A nice assortment of cult and over the hill actors cannot save this horror - comedy. Karen Black is the same whacked character you've seen in any number of her horror films. Michael Berryman is totally wasted as a writer/voyeur. Martine Beswicke as a séance medium overacts to the extreme. The rest of the oddball borders include the most stereotypical drunk ever, and Artie Johnson shows up for a paycheck as a Social Security investigator. Almost the entire movie takes place in a claustrophobic Victorian house, and the whole thing just sort of grinds on to a very underwhelming conclusion. Those curious only because of the unusual cast have been warned. - MERK

Batty widower Ella (Karen Black!) rents out the rooms in her giant house to various boarders in order to make ends meet. When one of his clients goes missing from the residence, a snoopy social services agent discovers her boarders have an abnormally high "turnover" rate. YES! "Evil Spirits' is tailor made for fans of Karen Black's zany side. While this film is really just a vehicle for her weirdness (at one point she's talking with her parrot, making the strangest noises I've ever heard come out of her mouth, all while crossing her eyes and smiling at it like it's lunch), it's actually a pretty good ride. Unlike later films where her charm is the only redeeming quality, such as "Auntie Lee's Meat Pies," "Evil Spirits" is an all-around hoot. Ella is such a kooky character. Several scenes just feature her laughing maniacally for extended periods of time. This is priceless, prime Karen Black! Even though her husband is dead, Ella still talks to him on a regular basis (the Danny Devito-ish voice that retorts back with silly comment is one of the movie's more grating downsides.) While many of the boarders are older and/or ready to kick the bucket (hmm!), she does have a few eccentric younger folks staying with her. A young lady named Tina is like a throwback to Vulnavia from "Dr. Phibes," gracefully dancing (or, um, flailing) about the other characters at random times, except instead of ornate outfits and headpieces she has a leotard and 80s hair. There's also a spastic and pretentious author (Michael Berryman refreshingly playing against type) who spends much of his time staring through peepholes at Tina undressing as she dances. And don't forget "Neighbor," a bitchy middle-aged lady who doesn't appreciate that the yard next door smells like doody! It's a witty performance by drive-in starlet Yvette Vickers*. So, okay, okay, "Evil Spirits" is not incredibly original and it's completely predictable. It's a bit of a throwback to films like "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?" and even Black's film from two decades earlier, "Burnt Offerings." However, it's tongue is planted so firmly in it's cheek that it bursts right through. Black and company go full throttle with the whackiness, and it's a wonderful time.*not to be confused with Aussie icon Jacque Vickers.

Something very strange and sinister is going on at a gloomy, moldy, dilapidated Los Angeles boarding house run by endearingly batty landlady Karen Black. Lots of residents who check in check out permanently so Ms. Black and her dead, but still present wheelchair-bound husband (who speaks with Karen telepathically from beyond the grave) can continue to collect their welfare and pension checks without having to spend extra cash feeding and housing the poor folks. Said tenants are a colorfully kooky bunch played by a game cast of genre favorites hand-picked to please the horror fans: Martine Beswicke as an edgy, intense psychic, Bert Remsen and Virginia Mayo as a bickering elderly couple, screenwriter Mikel Angel as a perpetually sloshed stewbum alcoholic, Michael Berryman as a creepy peeping tom, and the astonishingly cute'n'cuddly Debra Lamb as an adorably waifish mute dancer. Popping up in fun secondary roles are Arte Johnson as a meddlesome Social Security worker, Yvette Vickers as a shrewish neighbor who's always complaining about the odd foul stench emanating from Ms. Black's basement (hmm, I wonder what that could be?), Robert Quarry as a doctor, Anthony Eisley as a cop, and Hoke Howell as a friendly mailman.Ace veteran cinematographer Gary Graver directs with a sure playfully wiggy touch, keeping the tone of this cheerfully macabre horror black comedy amusingly off-kilter throughout. Meanwhile, the pace clicks away at a solid steady tempo, the photography is impressively polished, and the lashings of mild gore and gratuitous nudity ensure that on a pure exploitation level this lightweight diversion is satisfying enough. But ultimately it's the uniformly lively and enthusiastic performances that make this amiable fluff so entertaining. Karen Black in particular brings a disarmingly wacky charm to her juicy nutjob part, making her character so totally personable in her ditzy loopiness that even the fact that she's a killer does nothing to lesson her daffy appeal. Sure, "Evil Spirits" certainly isn't the kind of film anyone will ever hail as a bona-fide cinematic masterpiece, but it's nonetheless still a perfectly enjoyable little Grade B fright flick just the same.

"So-so" sums it up...simply marginal on every level, with ensemble "anything for a paycheck" cast the only redeeming quality. Karen Black is her usual hammy self as the psychotic landlady of a rooming house for various misfit characters. They mysteriously disappear at random, while smiling Ms. Black continues collecting on their monthly government checks. She converses with an unearthly male voice from time-to-time...a spirit from beyond the grave, or just a madwoman's rambling dementia? Not many great thrills to be had in this, but not bad enough to be harshly criticized, either...EVIL SPIRITS is a take-it-or-leave-it crap shoot- some may find this one entertaining(and gore mongers should find it acceptably gross), but I personally was left underwhelmed and rather put off by it's occasionally over-the-top comical silliness.Hmmm.... 4.5/10, coulda been worse.