100-year-old stone castle in the mountains, left alone by Indian tribes (who dubbed the location "Valley of the Devils), is snapped up by married doctors Richard Crenna (sporting a beard) and Joanna Pettet, who bring in their friends to help refurbish it. There's a German Shepherd, too, who senses something rotten down in the basement. Cheap, glum thriller with false scares followed by shocks, and the usual round of dumb humans who are warned to get the hell outta there but don't listen. Pettet sees an apparition on her very first visit, but doesn't think to tell her husband or the realtor. On her second visit, she sees a statue turn its head in her direction, but agrees with hubby Crenna that it was probably a trick of the light. Horror buffs have been down this road multiple times--and there was a glut of similar stories yet to come--so what does this variation have to offer? An interesting estate, a solid (if somewhat colorless) cast and a few good effects. Gus Trikonis directed (and reportedly wrote the original draft); his pacing is brisk, but he hasn't anything new to add to the genre apart from Victor Buono as a pleased-with-himself Prince of Darkness. *1/2 from ****

"The Evil" is a more-than-serviceable haunted house film with a couple flaws.**SPOILERS**Looking for a new home, C.J. Arnold, (Richard Crenna) and his wife Caroline, (Joanna Pettet) find a large Victorian mansion and decide to move in. As it needs repairs, they invite friends Prof. Raymond Guy, (Andrew Prine) Mary Harper, (Cassie Yates) Pete Brooks, (George O'Hanlon Jr.) Felicia Allen, (Lynne Moody) Laurie Belman, (Mary Louise Weller) and Dwight, (Robert Viharo) over to the house and help fix it up. Finally getting to work, they realize that something isn't right with the house, as they begin to experience strange accidents and hallucinations within the rooms, finally uncovering a long-lost mysterious journal of the former inhabitant that sheds light on the situation. Realizing that they are messing with demonic supernatural forces beyond their capabilities, they try to find a way out of the trap-filled mansion before they all are dead.The Good News: This was a highly enjoyable film at times. Most of the good points come from the film's haunted-house motive. The house itself is actually very well-done, looking incredibly creepy and perfectly suited for a haunted house film. The grand Victorian facade, with the columns, rounded structures and general vibe allow for a pretty great feel to it, yet the inside of it is where most of the fun occurs. From the long, winding hallways, ornate decorations, multiple levels and rather obscure-seeming surroundings that are used to fun effect when the hauntings start make for a spectacular setting that allows for the ghostly action to be taken rather well. Beyond a great setting, the ghost action itself is really nice, actually going for a full-gamut of effects that not only work well, but also differ from the normal ones that are present throughout these types of films. There's a series of ghostly visions appearing only to one, the possessed animal, levitating objects, invisible forces controlling the outcome of events despite their knowledge of it there, slamming doors, shaking foundations and much, much more in here, which allows it to come off so well as it's got a wide variety of events happening. That allows it to appear much more disturbing and powerful, that it's able to do so much within it's confines and makes them seem all the more threatening and exciting, as it provides some interest as to what will happen next. That the scenes themselves are all really fun, as really all of those are just a blast to watch and are part of what makes the film a lot of fun, taking on a ton of great moments that make the film a lot fun, and even more so since all of them come in the last half of the film and make it seem like there's a giant rush at the end as it's just nonstop at all, not slowing down at all. There's a fine trade-off between finding a way out before it gets shut down through something supernatural and another plan is tried, with the same results in a different location to different victims. It's a great tool and is done right in here to give the scenes some weight to them and give these segments a wholly-inspired pace that makes for a lot of good times to be had. With a couple good kills coming from the haunting seasons thrown in, these here make the film enjoyable and interesting.The Bad News: There was a couple of flaws to this one. One of the biggest is the film's rather dull beginning that doesn't start it off on the right note. Despite there being a graphic kill and a creepy setting, the fact that we have to wait about ten minutes to get what should've been done in half the time isn't a good movie, as it appears to stretch the film out to make it reach it's proper running time since the middle segments fly right by, and here it just stinks of filler material. It also wouldn't have been a bad idea to know a little more about the reason behind the ghost's actions in here. Beyond the need for introducing the cryptic diary entry to them, there wasn't any reason for it to be there since it's actually revealed in the equally-lame finale who the real culprit is, so that wouldn't have been terrible information to give out and have a purpose why it's there. The last flaw was the aforementioned finale, which just didn't click at all. From the goofy nature conflicting wildly with the serious tone throughout, the whole segment consisting of resolution over a verbal confrontation that features such limited physical contact as to appear as nothing happened, and the whole scene conveniently overflowing with smoke to obscure what little does happen, the whole scene is a mess and entirely confusing, which really puts a damper on the film somewhat. These are the only things that hurt this one.The Final Verdict: With a lot of good stuff here and some minor flaws present, there wasn't much holding this down and it comes off rather well in the end. Give this one a shot if you're into these kinds of films or feeling adventurous towards it, while those who aren't big on haunted house films should heed caution.Rated R: Violence and Language

This is a by-the-numbers horror film starring Richard Crenna and Joanna Pettet as a psychologist duo who purchase and old mansion and invite a small crew of friends and patients to help clean the place up. Unbeknownst to them, the mansion harbors a cellar door - the gateway to hell. If you are in the mood for a clichéd horror film, then look no further, but if you want something inventive, then this little film won't appeal to you.VIOLENCE: $$$ (Rather subdued, albeit the scene where a guy cuts his hand with a saw - rather gruesome mind you. Fans of inventive deaths scenes will not like this as every character seems to be electrocuted in some fashion).NUDITY: $ (Nothing to speak of. Mary Louise Weller adds the good looks but her character was underdeveloped).STORY: $$ (Cliched, but view-worthy nonetheless. This offers nothing new to the genre but the casting of Victor Buono - who is about as menacing as a department store Santa - seems to have attracted a few viewers).ACTING: $$ (The best performances are by Crenna and Pettet with the other actors simply "phoning-in" their roles. The screenwriter fails to develop any characters outside Pettet's character and seemed to have forgotten about Mary Louise Weller (Animal House) who disappears for about twenty minutes and only resurfaces to be electrocuted like everyone else in boring fashion).

Compassionate psychologist C.J. Arnold (a fine, bearded Richard Crenna, who starred in the hilariously horrible made-for-TV hoot "Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell" around the same time) and his supportive wife Caroline (gorgeous brunette Joanna Pettet) purchase a huge, creepy, rundown old mansion with the intention of transforming it into a drug rehabilitation center. A kindly apparition warns Caroline to leave the house, but the stubbornly rationale C.J. balks at the idea that the eerie abode might be spooked and invites a team of college students (genial unsung 70's action movie tough guy Robert Viharo and fetching femme faves Cassie Yates and Mary Louise Weller among 'em) led by C.J.'s good buddy Professor Raymond Guy (a nicely subdued performance by the usually more manic Andrew Prine) to help him clean the dingy place up. Things turn sour and get mighty harrowing when C.J. accidentally releases an ancient and extremely malevolent phantasmagoric force that's been confined in the basement for a long time. Said force proceeds to gruesomely decimate most of the cast (grisly electrocutions, a possessed German Shepard causes a chick to take a fatal spill down a flight of stairs, Prine drowns in quicksand, and so on) before C.J. and Caroline discover that none other than Beezlebub his horned, devilish self (a sumptuously ripe, show-stopping slice of grand thespic ham by Victor Buono) is behind the whole diabolical shebang.While the plot might not sound too promising (in fact, it's pretty threadbare), "The Evil" still qualifies as a superior supernatural scarefest because the invigorating deftness and straightforwardness of the execution wholly compensate for the story's dearth of originality. The direction by the always efficient and underrated 70's exploitation feature ace Guy ("The Student Body") Trikonis bristles with remarkable élan, style and restraint. Furthermore, Trikonis adeptly covers all the mandatory bases to make this picture pass muster as a solid little horrorshow: a fair amount of alarming, pulse-quickening tension is ably created and sustained throughout, uniformly on the money acting, a fleshing-crawling score by Johnny Harris, a galloping pace which never lets up for a minute, properly ugly and unpleasant death scenes, a grim gloom-doom mood, shadowy cinematography by Mario DiLeo, and a cogently stated central thesis which firmly argues that not only must supernatural events and entities be accepted and dealt with on their own logic-defying otherworldly terms, but also that the sole way to effectively thwart evil is through direct and aggressive means. To sum up, this honey certainly rates as a a real killer diller haunted house thriller.