''Beyond Evil'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by Herb Freed and starring

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing ...

and

Lynda Day George Lynda Louise Day George (born December 11, 1944) is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was a cast member on '' Mission: Impossible'' (1971–1973). She was also the wife ...

. Its plot follows an architect who suspects his wife is

possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

by a former resident of the historic colonial mansion they have just moved into.

Plot

Architect Larry Andrews and his new wife Barbara travel to a small island off the coast of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where they are due to move into a condominium. Barbara is perturbed when Larry's business associate, Del, notifies them the residence is not ready yet, and pays for them to stay in a hotel, and tells Larry she feels Del exploits him. At dinner, Del subsequently reveals to the couple that there was no condominium to begin with, and that he instead arranged for them to live in a large, historic colonial mansion named ''Casa Fortuna''. Del soon explains that the home is supposedly haunted by Alma Martín, the first lady of the home; she and her husband, Esteban, killed each other in the home according to local legend. Prior to their respective murders of one another, Alma became heavily involved in the occult. Barbara begins being awoken by chanting and is troubled by visions of a woman she comes to find is Alma. On one occasion, she uncontrollably stabs herself in the hand, but claims to Larry it was accidental. Barbara is hospitalized and Dr. Albanos, a physician, runs tests on her. Meanwhile, Larry meets their neighbors, Leia Solomon, and her father, Dr. Solomon, a healer. Leia later confronts Larry and says she and her father can sense that Barbara is in danger, and urge him to have her healed. Larry becomes suspicious when the records of the tests Dr. Albanos completed on Barbara disappear. Dr. Solomon subsequently tells Larry that Alma is vying for Barbara's body, and that Barbara is in danger of

spirit possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and re ...

. Larry proposes the two move, but Barbara resists. The next day, a construction accident at Larry's project seriously injures one of the foremen. Del later stops at the house and attempts to initiate sex with Barbara. She agrees, and leads him upstairs, where she pushes him from a balcony to his death. Larry later finds Barbara staring blankly into the fireplace, and she loses consciousness when he approaches her. Larry consults Dr. Solomon after he notices a strange skin anomaly on Barbara's finger, and Dr. Solomon insists Alma's spirit is attempting infect her. Leia tries to cleanse the house while Larry and Barbara are away, but is confronted by Alma's spirit, which electrocutes her to death before turning her to dust. Larry brings Barbara to Dr. Solomon to examine her finger, which has continued to swell and has turned a deep red. Barbara is appalled when she enters and finds Dr. Solomon healing a gaping wound in a woman's stomach, and she storms out. The following day, Del's body is found by a villager lying on the hillside near the house. Larry consults Dr. Solomon to save Barbara at all costs. They attempt to stage an exorcism, but Barbara, infected by Alma's spirit, evades them. Alma materializes, threatening to fully take over Barbara as a host. When Dr. Solomon separates her spirit from Barbara's body, she attacks Larry, but rapidly begins to deteriorate, unable to use Barbara's life force. Now with Alma defeated, Larry and Barbara leave the mansion permanently.

Cast

as Larry Andrews *

as Barbara Andrews *

Michael Dante Michael Dante (born Ralph Vitti; September 2, 1931) is an American actor and former professional minor league baseball player. Early life Dante was born Ralph Vitti in Stamford, Connecticut. Growing up, he would sneak into a local movie theater ...

as Del Giorgio *Mario Milano as Dr. Albanos *

Janice Lynde Janice Lynde is an American actress. The Houston-born, Lake Charles, Louisiana-reared Lynde began her career with the Dallas Symphony, both as a pianist and as a vocal soloist. The child of German parents Marvin and Sophia Zoch, she had to learn ...

as Alma Martín *Zitto Kazann as Esteban Martín *Anne Marisse as Leia Solomon * David Opatoshu as Dr. Solomon * Verkina Flower as Girl Patient

Production

Principal photography began around August 27, 1979, in the

. The scenes that took place in the hotel restaurant were filmed at the Seven Seas Restaurant in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California.

Release

Upon its release in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, the film grossed a total of $251,461 over three days, screening at 56 theaters.

Home media

The film was distributed on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...

. On September 24, 2019, the film was released on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

Vinegar Syndrome Cellulose acetate film, or safety film, is used in photography as a base material for photographic emulsions. It was introduced in the early 20th century by film manufacturers and intended as a safe film base replacement for unstable and highly ...

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0080431, title=Beyond Evil
Beyond Evil
– at the ''

'' movie database 1980 films 1980 horror films American supernatural horror films Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in the Philippines Troma Entertainment films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Herb Freed 1980s American films