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C.J., Raymond, and
Felicia standing over Mary's corpse in a trancelike state; when she appears with the cross, however, it drives the three into a fit, and they return to consciousness, unaware of what just occurred. A short time later, Laurie, Felicia, and Raymond attempt to melt the iron bars covering the windows with electrical cables. During the attempt, Laurie is dragged away upstairs by an unseen entity. Raymond chases after her but is thrown down the staircase by the force. In a panic, Raymond and Felicia resume their endeavor, but Felicia is killed when Mary's corpse reanimates, startling her and causing her to fall back against the iron bars, electrocuting her to death.
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innocent person as a warning to others to stay away from the mansion but obviously the warning was not heeded, leaving the death of Vargas' victim in vain. Together, C.J and
Caroline descend into the basement to close the pit, but are overcome by a powerful force that knocks Caroline into the pit. C.J. descends into the pit to get her, and the two find a series of tunnels. There, C.J. enters a white cavern, where he is confronted by the
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435:, who threatens and belittles C.J. as the Devil proceeds to break C.J.'s mind. Caroline appears with the cross, stabbing it into the Devil's chest, and together she and C.J. flee, escaping the pit and sealing it closed. When they do, the windows and doors of the house miraculously unlock. They flee outside while Vargas' spirit watches from a window.
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415:, as the blade inexplicably wears down rapidly, inflicting no damage on the wood. While doing so, Raymond inadvertently saws through his own hand. Mary flees upstairs to retrieve bandages. The dog attacks her in the hallway, knocking them both over the staircase railing, causing them to fall to their deaths.
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was less laudatory of the film, characterizing it as "yet another horror movie set in an old mansion... The actors seem absolutely bored to death, as you likely will be after 20 minutes' worth of viewing... Gus
Trikonis directed with a flair that elevated tedium to the level of religion."
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C.J. begins storing all of the deceased's bodies in an enclosed porch, but shortly after finds that Mary's body has vanished. Meanwhile, Caroline witnesses the apparition of a man motioning for her to pick up an iron cross in the parlor. When she does, the apparition vanishes. She subsequently finds
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reviewed the film favorably, writing that the film has a "psychological insight is rare in suspensers, and is a credit to both Crenna, who delivers a strong performance, and director Gus
Trikonis. Fulcrum of pic’s success or failure comes in final scenes, when Crenna and Pettet confront the devil
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by Vargas, whose apparition she has repeatedly seen; Vargas, using
Caroline's body as a conduit, tells C.J. he has released "the evil" in the house by unlocking the pit. Vargas reveals that prior to C.J and Caroline coming to the house with their group, Vargas was forced to claim a life of an
400:. While Felicia is sleeping, she is suddenly attacked by an invisible force that beats her and tears her clothing off. Her screams are heard by the others, who come to console her. The group attempts to find a way out of the house, and decides to scale the wall from a
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in the basement, which he opens up and unknowingly unleashes a menacing spirit. Suddenly, all of the doors and windows become locked, trapping everyone inside the mansion. They soon discover that the trap door in the basement is actually a gateway into
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pits. There, he plans to set up a drug rehab center. C.J. recruits a group of volunteers to help clean up and renovate the large house. Almost immediately, C.J.'s wife, Dr. Caroline Arnold, senses a presence that starts to manifest as a
587:... It is a film that stretches the limits of tastelessness with gratuitous displays of blood-letting for the sake of pursuing obtuse theological questions of right versus wrong, good versus evil."
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on the house. Peter attempts to descend using a rope but is overtaken by an invisible force. C.J. attempts to pull him back to safety, but the rope becomes inexplicably hot before Pete's body
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The electricity causes the bars in one of the windows to melt, and
Raymond leaps through the window. As he runs away from the house, however, the ground beneath him turns to
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deemed the film "a scary and atmospheric thriller" with "excruciating suspense," also praising the performances and music. Bob Keaton of the
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The
Official Splatter Movie Guide, Volumes: 1963-1992: Hundreds of the Goriest, Grossest, Most Outrageous Films Ever Made
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Several newspaper advertisements note the film as "starting today" on
Wednesday, March 8, 1978.
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was also critical of the film, writing that "the film is about as original as a room at the
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was released theatrically in the spring of 1978, with screenings beginning on March 8 in
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noted the plot as "familiar," but conceded that "for those who enjoy the genre,
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himself, played with sinister angelicism by Victor Buono." Linda Gross of the
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1978 American supernatural horror film directed by Gus
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C.J. Arnold buys an abandoned mansion, once owned by a
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general named Emilio Vargas, which was built over hot
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892:"'The Evil' Uses Every Horror Plot Contrivance"
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360:center in a mansion built over a gateway to
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
837:. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
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879:. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
850:"Horror Film Fans Will Like 'The Evil'"
759:"Las Vegas, NM | Montezuma Castle"
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829:"'Evil': Exploitation of Supernatural"
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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871:"'The Evil' could put you to sleep"
869:Taggart, Patrick (April 15, 1978).
739:. Crossroad Press. pp. 252–253
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1153:American supernatural horror films
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469:George O'Hanlon Jr. as Pete Brooks
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702:Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2006
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1193:1970s supernatural horror films
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827:Gross, Linda (March 10, 1978).
508:Galen Thompson as Emilio Vargas
34:needs additional citations for
1203:Films directed by Gus Trikonis
890:Ruth, Daniel (April 5, 1978).
848:Keaton, Bob (April 11, 1978).
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567:is just their cup of horror."
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1228:English-language horror films
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210:Mario DiLeo (as Mario Di Leo)
1178:American haunted house films
1158:1970s English-language films
733:McCarty, John (2016-11-04).
671:Trikonis, Gus (5 May 1978).
487:as Dwight (as George Viharo)
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1198:American exploitation films
1163:Films set in country houses
799:Staff (December 31, 1977).
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391:Later on, C.J. discovers a
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1109:Take This Job and Shove It
1099:Elvis and the Beauty Queen
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58:"The Evil" 1978 film
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699:Maltin, Leonard (2005).
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518:The movie was filmed at
705:. Signet. p. 398.
570:Patrick Taggart of the
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265:March 8, 1978
645:British Film Institute
454:as Dr. Caroline Arnold
406:spontaneously combusts
1079:She's Dressed to Kill
1029:The Swinging Barmaids
332:) is a 1978 American
1213:1970s American films
1173:American ghost films
855:Fort Lauderdale News
777:trade advertisement"
560:Fort Lauderdale News
505:as Sam the Caretaker
460:as Prof. Raymond Guy
43:improve this article
1119:Dance of the Dwarfs
652:on February 9, 2022
597:List of ghost films
334:supernatural horror
241:Rangoon Productions
994:Films directed by
479:Mary Louise Weller
386:ghostly apparition
251:New World Pictures
1208:1970s ghost films
1183:The Devil in film
1148:1978 horror films
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897:The Tampa Tribune
834:Los Angeles Times
640:"The Evil (1978)"
580:The Tampa Tribune
554:Los Angeles Times
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32:This article
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650:the original
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493:as The Devil
491:Victor Buono
464:Cassie Yates
458:Andrew Prine
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373:Psychiatrist
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354:Victor Buono
350:Andrew Prine
338:Gus Trikonis
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281:Running time
258:Release date
198:Victor Buono
193:Cassie Yates
188:Andrew Prine
156:Gus Trikonis
145:Gus Trikonis
105:
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
585:Holiday Inn
473:Lynne Moody
161:Produced by
141:Directed by
99:August 2019
1143:1978 films
1137:Categories
801:"The Evil"
673:"The Evil"
623:References
285:89 minutes
269:1978-03-08
234:Production
151:Written by
69:newspapers
1019:Supercock
428:possessed
424:quicksand
413:skill saw
377:Civil War
323:Cry Demon
309:$ 700,000
215:Edited by
165:Ed Carlin
1069:The Evil
949:The Evil
938:AllMovie
933:The Evil
916:The Evil
775:The Evil
591:See also
565:The Evil
531:The Evil
514:Location
503:Ed Bakey
393:trapdoor
317:The Evil
298:Language
223:Music by
171:Starring
124:The Evil
806:Variety
797:Variety
547:Variety
526:Release
301:English
290:Country
267: (
236:company
83:scholar
1122:(1983)
1112:(1981)
1102:(1981)
1092:(1980)
1082:(1979)
1072:(1978)
1062:(1977)
1052:(1976)
1042:(1976)
1032:(1975)
1022:(1975)
1012:(1969)
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743:19 May
718:19 May
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684:19 May
402:turret
381:sulfur
306:Budget
85:
78:
71:
64:
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603:Notes
433:Devil
90:JSTOR
76:books
921:IMDb
814:2018
745:2017
720:2017
707:ISBN
686:2017
678:IMDb
658:2018
439:Cast
398:Hell
368:Plot
362:hell
352:and
326:and
62:news
952:at
936:at
919:at
45:by
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97:(
87:·
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