Evil Altar (1988) User Reviews

Yep, this movie was BAD!

[Maciste_Brother · 1/10 · 3 July 2003]

EVIL ALTAR has very little going for it except for the story, which in more capable hands could have been compelling, in an epic and gruesome sorta way. But as it is now, the whole production is almost amateurish. I've never seen so many continuity errors or truly bad framing. The camera's positions were often at the wrong spots, which created a confusing sense of placement. The acting was nonexistent. The characters were nearly all awful. Only Robert D'Zar was sorta convincing as the evil sheriff, and the evil man himself was well cast but his acting was, for the most part, lazy (which is understandable. He must have known this flick wasn't worth it). The dialogue was totally pitiful. You could see the microphone bobbing up and down at the top of the picture. And the horror elements of the story were, for the most part, unintentionally funny. A floating killer baseball? One has to see the scene to believe it. Who would have imagined that anyone would have ever conceived the idea that a floating ball would be terrifying or scary?!?! Certainly in the way it was made in the movie. Then there's the whole bit with the collector appearing on TV and killing the reporter. I really laughed out loud then. The "Freddy Kruger-inspired" scene doesn't make any sense and is ineptly done, making it golden in my book of really bad cinematic moments.

I like watching horror movies. The more obscure, the better. Unfortunately, there's very little to recommend of EVIL ALTAR. As bad as a lot of it was, there were simply too many boring moments for the movie to be entertaining on a continuous basis with its sheer ineptness. I recommend this only for horror completists. Others should steer clear from this crap.

Satanic snooze-fest

[Tikkin · 1/10 · 31 May 2006]

When a horror film is as dull as this, I don't understand why they don't add a bit of blood for at least some minimal entertainment. Even if they had of used red paint, it would have been more interesting. As it is, Evil Altar is a deadly boring film that could have been good if directed properly. I mean come on, the plot involves abducting children for sacrifices, and yet there is virtually no gore or blood in this film! There aren't even any bare breasts. There is perhaps only one half-decent scene when a man is set alight and falls into a swimming pool, but apart from that the pace just plods along like a tortoise.

This is another 80's "horror" flick to be avoided, unless you're a die-hard collector.

My friend, don't bother.

[lost-in-limbo · 3/10 · 26 April 2008]

Trying to rule the earth with dark powers never seemed quite popular. Not as awful as I thought it would be, but it still stinks! Crummy, cheap-jack and totally muddled covers the bases of this dank supernatural / occult 80's horror film starring the beefy, square-jaw Robert Z'Dar. No surprises. Its routine stuff (the usual small town secret) and the premise holds a nasty side to it, but director Jim Winburn's incompetently lazy and laboured handling brings it down. Atmosphere is non-existent, and suspense follows the same course that we're left with weak thrills coming off mostly droll. While it can be unintentionally funny, there wasn't enough of it to cover it. Special effects are little, but are gaudily executed. The lousy story doesn't come together, or even tie in that well with an endlessly moronic script of terrible dialogues and choppy editing with awful continuity. The high-strung music score telegraphs everything. There are actually one or two decent moments, and the grimy look works to its favour, as these things could make for campy fun, but it all comes off rather boring and worthless to care much.

Just kind of there

[udar55 · 4/10 · 18 October 2009]

Satanist Reed Weller (William Smith) need to get 103 children for sacrifice (the last one must be a virgin) so that he can become immortal. Trouble starts when Teri (Theresa Cooney) accidentally shoots and kills Weller's kidnapping henchman while hunting with her dad. D'oh! And he was so close as he was on body no. 102. But, since this is an 80s horror movie, it doesn't matter as Weller resurrects his helper and decides Teri will be the final sacrifice. This really drops the ball in terms of 80s horror as you have very little gore and no nudity. It actually reminds me of one of those cheap horror novels you would buy back in the day with a myriad of small town characters running around and somehow it all comes together. This was co-writer Brent Friedman's first screenplay and he went on to do quite a few horror films including the superior SYNGENOR, THE RESURRECTED, NECRONOMICON and TICKS. Superchin Robert Z'Dar is the small town sheriff under Smith's control and their scenes together seem to be a battle of who can deliver the raspier voice. Smith wins, we lose.

One of the worst horror films ever made.

[gridoon · 1/10 · 28 August 2003]

Beyond atrocious horror film was apparently made in the director's sleep, and edited with a buzz saw. Cheap and awful in every way possible. The plot synopsis on the back of the video box made sense; the film didn't. Don't watch it if you value your sanity. 0 out of 4 stars.

Fabulous

[alex-522 · 10/10 · 21 August 2002]

you couldn't make it up. If you dare to criticize Evil Altar you should look hard at your life. This film is an essential part of growing up. Imagine the cocktail: five young lads, a crate of booze stolen from someone's parents, and a copy of Evil Altar. These are the ingredients needed for a buck-wild night.

To call this movie a horror takes a sense of humor, but it carries all the hallmarks of a top movie: an evil sheriff, the devil, lots of blood and a cast of stars you'll never hear of again. That, my friends, is what horror flicks are all about. And this one really sets the pace. Bravo!

Not as bad as some people may suggest

[unclehugo · 4/10 · 22 March 2009]

True, Evil Altar has its share of imperfections and flaws. Some viewers may be turned off by the lack of originality or by a few technical problems, but I certainly wasn't bothered by these imperfections during the screening of this movie. Evil Altar is a story of Reed Weller, a sorcerer, a warlock and Satan's faithful servant who likes to torture and sacrifice unfortunate kidnapped persons in his barn. In the beginning of the movie, even before the titles, Reed Weller assigns an unfortunate boy suspended from the ceiling to collect a hundred and three children that should serve as offerings. Then, the evil man cuts the boy in the chest and informs him that his soul may be taken away any time. Apart from kidnapping and sacrificing people, Reed Weller also likes to boast and he does so by stating his power is absolute. Self-confidence is what I especially liked about this bald-headed character... Thirty years later, the kidnapped boy still roams the countryside in order to collect one hundred and three children. He is known as The Collector and he's ugly as hell. One day, he hits a local kid across the head with a baseball bat, and that's where problems begin. Up to this point, The Collector was supplying Weller with kids from other towns since local kids were of no use to Weller. When a lawyer from the city stops in Weller's town, The Collector strikes again and abducts the lawyer's son. The plot thickens. The Collector is shot down by a local girl during a hunting accident. In his sack, a curious surprise is hidden. The girl's father calls the cops, the local sheriff appears, and the viewer immediately gets the impression something's not right here. Indeed, the sheriff is in a league with Weller, and so is about every man and woman in this town. . As it is revealed later, a number of townspeople made a pact with the devil in exchange for a little favor. These poor fools are now completely under Weller's power. When the sheriff notifies his master of the hunting accident, The Evil Man resurrects The Collector, and sends him out to haunt the girl who had the nerve to mess with Reed Weller. The girl, her brother, the brother's girlfriend and the lawyer searching for his son all have to face the powers of darkness in order to save their souls... Evil Altar offers not only this intriguing plot but also some blood, especially near the end of the movie. In one scene, The Collector visits the poor girl who shot him, pulls a bullet out of his guts a gives it to her as a souvenir. There is also a man with a hatchet embedded in his back, one throat slashing (not too convincing, I'm afraid) and one nice stunt involving The Collector being set afire and thrown into a swimming pool. One complaint about the ending: With regards to Reed Weller's assertions concerning his absolute power, it seems to me that The Evil Man was defeated too easily in the finale.

Plebeian little black magic stinker

[EyeAskance · 22 June 2010]

An evil Satanic occultist keeps the denizens and law enforcement of a small U.S. community in a stranglehold with his supernatural powers. He also regularly dispatches his hulking indentured drudge to abduct children so that they may be used as barter with the Devil.

A man and his son stop at a fuel station in said town, and quickly find themselves sucked into the mysterious local quandary. A search for the missing soon commences as the clock ticks away toward a scheduled blood rite...the sacrifice which will bestow the warlock with eternal life.

A barely commensurate product, EVIL ALTAR's base material is dull in the first place, and worse yet, it's given a stolid, roustabout production which lacks imagination and tenacity. This is cookie-cutter stuff which may be of menial interest to only the most cursive B-horror zealots.

3.5/10

Not Awful

[blurnieghey · 8/10 · 14 September 2020]

Ok, so this movie is crap, but it's my kind of crap and I've seen much worse. Much worse where, you ask? Well, try turning on the TV or take a look at what is playing in the theaters for starters. This piece of junk is high art by comparison, at least by my standards. Slow, plodding, unimpressive gore, and only a dusky, side-boob glance at Connie Woods' hearty chest meat makes for some tedious viewing for a lot of folks to be sure, but it's passable 80's shlock by my criteria. These types of movies take me back to a better time and provide enjoyment on a level that I suppose doesn't come across to some folks. William Smith and Robert Z'Dar? Hell, why even bother having a script at all? Those guys are entertaining in and of themselves. Not really as bad as some of these other guys are saying but, yeah, not exactly top shelf.

Ho-hum Satanic horror

[lor_ · 11 April 2023]

My review was written in July 1989 after watching the movie on South Gate Entertainment video cassette.

Satanism rears its head once more in "Evil Altar", a direct-to- video release with few new wrinkles for the genre.

William Smith portrays a guy sho's sold his soul and become powerful enough to run the little town of Red Rock. He's sent his minion (Pepper Martin) to collect 103 young souls for sacrifice.

With burly local cop Robet Zdar under Smith's spell, the disappearance of various youngsters is covered up until a visiting lawyer (Tal Armstrong) teams up with locals to root out the evil.

Pic suffers from meager special effects, including a poorly done climax in which heroine Theresa Cooney is threatened in her bedroom by a floating ball reminiscent of "Phantasm". Bald-pated Smith makes a solid villain.