Welcome to the Grind House Double Feature of Black Candles & Evil Eyes is the first of a two disc series released by BCI Eclipse and Deimos Entertainment. Both films on the disc revolve around a cult based plot full of black magic and a lot of straight forward sexual content. And as usual I find myself watching films that I yet again have no desire to really watch; but feel the need to give them a chance based on the fact that although they do have a lot of sex scenes there are some horror elements.
Both plots for the films a pretty basic; Black Candles follow a women named Carol and her boyfriend Paul whom travel to England after the death of Carols brother. Little do they know that Carol’s sister in law is part of a bizarre sexual satanic cult and she is quickly seducing Paul into the cult’s grasp.
Evil Eye is about a guy named Peter whom is having odd dreams that he is killing someone. He is then hospitalized because he can’t tell the difference between what is real and what’s not real. Soon a lot of people begin to turn up dead in the hospital, however no one really knows if Peter is the killer or if someone else or something else is to blame.
You know my problem with both screenplays is that they seem to be full of more sexual situations and nudity than they are story wise. I also mentioned this with the other disc. as well. I know grind house films were meant to be gritty and exploitive back in the nineteen seventies but I really don’t see either of these films as great reflections of horror cinema of their time. So in terms for the screenplay for both of these films I guess you can say that their alright, but don’t expect them to have a story that’s really worth the mystery of the plots, because the plots are for the most part very predictable.
I’m not going to sit here an write a lie about how I feel about the acting, because the truth is I really didn’t think it was bad, but I didn’t think it was anything special either. In Black Candles we have some semi known actors of big pictures such as Helga Line for Loreley’s Grasp. Evil Eye has Richard Conte of The Godfather. So each film has some decent actors in it and Black Candles was even directed by Vampyres director Jose Romon Larraz. So the acting and overall directing of both films were just simply OK. They probably should of been better with certain members of the cast being aboard in both flicks.
The overall production value of both films is pretty good, I’ll give both films credit for the use of photography, lighting and the overall sets used. The effects in some of the films although cheap were effective, especially in Evil Eye when their is one shot of a guy who seems to be covered in blue light jumping out of nowhere between scenes. Although it’s weird its effective and does provide for a bit of a scare.
Overall, It’s obvious folks that I don’t really enjoy films like this, and I’m probably not the person who you might want to take an opinion from on these flicks if your a fan of seventies and eighties grind house flicks. I do think there are some good ones out there, and I have seen a few. But the likes of the ones contained on this disc and on the second disc which includes the titles Pick Up and The Teacher just are not my types of movies. However both discs do contain a grind house experience feature in which you can experience the double feature, like you were sitting right in a local grind house.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
