Due mainly to the huge amount of slasher films released during the golden period, many struggled to find an audience and rapidly vanished without recognition. Although the likes of 'Movie House Massacre' and 'Click: The Calendar Girl Killer' were perhaps deserving of such a fate, the excellent 'Terror Night' and the two 'BloodStreams' (both 1985 and 2000 respectively) proved to be worthy of a more prominent status.
As I have said before, 1981 was a fine year for fans of slasher movies. Not only were enthusiasts treated to a sequel for the outstanding Halloween, which was arguably the movie that started it all; but also they were given excellent features such as Small Town Massacre, Friday the 13th Part 2, The Prowler, My Bloody Valentine and Tobe Hooper's Funhouse. In my opinion it was perhaps the best and most lucrative year for the cycle and it is reported that over 60% of box office receipts were from slasher flicks.
Evil Judgement was also completed in 1981, but missed out on the chance to become a part of the peak year influx, due to post-production problems, which have remained undisclosed. The movie sat on the shelves for 3 years and was released direct to video in 1984. Usually such a fate is reserved only for the worst of entries (Twisted Nightmare anybody?), so initially the signs were unconvincing for this Canadian effort.
Everything kicks-off in a formulaic region as an unidentified patient escapes an asylum, murdering a doctor and an unsuspecting orderly along the way. Next up we meet our un-archetypal heroine, Janet (Pamela Collyer), who is hardly the virginal tom-boy that so often dictates the stereotype for a female protagonist in a slasher movie. Working in a grimy café really begins to get her down and so after much convincing, she decides to accompany her friend, who is an expensive prostitute, on a money-spinning night of erotica. Janet's prostitution debut doesn't go specifically as planned, because an unseen maniac turns up on site and attempts, albeit unsuccessfully, to murder her. Despite his failure to relieve us of our leading lady, the killer does manage to slaughter both her friend April (Nanette Workman) and their unfortunate client.
The killer realises that he has left a surviving eye-witness and begins to stalk Janet throughout the rest of the feature, gorily slaughtering everyone that gets in his way. Numerous twists and turns in the plot keep the audience guessing until the surprising conclusion ..
Evil Judgement has become something of an obscurity and is rarely mentioned in the same breath as titles such as Prom Night or My Bloody Valentine. It's a real shame, because actually Castravelli's slasher is one of the better peak-year murder-mysteries. The film's strengths lie in the ambition of its synopsis and an excellent characteristic performance from Jack Langedijk as the anti-hero Dino. Despite an obviously low-budget production, the director manages to build an immensely atmospheric puzzle, which includes characters that break the stereotypical slasher clichés. The story enters realms of the unknown in terms of plot development (how many slashers can you name that mix Mafioso with a demented psychopath?) and it deserves credit for its flair for the ambitious.
Judgement is not a gore film like so many that populated the genre at this point in the period, but there's something notably gruesome in the manner that the killer dispatches his victims. The murders are bloody and the camera never shies away from the graphic corpses. Some may argue that more creativity was needed in the slaughters every victim suffers a gooey throat slashing - but with that said, Castravelli excels in building tension and the stalking scenes in the mansion are memorable for their level of suspense. Mixing a few decent shocks with a talent for building a Gothic atmosphere, the movie makes the most of its plus-points and rarely struggles to keep up a comfortable momentum.
Whilst Jack Langedijk is excellent as the charismatic Dino, Pamela Collyer is irredeemably poor as the one-toned Janet. At times the feature falls prey to a lack of lighting, which is usually a big negative for slasher flicks, but in places it actually works in favour for Evil Judgement. The film is also surprisingly cheesy, which is a strong selling point to many eighties retro fans. The hilarious OTT fashions are fun and it's a slice of nostalgia that I found to be a refreshing reminder of the decade of decadence.
Its lack of a fan-base means that Evil Judgement may never see the light of day on DVD, but if you still own a VHS player, then I recommend that you give this one a shot. Compelling and alluring, Castravelli's part slasher/part crime movie is well worth a revisit.
As I have said before, 1981 was a fine year for fans of slasher movies. Not only were enthusiasts treated to a sequel for the outstanding Halloween, which was arguably the movie that started it all; but also they were given excellent features such as Small Town Massacre, Friday the 13th Part 2, The Prowler, My Bloody Valentine and Tobe Hooper's Funhouse. In my opinion it was perhaps the best and most lucrative year for the cycle and it is reported that over 60% of box office receipts were from slasher flicks.
Evil Judgement was also completed in 1981, but missed out on the chance to become a part of the peak year influx, due to post-production problems, which have remained undisclosed. The movie sat on the shelves for 3 years and was released direct to video in 1984. Usually such a fate is reserved only for the worst of entries (Twisted Nightmare anybody?), so initially the signs were unconvincing for this Canadian effort.
Everything kicks-off in a formulaic region as an unidentified patient escapes an asylum, murdering a doctor and an unsuspecting orderly along the way. Next up we meet our un-archetypal heroine, Janet (Pamela Collyer), who is hardly the virginal tom-boy that so often dictates the stereotype for a female protagonist in a slasher movie. Working in a grimy café really begins to get her down and so after much convincing, she decides to accompany her friend, who is an expensive prostitute, on a money-spinning night of erotica. Janet's prostitution debut doesn't go specifically as planned, because an unseen maniac turns up on site and attempts, albeit unsuccessfully, to murder her. Despite his failure to relieve us of our leading lady, the killer does manage to slaughter both her friend April (Nanette Workman) and their unfortunate client.
The killer realises that he has left a surviving eye-witness and begins to stalk Janet throughout the rest of the feature, gorily slaughtering everyone that gets in his way. Numerous twists and turns in the plot keep the audience guessing until the surprising conclusion ..
Evil Judgement has become something of an obscurity and is rarely mentioned in the same breath as titles such as Prom Night or My Bloody Valentine. It's a real shame, because actually Castravelli's slasher is one of the better peak-year murder-mysteries. The film's strengths lie in the ambition of its synopsis and an excellent characteristic performance from Jack Langedijk as the anti-hero Dino. Despite an obviously low-budget production, the director manages to build an immensely atmospheric puzzle, which includes characters that break the stereotypical slasher clichés. The story enters realms of the unknown in terms of plot development (how many slashers can you name that mix Mafioso with a demented psychopath?) and it deserves credit for its flair for the ambitious.
Judgement is not a gore film like so many that populated the genre at this point in the period, but there's something notably gruesome in the manner that the killer dispatches his victims. The murders are bloody and the camera never shies away from the graphic corpses. Some may argue that more creativity was needed in the slaughters every victim suffers a gooey throat slashing - but with that said, Castravelli excels in building tension and the stalking scenes in the mansion are memorable for their level of suspense. Mixing a few decent shocks with a talent for building a Gothic atmosphere, the movie makes the most of its plus-points and rarely struggles to keep up a comfortable momentum.
Whilst Jack Langedijk is excellent as the charismatic Dino, Pamela Collyer is irredeemably poor as the one-toned Janet. At times the feature falls prey to a lack of lighting, which is usually a big negative for slasher flicks, but in places it actually works in favour for Evil Judgement. The film is also surprisingly cheesy, which is a strong selling point to many eighties retro fans. The hilarious OTT fashions are fun and it's a slice of nostalgia that I found to be a refreshing reminder of the decade of decadence.
Its lack of a fan-base means that Evil Judgement may never see the light of day on DVD, but if you still own a VHS player, then I recommend that you give this one a shot. Compelling and alluring, Castravelli's part slasher/part crime movie is well worth a revisit.