Evil Spirits

• Director: Gary Graver
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Comedy
• Movie Type: Horror Comedy
• Main Cast: Michael Berryman, Karen Black, Arte Johnson
• Release Year: 1991
• Country: US
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

An interesting bit of casting enlivens this psycho-thriller set in a California boarding house run by eccentric Karen Black with a rogue's gallery of bizarre tenants and more dark secrets than the Bates Motel. Tenants have a habit of disappearing rather abruptly from this particular residence -- but not without first signing over their Social Security checks to the landlady, netting her a tidy fortune. This leads to the inevitable visit from a federal agent (Arte Johnson), who begins an investigation into Black's shady affairs, and uncovers the true identity of the killer. Despite presenting Black as a blatant red herring from the outset, the filmmakers manage to provide a few interesting twists, though they eventually stray a bit too deeply into Psycho turf. A cast full of familiar faces (including Virginia Mayo, Martine Beswick and Michael Berryman) tends to counterbalance the occasional moments of sleaziness, but there is little originality to distinguish the film from standard slasher fare. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Cast

Michael Berryman - Mr. Balzac; Martine Beswicke - Vanya; Brigitte Burdine; Joan Caulfield; Anthony Eisley; Arte Johnson - Lester Potts; Debra Lamb - Tina; Virginia Mayo - Janet Wilson; Robert Quarry; Bert Remsen - John Wilson; Yvette Vickers; Mikel Angel - Willie; Karen Black - Ella Purdy; Hoke Howell

Credit

Gary Graver - Director, Duane Sciagua - Composer (Music Score), Gary Graver - Cinematographer, Bianca Manzo - Producer, Sidney Niekerk - Producer, Richard Dearborn - Set Designer, Mikel Angel - Screenwriter