Fear No Evil is director Frank LaLoggia’s first stab at filmmaking. If the name sounds familiar, it’s most likely because you remember him from his other film Lady in White, a flick I grew up with and have always loved. It was certainly fun to check out his first-ever movie, but you can tell that because of a limited budget and first-time experience, the movie isn’t as good as his later efforts. Still, that doesn’t mean the movie isn’t deserving of checking out. It’s worth seeing because of how bizarre the film is, and honestly how much fun you’ll have with it. It may be unintentionally funny at times, but that makes the movie perfect for a night in with friends.
The plot for Fear No Evil sees the devil tracked down by three angels – Raphael, Mikhail, and Gabrielle – and being sent back into the body of a newborn baby, who grows up to be an awkward but brilliant teen, Andrew (played by Stefan Arngrim). Andrew is about to graduate from high school, which is a good thing as him along with everyone else in the school look to be at least in their mid-thirties. As the days wind down, Andrew inexplicably starts behaving even more like the devil he is, either forcing an awkward homoerotic shower scene to turn even more awkwardly homoerotic or making the gym teacher take the sport of dodgeball way too seriously. It’s all child’s play until he learns that the angels are hot on his tail and he must work fast to…to…do something demonic? It’s all rather unclear what is going to happen and what the devil’s goal is about, but we do get to see a man grow a nice set of boobies and rando zombies show up.
Fear No Evil is one nonsense scene after another. It has a paper-thin plotline that doesn’t do much with the story of the three angels, and the ending doesn’t offer you any help as to what you just previously witnessed. Yet I find myself still thinking about it and smiling at all the weird shit I just watched. I can definitely see myself watching this movie again and I damn well am going to make sure I make as many other people watch it as well!
Blu-ray
There is a bit of controversy behind the Blu-ray release of Fear No Evil from Scream Factory. It seems director Frank LaLoggia was offered to provide a commentary track and interview, but the pay offered was very low. Scream touts a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. LaLoggia had no say or input into the new scan, but I think he would be happy with the results. Everything seems clean and clear, with hardly any dirt or debris. The film’s grain is even and never overabundant. We have done an extensive gallery for the new Blu-ray, and I think after checking it out you’ll see that the movie looks pretty good given the age and budget.
Audio is DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, with English SDH subtitles provided. The film audio can be a bit low at times, and some of the subtitles don’t match the dialogue, but for the most part, it’s good.
Extra Features include a new audio commentary with actor Stefan Arngrim; a 37-minute interview with the actor; and a 28-minute interview with special effects artist John Eggett, which is nice as the film does feature some neat special effects. Finally, we have a still gallery, Theatrical Trailer, and TV spots. Once again, it’s a shame director Frank LaLoggia wasn’t included, but when the pay is shit, what do you expect?
Packaging Details
Extra Features
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Film Elements
- NEW Audio Commentary With Actor Stefan Arngrim
- NEW Interview With Actor Stefan Arngrim (37:13)
- NEW Interview With Special Effects Artist John Eggett (28:23)
- Theatrical Trailer (0:39)
- TV Spots (3:25)
- Still Gallery (3:37)
BD Info
