Messiah of Evil

A fascinating cinematic oddity. It's a slightly artsy B-movie with higher ambitions than necessary. The standout elements here are the excellently chosen soundtrack and the tense, almost dreamlike atmosphere. The filmmakers knew how to create an unsettling mood, especially in scenes set in a seemingly deserted town where a few people are aimlessly wandering around. The acting is, of course, amusingly campy, which only adds to the film's unique appeal. Some characters are quite memorable despite this. The highlight for me was the theater scene, which reminded me of a legendary moment from Hitchcock's The Birds. Throughout the film, I kept wondering what on earth was happening, and even though many questions were eventually answered, I still felt a bit confused by the end. But in this case, that confusion added to the experience rather than detracting from it. The film isn’t overly long, so it doesn’t drag, and the blend of artsy elements with an otherwise trashy storyline is simply fascinating. I enjoyed watching this little gem and recommend it to fans of cult films and seekers of hidden treasures. Messiah of Evil might just pleasantly surprise you. (16/04/2018)

À voir les personnages parler et se comporter sans la moindre logique apparente, on peut se demander si ce n’était pas dans l’intention des créateurs. En tout cas, cet état de fait contribue grandement à l’atmosphère onirique du film. Quant au côté audiovisuel, Messiah of Evil excelle (grâce à une combinaison de musique très planante, d’un rendu haut en couleur et de procédés de montage inhabituels). Un seul regret : l’intrigue est plutôt plate et sans grandes surprises. À part ça, rien à redire. (13/04/2018)

This strange indie horror film from the makers of the (actually, also strange) Howard the Duck gives the impression of having been cobbled together from several different films. However, the plot's disjointedness and apparent underdevelopment somehow evokes the feeling of watching a nightmare come to life or a revived horror version of Edward Hopper's paintings, with alienated characters wandering aimlessly through the night's empty streets. The film is certainly not for everyone, but it contains some memorable, extremely well staged horror scenes that after watching will make you wonder why it has become so memorable yet so little known. The scene in the movie theatre, whose aisles gradually fill with zombies behind the back of one of the unsuspecting characters, is as impressive as the similarly constructed school scene in Hitchcock's The Birds, while the zombie scene in the mall beats out the famous Dawn of the Dead (even with its conception of the zombie film as a critique of American consumerism). Messiah of Evil is one of the most remarkable unknown horror films, with its original treatment of zombies that we don't realize are zombies for a long time, precisely staged horror scenes, and stunning widescreen Antonioni-like visuals. (29/03/2018)