The Antichrist Is Gayer Than Ever In Fear No Evil (1981)
"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" These are the poetic last words of school bully Tony in Fear No Evil. Tony stabs himself to death in the crotch after discovering that he's grown breasts from kissing the Antichrist. I am so happy I can write that sentence.
Fear No Evil was the first feature by Francis LaLoggia who funded the film with 150,000 dollars of his own money. Principal photography was completed around Frankie's home of Rochester, NY. The resulting film is one that feels like it was directly adapted from a dog-eared horror paperback, one that teeters gloriously between leering Satanic sleaze and Stryper-level biblical RPG nonsense.
Many moons ago, a Catholic priest vanquished the Antichrist who looked like a stepped on Lux Interior. Years later that unholy evil is reborn as Andrew Williams, who develops into a withdrawn nerd. As Andrew realizes his destiny, so does fellow high school classmate Julie, who is the reincarnation of the archangel Gabriel. Julie will have to face Andrew in the ultimate conflict, which coincides with both the school dance and a staged reenactment of the life of Jesus (Of course).
Antichrist movies were a dime a dozen in the aftermath of the Satanic celluloid big three (Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Omen). What differentiates Fear No Evil is its over-wrought construction, and its full-frontal commitment to melodramatic schlock. The rebirth of an archangel as a high school senior would feel like a Buffy plot, were it not for the graphic nightmares Julie has where the Antichrist rapes her. Andrew's progression of discovering and embracing his role as god's arch-enemy is overflowing with homoeroticism. This includes an arc involving the school bully Tony, who he progressively gay panics until the crotch-mangling death that I mentioned in my intro. In the film's climax, Andrew summons an army of undead, then vamps around a castle dressed like Tim Curry doing a Bauhaus concert SNL sketch. There's also the infamous scene of a dodgeball game fueled by Satanic fervor, culminating in a ludicrous murder which will remain seared into your eyeballs for all eternity. All of these proceedings are bizarrely scored by everyone from Patti Smith and Richard Hell, to The Ramones and The Sex Pistols. The soundtrack rights for this movie would legitimately bankrupt a modern big-budget production.
Fear No Evil is a singular vision, power-hosed with idiosyncratic choices that make it memorable. There's something to be said about the fact that while there were genre touchstones that resulted in inspiration, this period of horror produced just as many innovators as it did imitators. As profit and focus-testing have infected filmmaking, these types of corny deviations from the most lucrative option have become less common, but they do persist. There will always be those who prioritize a gay Satan making the school bully grow breasts, and I salute them.
-Dr. Benny Graves
