Evilspeak

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Evilspeak
Cover of Evilspeak UK DVD
Directed by	Eric Weston
Produced by	Eric Weston Sylvio Tabet Gerald Hopman
Written by	Eric Weston Joseph Garofalo
Starring	Clint Howard
Distributed by	Moreno Films
Release date(s)	1981
Running time	89 Mins
Country	US
Language	English
Budget	$1,000,000
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Evilspeak (also known as Evilspeaks and Computer Murders) is a 1981 horror film written by Eric Weston and Joseph Garofalo, and directed by Weston.

1 Plot
2 Production
3 Cast
4 Controversy
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Stanley Coopersmith (Clint Howard), a young cadet at an American military academy, is a social outcast bullied by his fellow students. He eventually takes revenge on them using black magic.

[edit] Production

The story was originally entitled The Foundling - a script written by Joseph Garofalo. Garofalo later reworked it in conjunction with actor Eric Weston who tightened up the storylines and added the computer elements.

A budget of $1,000,000 was raised, half from Lebanese producer Sylvio Tabet (who had made the Beastmaster series of films) and half from a group of doctors looking to invest some money.

The film was shot in three weeks, using locations in Santa Barbara and a condemned church in South Central Los Angeles.^[1]

[edit] Cast

Clint Howard as Stanley Coopersmith
R.G. Armstrong as Sarge
Joseph Cortese as Reverend Jameson
Claude Earl Jones as Coach
Haywood Nelson as Kowalski
Don Stark as Bubba
Charles Tyner as Colonel Kincaid
Hamilton Camp as Hauptman
Louie Gravance as Jo Jo
Jim Greenleaf as Ox
Lynn Hancock as Miss Friedemeyer
Richard Moll as Father Esteban

[edit] Controversy

The movie was once cited as a video nasty in the UK following its release on the Videospace label. 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.

The film was reclassified and re-released in 1999 but with over three minutes of cuts which included the removal of most of the gore from the climax. It was then subsequently passed complete by the BBFC in 2004 and is now available in both an uncut form and a version re-edited by the distributors to tighten up the dialogue.^[2]

Anton LaVey, the late founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan, was a great fan of the film and considered it to be very Satanic.^[3]