The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave . Weekly Alibi . 07-21-97

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave

DIRECTED BY: Emilio Paolo Miraglia

REVIEWED: 07-21-97

This spaghetti-bendin' "psychological thriller" contains all the elements to make it a must-see, but for cryin' out loud does it seem to go on forever. Anthony Steffen (Antonio DeTeffe) plays Sir Richie of Cunningham or some damn thing, who brings a lovely hooker home to his rundown mansion. She's appalled by the filthy state of the place and wants to leave, but the instant she enters a clean room, she starts shucking her clothes. Antonio takes her to his torture dungeon, where she says, "It's not uncommon for a man to want to do strange things to get his kicks." Antonio yells at her to "put that whip down--and put those boots on," then straps her to a table and comes at her with a red-hot branding iron. Before he can mark her as a prostitute, though, his dead wife Evelyn starts yapping at him, and he wigs out, finally murdering the hooker. As things progress in their typically rambly Italian way, we discover that Antonio may have murdered Evelyn due to her perceived infidelities and is now slaughtering redheads to make himself feel better--or maybe not, because this sucker has more twists than a can of rotini, and I was never sure what the hell was going on. Aside from the much-beloved atrocious dubbing, we also get a stripper in a coffin, shots framed through weird lamps, tons of nudity and Antonio's battalion of blond-afroed maids who bring him warm milk! I'd watch it if I were you. (Something Weird Video)

--Scott Phillips

Film Vault Suggested Links
The House by the Cemetery
Lisa and the Devil
The Stendhal Syndrome

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