''Evil Streets'' is a 1998

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

indy Indy may refer to: Computing and technology *Indy (software), used for Internet access to music *Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library *SGI Indy, a computer workstation Periodicals *''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include " ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

co-directed by Terry R. Wickham and Joseph F. Parda, starring SaRenna Lee,

Joe Zaso Joseph Zaso (born November 20, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is a b-movie regular and has been involved in the low budget science fiction and horror industry since 1990. Zaso, an avid bodybuilder, is usually cast as husky villai ...

, and

Tina Krause Tina Krause (born July 29, 1970) is an American film actress, producer, director, and model. Career Referred to as a 'B Movie Queen', and an 'Indie Horror Queen', the bulk of her film work has been with shoestring-budget independent producers ...

. The film is a horror

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

focused around three tales of

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

terror,

desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...

, and

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The film is best known for the appearance of the large breasted adult model SaRenna Lee, and the film marked Lee's mainstream acting debut.

Plot

The first story ("The Downfall of Johnny Garrett") begins with a young lady named "Sheila" (Nicole Bryl) getting

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

on street thug "Johnny Garrett" (Steve Rodriguez), who

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d her, by contacting the spirit of her dead friend "Wendy" (Hillary Epstein). The second tale ("Szamota's Mistress") concerns an obsessed man named "Jerry Szamota" (Joe Zaso) who carries out his

infatuation Infatuation or being smitten is the state of being carried away by an unreasoned passion, usually towards another person for whom one has developed strong romantic feelings. Psychologist Frank D. Cox says that infatuation can be distinguished ...

with "Jane K." (Tina Krause) to a maddening degree of

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

. The segment is based on short story of the same name by polish author Stefan Grabiński (Kochanka Szamoty, eng. Szamota's Mistress). The last episode ("Stalk") stars big-bust model (SaRenna Lee) as

exotic dancer A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

"Misty", who becomes the

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...

target of a muscular fanatic (David Greggo).

Cast

* SaRenna Lee - "Misty"''Evil Streets'' (1998) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb
/ref> * Joe Zaso - "Jerry Szamota" * Tina Krause - "Jane K." * Nicole Bryl - "Sheila" * (

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

rock band Voodoo Storm

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

) Steve Rodriguez - "Johnny Garrett", a 1970s-style

gang leader ''Gang Leader'' is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language action crime film written and directed by Vijaya Bapineedu, and produced by Maganti Ravindranath Chowdary. The film stars Chiranjeevi and Vijayashanti, while Rao Gopal Rao, Anandaraj, Murali Mo ...

body builder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses o ...

David Greggo - "The Man" * John Leone - "Jack/Club owner"

Production

Development and themes

In 1996, guitarist/author Michael Knight asked Terry Wickham if he would be interested in directing a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

based on a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

Knight had written called “The Downfall of Johnny Garrett”. Two years prior, Wickham had directed a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for Knight’s song “The Phoenix” off his album called "Dreamscapes". Knight’s idea was that there was

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

on the streets of the city, and he wanted to represent it with three films. Knight's short story was adapted for film, and the original story only had two lines of

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

in it. It ended up being filmed as a short, 15-minute segment in ''Evil Streets''. The original story was themed like an old DC

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

tale, a simple revenge story with a lot of visual aspects to it. Wickham's inspiration for one scene's shot in “The Downfall of Johnny Garrett” came from

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

’s ''

The Fog ''The Fog'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. It ...

''. One of the portions of the film came from Wickham’s friend Joseph F. Parda, who Wickham knew as a manager at a

video rental store A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under conditions and terms a ...

Carle Place, New York Carle Place (also known historically as Frog Hollow and Mineola Park) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The CDP's population was 4,981 at the ...

. Parda would go on to work with producer/actor Joe Zaso and indie horror film star Tina Krause to create the

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

-like episode “Szamota’s Mistress.”

Pre-production

Wickham had wanted to work with big-bust star SaRenna Lee on a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

called ''Perishing Hearts'' after seeing her in '' Score Magazine'', and he "made it clear to SaRenna he wouldn’t write one word without her coming onboard, because she was the only person he’d make the movie with". Lee then agreed to do the film. Open

auditions An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...

were held at Mr. Electric Studios in

Massapequa Massapequa (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Massapequa area. The p ...

on October 25, 1996 for “The Downfall of Johnny Garrett”, which is where Wickham cast Steve Rodriguez. Wickham had already worked with Rodriguez, having directed Rodriguez's band’s “Fetish” music video.

Filming

Wickham directed two episodes (“The Downfall of Johnny Garrett” and “Stalk”) and Parda directed “Szamota’s Mistress” (with Joe Zaso serving as producer) in the anthology. The segment “The Downfall of Johnny Garrett” was shot in eight days in Bellerose, Deer Park,

East Meadow East Meadow is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population was 38,132 at the 2010 census. Many residents commute to Manhattan, which is away. History In ...

, Garden City,

Queens Village Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north ...

, Massapequa, Merrick, Stonybrook, Uniondale,

Wantagh Wantagh ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 18,871 at the time of the 2010 census. Wantagh is known as "The Gateway to Jones Be ...

, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, with the first night of shooting being on October 18, 1996. Scenes were filmed under the Bellerose Train Station on October 28, 1996, in an

industrial park An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...

Garden City Park Garden City Park is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 7,806 at the 2010 census. History From about 1787 until abo ...

(after the production had gotten kicked out of

Roosevelt Raceway Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for motor racing, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual circumference was 100 fee ...

), at Hillary Epstein’s residence in Deer Park, NY on November 3, 1996, behind Mr. Electric Studios in Massapequa, NY on November 2, 1996, and behind Michael Knight's (at the time)

music studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

in Massapequa, NY. The crew had to utilize some unorthodox lighting by using lights that were actually powered by

car batteries An automotive battery or car battery is a rechargeable battery that is used to start a motor vehicle. Its main purpose is to provide an electric current to the electric-powered starting motor, which in turn starts the chemically-powered intern ...

in some scenes, since they had little to no access to the

electric grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...

. The crew was actually cut in half early on in the filming in order to minimize drawing the attention of the local police while shooting. Two of Michael Knight's friends (John Hoelzer & Ben Guzik) set up

props A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

and did the arm and bone

prosthetics In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

for an "arm chop" that occurs in “The Downfall of Johnny Garrett” and helped with lighting and as a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

respectively. Special effects artist Craig Lindberg set up the blood pump for the "arm chop", and Jason Alvino did the dead woman’s

make up Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

. The shoot for the rest of the movie was in 1997, and publicity photos were shot in an industrial park in Garden City Park, New York. One set ("Misty's Dressing Room") was actually built inside Wickhams's in-law's

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

in Massapequa, New York. The

climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

scene of "Stalk" was filmed in

Cold Spring Harbor High School Cold Spring Harbor High School is a public school for grades 7–12 in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States. In 2007, it was placed 52nd on ''Newsweek''s Top 1300 High Schools list. Cold Spring Harbor High School is ranked 33rd among publi ...

basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...

. "Szamota's Mistress" was filmed in black & white.

Release

The movie's Spring 1998

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

was held at the Malverne Cinema 4 Theatre in

Malverne, New York Malverne is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area ...

, and the movie appeared at the 1998 Chiller Theatre Convention, where some of the cast and crew were interviewed for a local

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

show.

Critical response

Audience response

The movie has received widely-varying reviews online, and the film has some

gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

in each part of the anthology, with the last of the three stories having a good deal of

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

Home media

The movie was produced directly-to-VHS and sold by

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

for two years following its release.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0303981, title=Evil Streets
''Evil Streets'' (1998) details & pictures

''Evil Streets'' cover art & production details

''Evil Streets'' at KillerReviews.com

''Evil Streets'': Where Every Road Leads To Terror
1998 films American supernatural horror films 1998 horror films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films