3/6/24

Blood Capsule #184

SOMETHING EVIL (1972)

Following in the footsteps of The Lawnmower Man and Circuitry Man, Hologram Man is a cautionary tale about the dangers of transferring one's soul into holographic stasis.  And that, dear reader, was going to be the first sentence of today's review until I sleepily slid into watching Something Evil.  This was a treat.  I didn't know it going in, but this made-for-TV sternum-stroker (it was either that or "spine-chiller") was shepherded by a young, hungry Steven Spielberg.  Coming hot off the heels of Duel, he was still finding himself on the set of this project.  Personally, I was sold as soon as I saw a pre-Night Stalker* Darren McGavin's name in the opening credits.  He plays Paul, the concerned husband of a beleaguered woman (a fraught Sandy Dennis).  What's beleaguering her?  Find out in the next paragraph...same time, same channel!

There is something bedeviling their home, something a little more malevolent than a mere ghost.  It has been said that Evil served as a dry run for Poltergeist, and I can back that sentiment.  The latter film is superior, but Spielberg's direction is sharp here.  The first half is slow-going, almost too slow.  Almost.  Patience is rewarded in a significant way, however.  Stevie expertly uses the acoustics of a room to his advantage in building tension.  It's funny; according to the man himself, CBS hacked his budget and hobbled his creative impulses.  I couldn't tell.  By the way, I did pop Hologram Man into my VCR.  It's a tepid, noisy sci-fi/actioner.  I bet you weren't banking on reading two reviews in one, were you?  No one asked, but my favorite Spielberg joint has always been Subspecies.

*So apparently, both Something Evil and The Night Stalker premiered in early 1972.  'Twas a good year for small-screen spooks.


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