Good Against Evil (1977)

Good Against Evil
Starring: Dack Rambo, Elyssa Davalos, Richard Lynch, Kim Cattrall
Director: Paul Wendkos
Writer: Jimmy Sangster
Genre: Horror
Year: 1977
My rating: 

GOOD AGAINST EVIL is an odd film whose structural strangeness is only partially explained by the fact that it's actually a failed television pilot and not a standalone film at all. Theoretically, this should have been a decent film: the director (Paul Wendkos, GIDGET) and writer (Jimmy Sangster, multiple Hammer horror films) both have many successful credits to their name. However, it's the limitations in the pilot format which prevent the film from being viable as a standalone work and the inherent problems within the idea itself which presumably prevented the film from ever progressing beyond a pilot.

The film begins in the New York City of 1955. A baby is born, and Satan is all over it. Appearing in the form of a black cat, he kills the mother (after first messing with her mind via jerky camera work, strange intercutting and spooky incidental music) and then oversees a weird Satanic ritual, the subject is, of course, the newborn.

We then jump forward to the present day (the present day circa 1977). The tainted child has grown up, but is oblivious to the evil that lurks either within her or very near to her (we're a little vague on the exact theology here). She is now is a successful designer in the California fashion industry (one of the morals of our story is that the fashion industry is filled with Satan worshipers). As she joins our story, her parked car is sideswiped by the film's hero and his deliberately ramshackle van. 

Since this is a movie, this minor traffic incident results in a continuing stalking situation, which only relents when the Satan Lady (Elyssa Davalos) agrees to date our hero (Dack Rambo) after several long instances of his Not Getting The Hint. After a long and painful courtship (which must take about half of the film's running time) the romance takes a wild turn when -- just before their marriage -- the Satan Lady is hypnotized, kidnapped and taken to New Orleans. Rambo's attempt at rescue involves an exorcism, a vandalized church and a young Kim Cattrall.

It's difficult to judge GOOD AGAINST EVIL as a standalone piece of television because it was originally supposed to be only the first chapter in a continuing story. That possibly explains why the main conflict isn't even hinted at until halfway through. One has to make allowances for the fact that the last twenty minutes appear to come from nowhere (it's all setup for the series). The courtship takes longer to establish because the producers need to have this initial meeting and romance to drive the action -- not just for the remainder of the film -- but for an entire TV series. While these pacing issues are understandable, they do not make for an enjoyable viewing experience. The totality of what we have is mostly a mess.

While one could see some small potential in GOOD AGAINST EVIL as a series, it's not difficult to see why the pilot didn't set the world on fire. Foremost of its sins is that there is an hour in the middle that is intensely boring. Given that this was supposed to air on broadcast television I was beginning to wonder if the producers were relying on advertising breaks and news updates to liven up the action. We're halfway through the film before any kind of urgency is implemented; I can't imagine many in the audience simply having the required patience.

And while its an intriguing premise, it isn't immediately obvious to how a series would proceed. Would every episode begin with Richard Lynch moving his victim to another city and end with Dack Rambo teaming up with a bad-tempered priest to perform an exorcism on Kim Cattrall's daughter? Would the Satan Lady be catatonic in every scene? Would Satan's army of house cats be a recurring element?

Questions, alas, for which there are no answers.