How sad is this?

Excellent but underrated film

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Post-Carrie, we've seen so many films where people turn to the Devil to help them fit in or fight back against bullies. But let's face it — when you dress up Carrie White or Sissy Spacek or Chloë Grace Moretz, they end up being attractive. But Clint Howard? There's really no dressing up Clint.Don't get me wrong. I love the man and his many, many contributions to film (Balok from the Star Trek TV series, Carnosaur, Apollo 13, Rock 'n Roll High School and so much more). But you can totally see how he fits his role as Stanley Coopersmith in this movie.Evilspeak starts in the past, where Satanist Father Esteban (Richard Moll, who ends up in these reviews a lot, thanks to films like The Nightmare Never Ends and The Dungeonmaster) and his followers are exiled from Spain and denied the grace of God, unless they renounce Satan and his evil ways. We wouldn't have a movie if they gave in, right?Fast forward to the 80's. Stanley Coopersmith is an orphan, a poor kid who has been allowed into a military school alongside the children of some of the nation's richest and most powerful people. Everybody — including the teachers — pretty much use Stanley like a punching bag. While cleaning the church cellar, he finds Father Esteban's room, which is filled with black magic books and a diary. Stanley uses his 1981 computer skills to translate the book and learn more about Esteban. My words will not translate how great Stanley's Apple II's computing power is.The next morning, Stanley's classmates tie up his clothes and unplug his alarm clock, which leads him to be punished. As he cleans the stables, the school secretary finds Esteban's diary. As she plays with the jewel's on the cover, pigs attack Stanley. He returns to his room to find all of his belongings destroyed and his book gone.Sick of running out of computer time, Stanley steals a computer and sets it up in the basement. He's only missing a few ingredients — human blood and a consecrated host.That evening, the cook takes pity on Stanley and gives him Fred, aRead more at bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/10/19/evilspeak-1981/

This 1981 horror film stars Clint Howard, R.G. Armstrong, Joe Cortese, Don Stark, Charles Tyner and Richard Moll. This begins in Spain with Priest, Esteban (Moll) who becomes banished for practicing Satanic rituals. We move to the present where we meet troubled, military cadet, Stanley Coopersmith (Howard) who gets picked on by some of the guys in his academy and also puts up with demanding teachers. Soon, Coopersmith finds an ancient text belonging to Esteban that contains black magic and he translates it via computer to invoke the evil spirit to strike back at his tormentors. Armstrong (Predator) plays drunk worker, Sarge, Cortese plays priest, Jameson, Stark (That 70's Show) plays main bully, Bubba and Tyner (The Outlaw Josey Wales) plays Colonel Kincaid. This is a good horror/revenge flick and Howard is great in it. If you're into horror & occult flicks, I recommend this.

Even if "Evilspeak" is reminiscent of earlier, and better, films, most significantly "Carrie", it's still an entertaining "loser strikes back" story done in an appreciably trashy and cheesy manner.The incomparable Clint Howard scores in his first big leading role, that of Stanley Coopersmith, orphaned cadet at a military school whom almost everybody else hates, for no really good reason. When as part of his frequent punishment details he's required to start cleaning the cellar / dungeon of the chapel, he finds a treasure trove of Satanic artifacts and, with the help of a handy school computer, tries to put together his own Black Mass and get some good and very bloody revenge.First things first: I can understand how some viewers may become impatient by the time the revenge finally rolls around; the movie doesn't really begin to kick ass until its final dozen or so minutes. THEN people willing to stick it out will be rewarded with a lot of fire, a lot of screaming, and some delicious gore gags. Oh, and pigs. "Evilspeak" definitely does not come up short in the pig imagery department. We get that, and we also get to see computers used at a time when they hadn't yet become a common part of everyday human life. Back then, it was still a lot more intriguing to have these machines figure so prominently. The art direction and moody cinematography are quite competent, especially in those dungeon sets. This is one very good looking movie. And speaking of good looks, there are enough attractive young women on hand to keep some people happy. Co-star Lynn Hancock (whose character clearly is turned on by corporal punishment) appreciably fulfils a nudity requirement. Roger Kellaway's music ain't exactly subtle, but it serves its purpose. A top notch cast full of familiar faces add to the enjoyment: R.G. Armstrong as cranky drunk "Sarge", Joseph Cortese as the reverend, Claude Earl Jones as the coach, Haywood Nelson as Kowalski (one of only two people at the academy who show Coopersmith any kindness), Don Stark as head bully "Bubba", Charles Tyner (playing a part not unlike the one he played in "Harold and Maude" 10 years previous) as the colonel in charge, the hilarious Hamilton Camp as an instructor, and Lenny Montana from "The Godfather" as the cook. Even Richard "Bull" Moll turns up as a demented Satan worshipping priest.Most importantly, Howard excels in the main role - a movie like this does need its protagonist to be sympathetic, and Howard makes Coopersmith an effective character in this regard. Some of the dialogue is highly quotable; one could play a drinking game every time the name Coopersmith, or a certain variation on it, is uttered in the movie. It doesn't matter if the theme is familiar, or if the movie isn't particularly "good"; personally, I think it's a great deal of fun, and remains amusing even on repeated viewings.Eight out of 10.

This is one of the infamous video nasties, banned in the UK. It remained banned for a number of years as part of the Video Recordings Act 1984, thanks to its gory climax and themes of satanism. It is still banned in Iceland.The opening was very clever. They chopped off a bare chested females head with a sword during a ceremony and, as the head flew into the sea, it lands as a soccer ball at a boys military school. Clever.Clint Howard (Halloween 2007, Frost/Nixon) is the picked upon student that seeks revenge on his classmates and teachers with Satan's Book.The blood and gore is normal for a film of this type. The shower scene was totally unsatisfying as Lynn Hancock was decidedly asymmetrical and it caused a loss of focus.The graphics were phenomenal.