the rails or misbehaving, we find out Stanley is there as an orphan as his parents died in an accident when he was younger. In other words, Stanley has more depth as a character than the entire cast of "Friday The 13th" put together. The characters in 'Evilspeak' are there for more than just to be killed in as many ways as possible like your typical slasher, you connect to them on an emotional level more.When you see Stanley's puppy get stabbed by Bubba, the main bully and antagonist, you really feel disgust and resentment towards him. ...Yes, a puppy does get killed in this film, although it isn't shown directly of course. Is it unnecessary violence? Maybe, but this film is called 'Evilspeak', not 'Cute puppy dogs and rainbows' and the scene does fit in with the theme of the film.Like in 'The Omen', animals are used for some horror scenes as they become possessed by the evil force Stanley is tapping into. To be more specific, the swine at the academy's farm, who take particular objection to Esteban's book being tampered with when it comes into the hands of the secretary. This climaxes in a scene where a few of the demon pigs burst uninvited into the secretary's bathroom, while she's still in a towel fresh from the shower in what might be a small nod to 'Psycho'. They then happily rip her apart in the bathtub. The pigs, for the three parts of the film they star in are mostly convincing, especially at the end as they seem quite aggressive and hungry for flesh.The music is good as a whole, as it sets the mood and atmosphere pretty well. It's not the best score I've heard in a horror film but it did its job.Apart from a decapitation at the start, 'Evilspeak' really hadn't been too bad of a film in terms of body count and gore. But don't be fooled, the whole film builds to a spectacular finish of blood at the end: think 'Carrie', but with a large sword. Overall, although it was ultimately predictable, I enjoyed 'Evilspeak' for the most part. As I'm quite a big fan of horror films, most of the so called "horror films" released these days are so cliché and contrived they depress me more than anything else. So although 'Evilspeak'wasn't about a haunted house, or someone getting killed every five minutes, I'd happily say it was a successful horror film. It had characters you could connect with, villains you start to hate, suspenseful moments, gore and good acting all round.6/10