Editorials
35 Years Later, Robert Englund’s ‘976-Evil’ Dials Back to a Bygone Era
Robert Englund steps into the director’s chair with ‘976-Evil,’ a dark dive into Satanism and demonology where a bullied outcast uses an occult hotline to bite back.
“Out of the darkness and into light, comes your horrorscope on this dark and stormy night.”
Robert Englund is a name who needs no introduction in the horror community. He’s played Freddy Krueger in eight A Nightmare on Elm Street movies and has brought life to one of the horror genre’s greatest icons. Englund’s incomparable work as Krueger would be enough to forever make him a celebrity, but he’s had a rich horror career that’s included multiple roles in Tobe Hooper films and, more recently, his standout performance as Victor Creel in the streaming phenomenon, Stranger Things. Englund will always be Freddy Krueger, but it’s curious to consider how his career would have been different if he instead transitioned into a horror director legend. 976-Evil was Englund’s attempt at such a shift and the campy cult classic turns 35 this week.
976-Evil is a gleefully retro tale of revenge that follows two cousins, Hoax (Stephen Geoffreys, who was also Evil Ed in Fright Night) and Spike (Patrick O’Bryan), who are stuck with their religious zealot caretaker who rules over them with an iron fist while they wait out their inheritance. Hoax thinks that he finds a shortcut to popularity and peace of mind when he discovers a malevolent premium pay hotline that begins as an amusing distraction, but turns out to be a literal connection to hell. It’s basically, “What if Freddy Krueger ran a premium paranormal hotline?” (not to be confused with the actual Freddy Krueger pay-per-call hotline that was in operation, mind you). It’s a simple enough premise that works and facilitates a fury of chaotic, creative kills.
976-Evil comfortably fits into the subgenre of horror films where low-status victims of bullying get revenge through supernatural circumstances and the murky moral territory that ensues. It’s very much cut from the same cloth as Evilspeak, Carrie, Slaughter High, Jennifer’s Body and more recent horror films like Friend Request and The Final. 976-Evil bears the closest resemblance to 1981’s Evilspeak and the two make a great ’80s double feature together. 976-Evil assembles commendable talent, but it’s far from this subgenre’s apex.
Robert Englund is a classically trained actor and his talents are best-suited in front of the camera, rather than behind. He still proves that he’s got some skills and creative juice here with his feature directorial debut. It’s curious that Englund never went on to direct one of the final Elm Street movies, for that matter. 976-Evil could have been an interesting prelude to such an experiment, which wouldn’t have necessarily been awful. Renny Harlin, Stephen Hopkins, and Rachel Talalay all bring some unique ideas to the table, but Englund demonstrates here that he wouldn’t have been a disaster behind the camera.
976-Evil is rich in dynamic lighting, striking color composition, and inventive cinematography that speaks to Englund’s eye for visuals, but also cinematographer Paul Elliott’s skills. Elliott was previously the director of photography on Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, and his skills are just as pronounced here. He’s often 976-Evil’s MVP. 976-Evil’s cinematography and lighting are genuinely great in many scenes, like when Hoax interrupts the poker game. It helps elevate a lot of moments that would otherwise be forgettable.
The following attack in the bathroom is also easily the movie’s most dynamic scene. It succeeds in creating real tension and there’s an artistry to the camera work that demonstrates a real voice that’s interested in more than just cheap kills. It’s even a kill that methodically cuts away from the violence and doesn’t actually show anything for budgetary reasons, yet it still stands out as the movie’s most effective scene.
Visuals aside, 976-Evil is co-written by Brian Helgeland, a truly legendary screenwriter who’s responsible for films like A Knight’s Tale, Mystic River, and L.A. Confidential, the latter of which won him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. 976-Evil is Helgeland’s first professional screenplay and what introduced him to Englund, who would go on to recommend him as the writer for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, his second professional writing credit. This is all a testament to Helgeland’s skills at the craft of heightened horror-fantasy storytelling. 976-Evil is definitely shaggy and trope-filled, but it still leaves its mark as a debut screenplay. It’s unfortunate that Helgeland didn’t stick with the Elm Street series and script the fifth and sixth entries. These sequels could have had a more unifying vision if they functioned as a pseudo trilogy of sorts that closed out the franchise.
It’s also worth pointing out that Helgeland’s co-writer on 976-Evil, Rhet Topham, was also a writer on Freddy’s Nightmares, including the series premiere that revolves around Freddy Krueger’s child murder trial and prominently features Englund. Topham also wrote “Cabin Fever,” one of the few episodes where Englund served as director. It’s interesting that Englund turned to and trusted two writers who had put their stamp on the Nightmare on Elm Street series to pen his directorial feature film debut.
976-Evil thrives when it comes to the blissful ’80s nostalgia that it conjures through the clothing, slang, and general behavior of its characters. All this makes the movie a deeply soothing rewatch 35 years later, even if it’s imperfect shlock. Set design is filled with graphic, sprawling, multi-colored graffiti that’s beautifully evocative of the “troubled youth” of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Perfunctory shots of a car are presented as evil and creepy. They totally channel Christine and reiterate the movie’s inescapable campy energy.
Even the whole 1-900 hotline premise is so inherently steeped in the ’80s and ’90s and gives the film a certain retro charm. It’s something that modern viewers may be completely lost on and it’s a movie that simply couldn’t be made today. It’s been replaced by Internet and app-driven techno-demon fare like Unfriended, Friend Request, or even teen Blumhouse fare like Wish Upon and Truth or Dare, the latter of which are by no means good, but cultivate the same aura. 976-Evil definitely feels like a retro progenitor to these modern supernatural revenge stories where disenfranchised underdogs find ways to fight back. For instance, the date between Hoax and Suzie (Lezlie Deane) where they’re telling jokes, eating pizza, and listening to the jukebox is genuinely sweet and quickly establishes a real relationship between them that treats them like real people. It’s just a shame that people are most likely watching this for scares, not swoons
Unfortunately, 976-Evil takes far too long to get to its central premise and kills. It’s more than half-way through the movie that Hoax turns to the titular horrorscope hotline and starts enacting vengeance in those who have wronged him. The film should start with a tease of this service, and an early death, to set the scene and showcase what lies ahead so there’s a greater sense of tension over the bullying and if Hoax will let his emotions get the better of him and turn to this fatal service. It’s a quick change that would go a long way and help audiences look past the slower pacing and lack of scares that fill up most of the film (Curiously, this is the approach that 976-Evil II: The Astral Factor takes, seemingly having learned from the original’s flaws).
The same is true for the FBI agent component where he begins to investigate these crimes, which happens nearly an hour into the movie. It’s definitely a perfunctory element of the genre, but it’s something that could definitely be dropped to little consequence, or enter the picture much earlier so there’s a greater threat that looms over the characters beyond generic bullies. What does work here is everyone’s suspicion of Spike over these crimes, rather than cluing into his meeker cousin Hoax’s complicity. 976-Evil could have even kept things a little more ambiguous so that the audience is torn over who’s to blame and Hoax’s reveal hits harder and comes as a surprise.
On that note, the film would benefit from a greater understanding of what’s actually going on with the 976-Evil service and what the risks are behind its employment. Do the individuals lose their souls? Become slaves to Satan? Or some other macabre monkey’s paw-esque cruel twist of fate? Any of these angles would be effective. A prologue that seeds these elements through a random horrorscope user who succumbs to this darkness would once again clear these things up and strengthen the film’s storytelling. It’s not a great sign when Wishmaster does a better job at defining its rules, stakes, and underlying evil.
There’s a great concept at the core of this film, but for the majority of 976-Evil it seems like it’s ashamed to embrace it and go all out, which is exactly what this movie needs. Subtlety is not a friend to 976-Evil. Hoax basically becomes a Freddy Krueger clone by the end of the movie with his disfigured face, claw-like hand, and constant quippy one-liners. It doesn’t exactly feel inspired to see Englund cultivate such a generic Freddy copycat.
That being said, 976-Evil has some memorable death scenes, even if its tarantula kill is wildly undercooked and takes out the most interesting character too early. There’s an electrocution that is well-executed. Another victim gets eaten by cats, which is much better and more in line with the tone and timbre that the movie should be striving towards. Englund got the cats to be so compliant here by stuffing the corpse dummy with tuna salad, which is actually a clever and creative idea. Regardless of the above, there just aren’t enough deaths to go around in 976-Evil. The final act, which literally descends to hell, proves to be an effective way to conclude the messy movie.
976-Evil has its share of shortcomings. However, there’s an extended cut of the film, which was released to home video, that features an extra thirteen minutes of footage that was not in the theatrical release. These are mostly changes that provide greater character development and motivation, rather than gore and kills. It’s easy to see why these scenes were removed for pacing purposes. They’re not essential, nor do they really change the movie. It’s unlikely that someone who doesn’t like the theatrical cut of 976-Evil will suddenly be swayed by seeing this longer version. It’s not even necessarily a “better” movie, but it does have more fleshed out characters.
976-Evil wasn’t a smash hit and didn’t get anywhere near A Nightmare on Elm Street’s success. That being said, it still left enough of an impression on audiences to receive a direct-to-video sequel, albeit not with Robert Englund. 976-Evil II: The Astral Factor instead has Jim Wynorski in the director’s chair. Wynorski is a man who got into cinema “for the money and the chicks” and once famously claimed that “breasts are the cheapest special effect in the business.” Wynorski had a hand in over 100 movies, most of which are direct-to-video, with Chopping Mall, Sorceress, The Turn of the Swamp Thing, and Ghoulies IV being among his most notable efforts. He also worked on many Roger Corman efforts, children’s movies like Munchie and Munchie Strikes Back, as well as plenty of horror-centric adult movie parodies like Cleavagefield, The Bare Wench Project, and Para-Knockers Activity. In 976-Evil II, Spike returns, this time to battle a serial killer college professor who uses astral projection and the 976 horrorscope hotline to kill his students. Somehow, it’s not any worse than its predecessor.
976-Evil is a dated horror film that’s largely slipped through the cracks and failed to leave much of a footprint on the genre, yet this all makes it an even more fascinating ’80s relic. It’s better that Englund takes a big swing here, even if he doesn’t hit a grand slam. It’s a worthy experiment, albeit one that doesn’t fully tune out the dissonance of its dial tone. 976-Evil didn’t build an illustrious directorial career for Englund (and the less said about 2008’s Killer Pad, the better) and he would ultimately head back to the Elm Street series. There are far worse fates than forever being known as Freddy Krueger. 35 years later, 976-Evil remains a fascinating collect call that’s worth accepting the charges from.
Expectations can run high whenever a buzzworthy filmmaker makes the leap from indie to mainstream. And Radio Silence — Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella and former member Justin Martinez — certainly had a lot to live up to after V/H/S. This production collective’s rousing contribution to the 2012 anthology film not only impressed audiences and critics, the same segment also caught the attention of 20th Century. This led to the studio recruiting the rising talent for a hush-hush found-footage project later titled Devil’s Due.
However, as soon as Radio Silence’s anticipated first film was released into the wild, the reactions were mostly negative. Devil’s Due was dismissed as a Rosemary’s Baby rehash but dressed in different clothes; almost all initial reviews were sure to make — as well as dwell on — that comparison. Of course, significant changes were made to Lindsay Devlin’s pre-existing script; directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett offered up more energy and action than what was originally found in the source material, which they called a “creepy mood piece.” Nevertheless, too many folks focused on the surface similarities to the 1968 pregnancy-horror classic and ignored much of everything else.
Almost exactly two years before Devil’s Due hit theaters in January of 2014, The Devil Inside came out. The divisive POV technique was already in the early stages of disappearing from the big screen and William Brent Bell’s film essentially sped up the process. And although The Devil Inside was a massive hit at the box office, it ended up doing more harm than good for the entire found-footage genre. Perhaps worse for Radio Silence’s debut was the strange timing of Devil’s Due; the better-received Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones was released earlier that same month. Despite only a superficial resemblance, the newer film might have come across as redundant and negligible to wary audiences.
Image: Allison Miller in Devil’s Due.
The trailers for Devil’s Due spelled everything out quite clearly: a couple unknowingly conceives a diabolical child, and before that momentous birth, the mother experiences horrifying symptoms. There is an unshakable sense of been-there-done-that to the film’s basic pitch, however, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett knew that from the beginning. To compensate for the lack of novelty, they focused on the execution. There was no point in hiding the obvious — in the original script, the revelation of a demonic pregnancy was delayed — and the film instead gives the game away early on. This proved to be a benefit, seeing as the directors could now play around with the characters’ unholy situation sooner and without being tied down by the act of surprise.
At the time, it made sense for Radio Silence’s first long feature to be shot in the same style that got them noticed in the first place, even if this kind of story does not require it. Still and all, the first-person slant makes Devil’s Due stand out. The urgency and terror of these expectant parents’ ordeal is more considerable now with a dose of verisimilitude in the presentation. The faux realism makes the wilder events of the film — namely those times the evil fetus fears its vessel is in danger — more effective as well. Obviously the set-pieces, such as Samantha pulling a Carrie White on three unlucky teens, are the work of movie magic, but these scenes hit harder after watching tedious but convincing stretches of ordinariness. Radio Silence found a solid balance between the normal and abnormal.
Another facet overlooked upon the film’s initial release was its performances. Booking legitimate actors is not always an option for found-footage auteurs, yet Devil’s Due was a big-studio production with resources. Putting trained actors in the roles of Samantha and Zach McCall, respectively Allison Miller and Zach Gilford, was desirable when needing the audience to care about these first-time parents. The leads managed to make their cursory characters both likable and vulnerable. Miller was particularly able to tap into Samantha’s distress and make it feel real, regardless of the supernatural origin. And with Gilford’s character stuck behind the camera for most of the time, the film often relied on Miller to deliver the story’s emotional element.
Image: Allison Miller in Devil’s Due.
Back then, Radio Silence went from making viral web clips to a full-length theatrical feature in a relatively short amount of time. The outcome very much reflected that tricky transition. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett indeed knew how to create these attention-grabbing scenes — mainly using practical effects — but they were still learning their way around a continuous narrative. The technical limitations of found footage hindered the story from time to time, such as this routine need to keep the camera on the main characters (or see things from their perspective) as opposed to cutting away to a subplot. There is also no explanation of who exactly compiled all this random footage into a film. Then again, that is an example of how the filmmakers strove for entertainment as opposed to maintaining every tradition of found footage. In the end, the directors drew from a place of comfort and familiarity as they, more or less, used 10/31/98 as the blueprint for Devil’s Due’s chaotic conclusion. That is not to say the film’s ending does not supply a satisfying jolt or two, but surely there were hopes for something different and atypical.
Like other big film studios at that time, 20th Century wanted a piece of the found-footage pie. What distinguished their endeavor from those of their peers, though, was the surprising hiring of Radio Silence. Needless to say, the gamble did not totally pay off, yet putting the right guys in charge was a bold decision. Radio Silence’s wings were not completely clipped here, and in spite of how things turned out, there are flashes of creativity in Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s unconventional approach to such a conventional concept.
Radio Silence has since bounced back after a shaky start; they participated in another anthology, Southbound, before making another go at commercial horror. The second time, as everyone knows, was far more fruitful. In hindsight, Devil’s Due is regarded as a hiccup in this collective’s body of work, and it is usually brought up to help emphasize their newfound success. Even so, this early film of theirs is not all bad or deserving of its unmentionable status. With some distance between then and now, plus a forgiving attitude, Devil’s Due can be seen as a fun, if not flawed first exposure to the abilities of Radio Silence. And, hopefully, somewhere down the line they can revisit the found-footage format.
Image: Allison Miller and Zach Gilford in Devil’s Due.
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