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The Evil

The Evil

Thriller · Horror · 1978

Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.

Movie details

The Evil

“Escape is just a nerve-shredding scream for salvation!”

1978 Thriller · Horror 1h 29m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

Shortly after moving into a dark, brooding mansion, a psychologist and his co-workers are terrorized by a horrible evil being.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Evil?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

You're Not Alone

You're Not Alone

Thriller · 2020

After the premature death of her estranged husband, Emma (Winter) regains custody of their young daughter Isla (Jones) and hopes to rebuild their relationship after many years apart. But when an evil entity begins to torment them, mother and daughter are forced to face the inexplicable presence that inhabits the walls of their new home.

Bloodline

Bloodline

Horror · 2019

Evan values family above all else, and anyone who gets between him, his wife, and newborn son learns that the hard way. But when it comes to violent tendencies, it seems the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Blackwood

Blackwood

Thriller · 2014

Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall relocates to the countryside with his wife and young son, hoping for a fresh start. He has a teaching job lined up and a new home to move into; things finally look to be going Ben's way. Until, that is, he starts to feel that something isn't quite right in the house. Finding himself plagued by spectral visions, Ben becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a local mystery that appears to be putting the lives of his family in danger

825 Forest Road

825 Forest Road

Horror · 2025

After a family tragedy, Chuck Wilson hopes to start a new life in Ashland Falls with his wife Maria and little sister Elizabeth, but he quickly discovers that the town has a dark history of being haunted by a ghostly woman who drives residents to suicide.

Bloodline Killer

Bloodline Killer

Horror · 2024

Moira Cole endeavors to rebuild her shattered life after her family's murder at the hands of her deranged and obsessed cousin.

The Deliverance

The Deliverance

Horror · 2024

Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mother fighting her personal demons, moves her family into a new home for a fresh start. But when strange occurrences inside the home raise the suspicions of Child Protective Services and threaten to tear the family apart, Ebony soon finds herself locked in a battle for her life and the souls of her children.

Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders

Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders

Thriller · 2022

A family reunion at a remote mansion takes a lethal turn when they are trapped inside and forced to play a deadly survival game where only one will make it out alive.

You'll Never Find Me

You'll Never Find Me

Horror · 2024

Patrick, a strange and lonely resident, lives in a mobile home at the back of an isolated caravan park. After a violent thunderstorm erupts, a mysterious young woman appears at his door, seeking shelter from the weather. The longer the night wears on and the more the young woman discovers about Patrick, the more difficult she finds it to leave. Soon she begins to question Patrick’s intentions, while Patrick begins to question his own grip on reality...

Play Dead

Play Dead

Horror · 2022

Criminology student Chloe fakes her own death to break into a morgue, in order to retrieve a piece of evidence that ties her younger brother to a crime gone wrong. Once inside, she discovers that a sadistic coroner is using the corpses for his sick and twisted business, and when he realises that Chloe still has a pulse, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues.

Insidious: The Last Key

Insidious: The Last Key

Horror · 2018

Parapsychologist Elise Rainier and her team travel to Five Keys, NM, to investigate a man’s claim of a haunting. Terror soon strikes when Rainier realizes that the house he lives in was her family’s old home.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Gus Trikonis

Written by

Gus Trikonis · Galen Thompson

Richard Crenna

Richard Crenna

C.J. Arnold

Joanna Pettet

Joanna Pettet

Dr. Caroline Arnold

Andrew Prine

Andrew Prine

Prof. Raymond Guy

Cassie Yates

Cassie Yates

Mary Harper

George O'Hanlon, Jr.

George O'Hanlon, Jr.

Pete Brooks

Lynne Moody

Lynne Moody

Felicia Allen

Mary Louise Weller

Mary Louise Weller

Laurie Belman

Court is in session

Put The Evil on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.