A Name for Evil (1973)

Director:

Bernard Girard

Writer:

Bernard Girard (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

The dream house that becomes a nightmare.

Plot:

Dissatisfied with the family architectural business, a man and his wife pack up and move out to his great-grandfather's old house in the country...

Plot Keywords:

Softcore | Old Dark House | Nudist | Erotica | Funeral

Cast

Robert Culp	...	John Blake
Samantha Eggar	...	Joanna Blake
Sheila Sullivan	...	Luanna Baxter
Mike Lane	...	Fats
Sue Hathaway	...	Mary
Ted Greenhalgh	...	Hugh
Clarence 'Big' Miller	...	Jimmy
Barbara Tremain	...	Mrs. Olson
Reg McReynolds	...	Mr. Olson
Walter Marsh	...	Minister
D. Goldrick	...	Secretary

Also Known As:

The Face of Evil
The Grove
There Is a Name for Evil

Runtime:

74 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company:

Penthouse

Soundtrack:

Mountain Woman

Brain Drain

***SPOILERS*** Sloppy and confusing haunted house movie that seems to have been spliced together by a bunch of film editors who were high on Johnny Walker Black.

Nothing in the film "A Name for Evil" makes any sense including it's "Suprise Ending" which is no surprise at all since like the rest of the movie it predictably makes no sense to those of us watching it.

Robert Culp as John Blake looks more confused and disoriented in the film then scared as the owner of "The Major's" place that was left to him by his great-granddaddy "The Major" who was a captain in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.

There's also a very unemotional scene, on John's part, at the funeral of John's younger brother Moss who was killed during the fighting in the War in Vietnam which has, or seems to have, nothing to do with the movie.

At the start of the film "A Name for Evil" we have John quit his job as a big city architect and check out to the Vancouver countryside into his great-granddad "The Major's" place. John wants to get away from the dog-eat-dog world that he's been living in all his adult life thats been burning him out. At first you think that John's wife Joanna, Samantha Eggar, wasn't going with him since she thought he was a bit too hasty in his plans.Later Joanna pops up, like a ghost, at "The Major's" place and together with John they both start to get the place fixed up where they can live in it. John also gets Fats, Mike Lane, the local hotel manager car mechanic cook and all around handyman to have a number of the towns locals to also help fix up "The Major's" place. We later see workmen discover a hidden room in "The Major's" place where'The Major" kept his most secret papers and documents that hasn't been touched for some fifty years. Were never told just what was the reason for them being there in the first place, wasn't anyone interested in finding out what was in them?

Later a bunch of John and Joanna's friends stop over at "The Major's" place for the weekend to talk about old times. John, bored with the meaningless chit-chat goes outside and sees "The Major's" white horse, who if alive must have been close to 100 years old. Without a second thought John suddenly jumps on it's back and rides into town as it dumps John inside the local bar. Getting up off the floor John parties with the people there in a drunken orgy! Was there supposed to be some hidden symbolism in this totally senseless scene?

Striking up a friendship with local girl Luanna Baxter, Sheila Sullivan, John and Luanna end up both drunk and in bed together the next morning from the all night partying. Going back to "The Major's" with his car, not his horse, John is surprised shocked confused, like all of us watching the movie, and finally outraged by Joanna's accusations of him brutalizing and beating her up the night before!

Being that John was with Luanna at the time he tells Joanna that she's nuts for saying what she did about him and that he could prove that he didn't. That truth by spending the night with Luanna was almost as bad, in Joanna's mind, as abusing and beating her. John in a fit of fury drives back to town to get Luanna to prove his innocence which sets up the films "Suprise Ending" that confuses you even more then you were confused already by the movie up till then.

"A Name for Evil" is both an eyesore and headache to anyone trying to watch and understand just what it's trying to tell you which only those who wrote the script really know for sure..I Think?