70's American Horror Part Forty-Three

RITUAL OF EVIL

(1970)

Dir - Robert Day

Overall: MEH

Equally lackluster while exploring identical subject matter of the posh, upper class who resort to black magic for the sheer meaningless whim of it, the NBC "Movie of the Week" Ritual of Evil follows up the previous year's Fear No Evil.  Both films were pilots for an unsold program allegedly to be called Bedeviled and here, Louis Jourdan's psychiatrist protagonist engages with a fresh crop of characters without mentioning to anybody that he has been through a slight variation of all of this before.  Spells are cast, human sacrifices are made, rich white people think that giving alms to Lucifer is fun, rinse and repeat basically.  Comparing this to the previous entry, the change of director, producer, and screenwriter may be contributing factors to its slight superiority as Robert Presnell Jr.'s script is still overly talky and therefor low on action, but it is also more elaborate in its details than Richard Alan Simmons' bare bones treatment in Fear. Anne Baxter collects a paycheck here as well, to give it one more recognizable face.  Still, this is tame TV movie stuff with very minimal, creepy atmosphere despite its demon name-dropping and figures in black robes showing up.

 

DEATH BY INVITATION

(1971)

Dir - Ken Friedman

Overall: MEH

 

The first of only two films to be directed by Ken Friedman, (who also penned the screenplay here), Death by Invitation has about the most generic premise imaginable of a condemned "witch" seeking vengeance on the ancestors of the mob that murdered her, both her and mob of course all being played by the same actors.  For a film with such a rudimentary story line, much style is needed to enhance the material and that style is unfortunately and largely non-existent.  As was practically a prerequisite for no budget independent B-movies of the era, the pacing is the number one problem as Friedman has zero sense of urgency at any moment, letting scenes go on and on; scenes that advance absolutely nothing in the plot.  Poorly recorded dialog, uninspired cinematography, inappropriate musical accompaniment, and embarrassing, amateur-hour performances are also on full display, but Shelby Leverington in her debut role does at least make a cold, alluring villainess despite the comatose presentation.  Throw in some rape just to make sure that the sleaze quota is met and you have yourself a dopey exploitation yarn.

CRYPT OF DARK SECRETS

(1976)

Dir - Jack Weis

Overall: WOOF

 

A bayou, country bumpkin embarrassment of no-budget, clueless filmmaking, Crypt of Dark Secrets does not even have the courtesy of providing the trash for what is assuredly a trash movie.  Writer/producer/director/hack Jack Weis thankfully only made a small handful of such dung heaps and like all of them, this one was filmed on location in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Full of actors who cannot act, fully-illuminated TV lighting, comatose pacing, nonsensical plotting, and a budget that looks as if it came together from the proceeds of a bake sale with a lukewarm turnout, all of the trappings of independent cheapie cinema are present.  Lead actor Ronald Tanet has the charisma of a week old bowl of oatmeal, but his wooden line readings are perfectly in keeping with the rest of the "never heard of 'em" cast who all have a terrible time getting through their dialog without stumbling at least once or twice.  Both violence and nudity are barely present so instead, we just get a bunch of people with southern accents talking in rooms, talking outside, riding in boats, or, (in the case of a few fake-tanned amazonian women), dancing around to tribal drums.  The movie does not end so much as it just stops, wrapping up the whole horrendously boring affair in as undramatic a fashion as it deserves.