EVILS OF THE NIGHT (1985)
Director: Mardi Rustam
Shriek Show/Media Blasters

Mardi Rustam, the executive producer of Al Adamson’s THE FEMALE BUNCH and DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN, and producer of Ray Danton’s THE PSYCHIC KILLER and Tobe Hooper’s EATEN ALIVE, here makes his directorial debut with the incredibly awful EVILS OF THE NIGHT. A gratuitous mélange of silly science fiction, cheap gore and obligatory sex, the film boasts a cast of over-the-hill B movie greats, former TV starlets and then-active porno performers.

A flashing, twirling spaceship lands in a field somewhere on earth. Conveniently, a group of horny, pot-smoking teens are camping around a nearby lake, becoming easy prey for visiting aliens who need human blood to increase their longevity. Draining their victims of blood inside the facilities of a small secluded hospital, the aliens hire two middle-aged auto mechanics in ski masks to do their dirty work, or sometimes zap their victims with the green laser beams which emit from the flashy rings on their fingers.

EVILS OF THE NIGHT lampoons the “Friday the 13th” series and other slasher films of its ilk by involving sex hungry jocks who think and talk about sex 24/7 and the sexy bimbos who all too happy to take off their clothes and oblige while terribly sappy love songs spin in the background. Although there is an ample amount of female nudity on display, most of it is regulated to the beginning of the film, borderlining on softcore as the lovely actresses are seen totally naked as their male counterparts fondle them and dry hump them with their slacks on. Some of these promiscuous young people are played by notable 1980s adult film stars, including Amber Lynn, Crystal Breeze and Jerry Butler (here billed as Paul Siederman), while several others are played by B-movie beauty Dawn Wildsmith (THE TOMB, DEEP SPACE), “Head of the Class” star Tony O'Dell and Karrie Emerson (CHOPPING MALL), who spends most of her screen time dodging villains in nothing but her tight red t-shirt and bum-hugging red panties.

The rest of the main cast is made up of some legendary, unforgettable performers, who collectively don’t have much to do, but doubtless give the film its notoriety. The female alien doctors are played by two 1960s TV legends, Tina Louise (“Ginger” on “Gilligan’s Island”) and Julie Newmar (“Catwoman” on “Batman”) who despite their advanced ages at this point in the careers, still look fetching in green low cut attire. They report to Dr. Kozmar, as played by John Carradine who utters a lot of scientific gibberish in a metallic space suit while trying to keep his arthritic knuckles out of sight. Aldo Ray (who had starred with Louise years earlier in GOD'S LITTLE ACRE) and Neville Brand play the no-good grease monkeys who aid the aliens (they get paid with handfuls of quarters) in abducting the oblivious teens, and of all the vets aboard this show, they are utilized the best, with Brand trying to recreate some of the scene-stealing sleazy manic he brought to the Rustam-produced EATEN ALIVE some years earlier, and Ray injecting a good amount of humor and camp into his role.

Presented here on DVD in a full screen open matte transfer, EVILS OF THE NIGHT actually looks pretty good, with decent colors and a nice level of detail despite an overdose of dark nighttime cinematography. The mono audio mix also suits the film well, with a video generated trailer and trailers for other Shriek Show releases being the only extras. It’s too bad a commentary wasn’t conducted with Rustam, who most likely has tons of good stories about the making this film, as well as the other drive-in favorites he was associated with. (George R. Reis)

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