[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Messiah of Evil (1973)

Whilst searching for her father, an artist who was last seen in a small Californian seaside town, a young woman discovers a whole new level of weird shit.

One of the strangest films i've seen for a while, Messiah of Evil really doesn't know what it is. I found parts dull and incoherent and other bits supremely atmospheric and chilling and extremely memorable, such as the visit to the cinema where it slowly fills up with the undead (Sorry, but they weren't zombies) with the shop and petrol station set pieces also indelible.

The film makes great use of the coastal locations and reminded me of the Richard Burton / Elizabeth Taylor film The Sandpiper at times. That's where the film seems so disjointed. No horror film should remind the viewer of a Taylor / Burton romantic movie, yet Messiah of Evil did. However it also reminded me of an ethereal take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers so make of that what you will.

A little like Venom (1971) which i watched a couple of nights ago, Messiah of Evil is a bizarre hotch potch of ideas some which work and others don't, yet is all the same a quite memorable and often haunting viewing experience.

Definitely one to watch a second time.