Evil Come Evil Go (1972) Poster

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4/10
Sister Sara Jane can convert me any time!
udar553 November 2009
Street preacher Sara Jane (Cleo O'Hara) believes God has put her on this Earth to rid the world of pleasurable sex. She receives shelter from Penny (Sandra Henderson), a lesbian who Sara Jane promises to turn to God. How does she do this? By having Penny help her in killing anything that humps. This is certainly one of the more bizarre horror morality tales out there. Clocking it at a lean 73-minutes, I would say 60% of that time is spent with the camera lens ogling nude bodies. Not that I mind, but it does tend to get a bit monotonous. Things liven up whenever O'Hara is around though. Dolled up like Baby Jane and sporting a southern accent the would fit in perfect in COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (the first half, that is), she is a hoot as she sings Bible hymns while killing (and dreaming of having her own evangelical show). There are quite a few stabbing deaths in here with some H.G. Lewis blood on display. I have no idea who the target audience for this was - T&A fans? Horror fans? Religious freaks? All of the above?
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5/10
Gory Gory Hallelujah
Tromafreak9 March 2011
That's funny. I was just thinking the other day that there aren't nearly enough gory Sexplotation, Christian-feminist flicks. And come to think of it, there most certainly are. This one being about as entertaining as it needs to be. Evil Come Evil go; the story of the extremely southern-sounding, traveling preacher-killer. The Foul-mouthed Sister Sarah Jane. I don't mean she kills preachers. I mean this chick is a preacher, or she at least thinks she's one. Plus she lures unsuspecting men with the high hopes of sex, and all they ever get is gory death. Sister Sarah really, really hates men. When Sister Sarah hooks up with Penny the naive lesbian, promising her salvation, or something similar.Tthey quickly become partners-in-crime. Not a lot of story to tell. More "love scenes" than anything. Just the sleazy 70's in all its glory. Looking for a good double feature? Try pairing this one up with John Waters' Desperate Living. And if You're a chick who happens to despise men, all the better. Actually, come to think of it, Evil Come Evil Go can be found on a Triple-feature DVD, from Something Weird Video, which is awesome, but something so entertaining definitely deserves a stand-alone release. Honestly, I would recommend quite a few other trash epics before this one. However, Evil Come Evil Go tops a whole lot of others I've seen. In other words, nothing groundbreaking, but it ain't boring by any means. So, if humorous, vintage Sexploitation gore, with plenty of rewatch value is what you're looking for, well, then I guess there's nothing more to say. 7/10
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4/10
Oddly Watchable
wilburscott29 January 2006
Obviously one of those sleazy films of the 1970's that always read better in a synopsis better than they play out in front of the eyes, "Evil Come, Evil Go" however does stay in the mind for a while after viewing. It's sure not the uninteresting sex scenes full of pasty, unshaven, unattractive people doing their best to try and act out something passionate that does it, or the lackluster "Hold the cue card closer, I can't read my lines off of it!" acting style. The film comes across as more of a pseudo-documentary, simply following the Preacherwoman through her motions as she acts the hypocrite, snorting fire and brimstone on those stupid young lovers, then picking up guys in bars and butchering them in a hotel room. Badly shot, badly acted, but yet plays out in a way that keeps one's attention. Go figure that one, huh?
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Whatever Happened to Sara Jane? (or Walt Davis for that matter.)
gavcrimson15 January 2005
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***

Not many films that combine gore and sex open with a biblical quote- namely "Beware of false prophets,which come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravening vultures"- then again Evil Come,Evil Go isn't just any film. It's the story of diminutive Southern belle Sister Sara Jane Butler (Cleo O'Hara). Part evangelist, part talentless country and western singer, and all round basket case Sara Jane preaches on the streets against "pleasurable sex" especially with them there "love generation men". Her motto is 'God is love, not sex' something she hopes to prove by luring randy men back to cheap hotel rooms then butchering them in the name of the Lord. Should we forget about Sara Jane's murderous tenancies there's also a folk song on the soundtrack to remind us that "Sara Jane, Sara Jane,Sister Sara, you're insane". Her opening pick-up/victim, a truck driver, rates as one of the vilest characters ever to appear in film and their 'moment' together is hardly the stuff of great romance. Spewing misogynistic dialogue he blows his top when Sara Jane starts singing hymns during sex, and bragging about bedding 4 or 5 women a week, having lots of illegitimate kids and not paying child support proves his final undoing. Sara Jane produces a knife from under the bed and offs the lowlife, Basic Instinct style.

Arriving in LA, Sara Jane wastes no time in whipping her accordion out for a religious sing song, in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater no less. Her sole convert Penny runs an apartment block in which Sara Jane soon sets about forming "the secret order of the sisters of subjugation" (total members:2). Penny's family actually pays for her to keep away from them because of her sexual orientation, which doesn't exactly go down well with Sara Jane either. "I am a lesbian" admits Penny "but I'll stop it". With that sorted the deadly duo go about luring male swingers back to her flat, with Penny seducing the men (suffering the horrors of heterosexuality in turn) and Sara Jane hacking them to death. Not that much appears to be known about director/actor Walt Davis outside of the films. He directed his first feature Substitution-a soft core sexploiter-in 1969 and worked regularly as a writer and director in the sex industry till the mid-70s,mostly for producer Manuel Conde. The blueprint for Evil Come,Evil Go was clearly Davis' earlier hardcore film Widow Blue-now more commonly known as Sex Psycho-which far from being your average early porno added in a cocktail of violent mayhem and a scene of gay sex (with Davis as one of the participants) and subsequently was deemed unreleasable only belatedly turning up on video in 1995 (its now been withdrawn). Davis retains a handful of ideas from the earlier film (chiefly a couples attempt to dispose of a corpse being thwarted by the arrival of a nosey third party) but keeps the sex scenes a shade away from hardcore this time. Still its all highly sleazy stuff and even the most casual viewing will tip you off it came from a pornographic collective making a stab at straightforward exploitation film-making. The film was in fact produced by Bob Chinn who had initiated John Holmes' 'Johnny Wadd' series,Holmes even has a cameo in Evil Come,Evil Go and the majority of the male actors are moonlighting porn stars like bodybuilder Rick Cassidy and Gerard Broulard who had been in Sacrilege and here turns up for the film's curious -to say the least- non-ending. On the basis of the gruesome twosome that is Sex Psycho and Evil Come,Evil Go it seems fair to say Walt Davis liked sex, blood flying in all directions and perverse black comedy. Its a little too early (made 1972) to have been influenced by John Waters but with its rough home movie look and semi-improvised feel to the dialogue comparisons are there. The two leads would certainly be at home in a Waters movie, particularly Cleo O'Hara with her Warhol Superstar like stage name. You're never quite sure if you're watching acting or slightly disturbed people given a film to run riot in. Some of Evil Come,Evil Go is actually very, very funny, especially when Sara Jane and Penny discover to their horror a couple having sex in their backyard and attempt to cool the ardour by circling the couple whilst playing the tambourine "how dare you beget in front of me" and then there's Sara Jane's occasional unchristian 'lapses'- when her attempts to blag a free hotdog from a fast food joint goes sour she mouths behind the manager's back…well something that can't be repeated here. Yet tongue in cheek as the film is, and exaggerated as the acting gets, at the same time there is something frighteningly believable about the dumb well-moneyed Penny who is so easily lead that her lesbian girlfriend addresses her in the manner you would a dim child who goes off with strangers at the mall, and Sara Jane with her impromptu accordion playing, Baby Jane get-up and ambition to have her own TV show could be a guest on Jerry Springer. Targeted towards the H.G. Lewis drive-in crowd and pushing down on all the sex and horror buttons to endear itself to that audience, Evil Come,Evil Go is certainly a film you won't forget in a hurry and just to make sure of it there are no shortage of baffling moments to ponder over after the credits roll. Such as who let a pet cat wander into two crucial scenes, why one character played by Davis himself is listed in said credits as an 'Arizona Pig Farmer' an unusual occupation not even referenced in the film itself, and should we read any deeper significance into the presence of a long haired, vaguely messianic character who discreetly follows Sara Jane around strumming his guitar and singing that song to remind us that Sara Jane is indeed insane. I dare say only Walt himself could tell us what it all means.
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2/10
Garbage
rdoyle2923 June 2017
A religious fanatic teams up with a lesbian and they go on a killing spree offing people who have sex. This is a really terrible film. It's barely over an hour in length, and it feels interminably long. Every single scene plays out at a glacial pace. The one highlight is somebody's cat that enters a scene clearly unexpectedly and commands the frame for a few minutes. Give the cat an Oscar and chuck this flick in the trash.
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4/10
Good story line poorly executed
richardjrainier3 April 2022
One of the better horrible movies I have seen from the 70's. The story line is good and could make a great movie today, but the acting and quality of the picture is poor. Regardless, I was captured by the film and was really wanting to see where it would end.
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6/10
Occasionally creeky exploitation does deliver the goods.
HumanMillipede3 July 2014
Evil Come, Evil Go has the strongest opening 20 minutes of an exploitation film I've seen for quite some time, with the main character singing a hymn on the way to pick up her first lucky/unlucky victim. When they're laying in bed together the rotten sleazebag berates her for continuing to sing hymns whilst he's "tryin' to give head" to her. Amusingly this ultra prude allows him to go all the way before sticking a knife in his back, ending his reign of wanton lust.

Unfortunately the pace does eventually let up, the numerous fateful sex scenes becoming increasingly dull. Sarah Jane's meeting with a lesbian named Penny does liven things up somewhat, she meekly agrees to assist her puritan rampage which yields several rather tasty murder scenes. The ending is a bit of a let down, but overall I had a fun time with this one and if the premise appeals to you then I imagine you will too. The running time is appropriate given the lack of variety within and prevents things from getting too stagnant. 2 years earlier Walt Davis directed the utterly perverted Sex Psycho, which is a real treat for lovers of cinematic depravity and must have surely been one of the most outrageous films to ever grace a grindhouse at the time.
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8/10
If You're Looking For A Bizarre Movie...
jerm19775 February 2001
Evil Come, Evil Go is definitely not for the mainstream moviegoer. However, if you are like me, and love movies that are as strange as they can be, you should really enjoy this one. Of course the acting is pretty bad, with the exception of Sara Jane, who actually plays the role pretty well! If you like this one, be sure to check out director Walt Davis' other film, Sex Psycho. It is a LOT stronger than this one, including hardcore mixed with blood and gore. I have also written a review here on the IMDB for this film as well. Happy viewing!
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6/10
Fun to be had..
christopher-underwood12 October 2005
Unusual, sex/slasher/comedy, with evangelical theme. In truth the sex is fairly well done, let down only by the low lighting (and frequency), the bloody scenes are also not bad and it really is amusing now and again. Sister Sara is a self styled 'anti- pleasurable sex' evangelist who enlists another to help lure men and then do them in, because they are so evil. This is all made watchable though by decent use of original music and hymn singing(!) sometimes accompanied by tambourine thumping. It is particularly impressive at the start and we see the girls on the street but it looses it's way a little two thirds in when we reckon it's all over but it then steps up a gear and finishes with a flourish. If you think this review is a bit muddled, you should see the film. Fun to be had nonetheless.
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Weird mix of religious fanaticism, sex, gore
thomandybish8 January 2001
This film, a weird cross-breed of horror and soft-core porn, is one of the more original low budget flicks from the 70s. Apparently intended for the grindhouse crowd(and coming near the end of that era), this movie mixes sex with religious fanaticism and gore. Sister Sarah Jane drifts cross-country, preaching against the evils of pleasurable sex and men. And how does this fine lady do the Lord's work? By hooking up with men, having sex with them, then stabbing them to death! Sister Sarah takes her message to the streets of downtown Hollywood, where she finds a disciple in naive Penny, a wealthy lesbian who swears to renounce her tendencies and follow Sarah. Together, they conspire to enact Sarah's master plan: Penny lures the men to her house and has sex with them and Sarah kills them. As sick as it sounds, it works. Actress Cleo O'Hara handles her role as Sarah Jane skillfully, going from bible-thumping harpie to slutty pyscho believably. If you're looking for a sick time, check this one out.
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7/10
Pretty good gore-sex piece
furlough17 June 2013
It's not Citizen Kane.. but it isn't trying to be. It is a schlocky, early exploitation piece with sex, murder and religion.. A true mish-mash of genres. I'm amazed that no one has made note that the Robert Chinn in the credits became the "Famous" Bob Chinn once he hooked up with John Holmes and began directing the "Johnny Wadd" series. The next film featuring some of the same workers was "The Demon in Miss Jones".. aka Sex Psycho.. which featured an early appearance by John Holmes.. therefore making that film the first time Chinn/Holmes worked together.

This film is more gore-centric where Sex Psycho is more sex centered. All in all.. a pretty good waste of time.. you could do lots worse.
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8/10
Beware of the sins of pleasurable sex
Woodyanders10 March 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Totally bonkers traveling evangelist Sister Sarah Jane (robustly overplayed with lip-smacking relish by Clara O'Hara) embarks on a deranged holy mission to rid the world of sex-obsessed men. After befriending naive, but wealthy lesbian Penny (a winningly sincere performance by pretty and busty brunette Sandra Henderson), the pair decide to embark on a crazed killing spree in Hollywood, California. Writer/director Walt Davis illustrates in the most gloriously lurid manner imaginable how religious fervor can directly lead to homicidal dementia by piling on plenty of grotty gore and seamy quasi-pornographic soft-core sex. The grungy locations, off-kilter story, and overall pervasively loopy sensibility further enhance the bizarre charm of this singular 70's exploitation oddity. Moreover, O'Hara has an absolute field day with her juicy role; she's a total hoot to behold as she sounds off on the wickedness of engaging in pleasurable sex and sings gospel songs with infectious go-for-it gusto. Legendary porn stud John Holmes makes a fleeting appearance as a pool player in a low-rent bar. Manuel Conde's rough unpolished cinematography provides an appropriately scroungy look. Dan Goodman's jaunty honky-tonk score hits the spirited spot. Good trashy grindhouse fun.
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7/10
Makes Thelma and Louise look like girl scouts
Bugger16 October 1998
One of the most "different" movies around. Rather amazing in its graphic sexuality combined with an old fashioned values environment.
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jaw-dropping heap of steaming 70s trash
EyeAskance29 February 2004
Sister Sarah is a Bible-thumping evangelist nutcase who dresses like Baby Jane Hudson.

She travels from one rural American ragdump to the next, vociferating the evils of recreational sex. Between her holy-rolling streetcorner castigations, she pacifies crowds with her mellifluous hymns(not only is she the Lord's golden-throated songbird, she also plays the accordion). By night, Sarah frequents bars, intent on luring "sinful" men to their bloody deaths. By-and-by, she takes on a wealthy, brick-ugly lesbian minion...together, these goose-stepping Christian crusaders become a holy force to be reckoned with.

Craggy little exploitation cowplop is too over-the-top to possibly be sincere...I suspect it has tongue lodged firmly in cheek when it's not lodged firmly elsewhere. EVIL COME EVIL GO is neither fish nor fowl...while nothing about it is exactly praiseworthy, it's generally more rounded than the centroid of its kindred contemporaries. And while the film's underpinnings may be of an erotic nature, it certainly won't serve to enhance xerotripsis for most fellows.

4/10
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6/10
They must have ran out of dough...
murking1 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I was shocked in the first place that this film was any good. I was beginning to lose hope in Something Weird's oddities, mainly the pure sex romps bereft of plot.

Here you have an unwanted dose of ant-sexual religious fervor, laid upon the plate of Grindhouse hippie storefront cinema. Plus some lesbianism thrown in for sheer ambiguity. As uncomfortable as the players seem, the sex scenes come across with mild realism. Sara Jane's first victim, presumably picked up in a Cafeteria (?) boasts about his love 'em and leave 'em ethos, and considering his sexual choices, it's a good strategy. She laughs as she complies with his perfunctory sexual demands, before she wastes him.

Later, we have a classic triangle when the lesbian friend shows up and convincingly rescues her girlfriend from Sara Jane's clutches. Unfortch, it's a trick. But very well played, and nice boobs on the blonde, BTW.

How can I explain the ending? Are the girls converted back to a free love ideology? Or have they lost their bloodlust out in the open air? So easy to kill in the privacy of a hotel room.
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Trash
Michael_Elliott31 October 2008
Evil Come Evil Go (1972)

* (out of 4)

Insane sexploitation film has a God-loving woman calling herself Sister Sarah Jane (Cleo O'Hara) and she goes across the country teaching people that sex is evil. This Sister thinks the best way to teach people this lesson is by picking men up in bars, taking them to a motel and then cutting them up. Whenever you dive into the world of DVDs released by Something Weird you know you're going to get something weird and that's the case here. This is an extremely strange little film that features a lot of sex and nudity but very little plot. The idea of a religious nut going around killing people who have sex is something funny but not for a feature film. The plot here is enough for a short film but this here runs 72-minutes, which is just way too long as the film grows old very quickly. As is to be expected, the performances are all rather bad and the direction is even worse. The low-budget nature of the film doesn't leave for many pretty technical things but then again if you're watching something from Something Weird then you know this already. Another problem I had is that the lead actresses just aren't cute enough to carry this type of sexploitation film. If you're a fan of weird films then this here is certainly a must see but keep the remote handy.
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