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Gripping story with well-crafted characters

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The Evictors is another in a string of low-budget but memorable films made by producer/director Charles B. Pierce during the 1970s. The best of these were, of course, The Legend of Boggy Creek and The Town That Dreaded Sundown. The rest of Pierce's oeuvre is spotty but almost all of his movies show signs of his talent for coming up with interesting film ideas and executing them with a fair amount of creativity.This film is a mixed bag. The plot is that in 1942 a couple (Michael Parks, Jessica Harper) rent a house in southern Louisiana, where they are subjected to a series of strange occurrences and attacks. Then they find out the house has a history of violent happenings with previous inhabitants.The setting and premise are right in Pierce's wheelhouse. He directs with his usual flair for creating atmosphere and setting up some nice tension throughout. The flashbacks are particularly well-done with nice attention to detail from the periods involved. However, some slow spots drag the film a bit and the ending is a let-down. Still, there's enough of interest here to warrant you checking it out. Good direction, nice music, and the biggest "name" cast Charles Pierce ever had. In addition to Parks and Harper, there's Sue Ane Langdon and Vic Morrow.

A great opening shot of a bank clerk and several deputies going to serve repossession papers to a house full of, well, how shall we put this...old-fashioned Southern undesirables, sets the mood for this often atmospheric, often slow-moving, often tense, generally well-acted, and shoddily at times scripted film(the ending just does not make any sense to me!). If I look at the film minus the last 15 minutes - it really is pretty scary. A couple, played very nicely by lovely Jessica Harper and amiable Michael Parks, move into an old country house somewhere in Louisiana. They soon discover that the house has a history of death. The opening scene happened in 1928, but we then see flashbacks of 1934 and 1939 where two different sets of couples were killed by the same man that is now canvasing their home. Well, a peddler chopping wood is killed and other strange things like lights being turned off, creaking stairs, etc...happen. I had my suspicions who might be involved, and was not wrong, but was not right as the final conclusion draws and is as unbelievable and ridiculous as can be. Why were they living in another house? Where did they get money from to live? What was the Realtor's part? Why did he kill his friend/relation? What happened to the body of the peddler? Does the house make people go mad? Why was Ruth with Rudd at the end? None of it made much sense to me, which really is a shame as it destroyed much of the creepy atmosphere up to that point. The acting is decent. The couple, as I have already pointed out, were quite good. Vic Morrow plays another creepy guy. Did Morrow ever play a likable character? I don't recall that ever happening. Sue Ann Langdon really is quite good in her role.. She convinced me at the beginning. Director Charles Pierce does do a very good job creating suspense, atmosphere, mood, etc... The figure of the man with the creepy hat was very effective. The set pieces, seeing that it was happening in 1942, were all believable. The film print I saw on Netflix was very bright and clear. This is not a bad film, but, for me at least, the ending drops this a couple points.

In 1942, Ben and Ruth Watkins have just moved into an old Louisiana farmhouse. It's a beautiful place, but they soon learn of it's morbid past. Apparently, the previous few tenants all died in ways that raise suspicion. This doesn't sit well with Ruth, who stays at home alone most of the day while Ben is at work. As if she weren't spooked enough already, it isn't long before she finds herself menaced by a prowler who keeps showing up.Charles B. Pierce, the man behind such southern-flavored gems as 'The Town that Dreaded Sundown' and 'The Legend of Boggy Creek', scored again with this outstanding mood piece. Atmosphere always was Pierce's strongest point, and 'The Evictors' features it in spades. The slow-burn pacing works brilliantly here, allowing the ominous tone to fester. The 1940's setting and impact of World War II on the financially struggling town are also well-realized, the former all the more so thanks to the lovely scope photography Pierce so expertly utilizes. Some effective sepia-toned flashbacks further the mood, as does the hushed nature of the townspeople in regard to the house's history.Jessica Harper and Michael Parks play the married couple, and there is an obvious chemistry between them. It was great seeing the lovely Harper in a horror film other than 'Suspiria' for a change. Vic Morrow is on hand as the shady real estate agent who sales them the house and has eyes for Ruth. His role isn't the largest despite him getting top-billing, but it's an important one. Sue Ann Langdon also deserves mention as the crippled neighbor whom Ruth befriends.The film offers up it's fair share of surprises as it heads toward the climax. There's one aspect of the story that was easily predictable, at least in my case, but others not so much. This is one of the true unsung gems of the 70's. The thought of it either not getting a release or being relegated to a shitty MOD DVD-R disgusts me to the core.

In 1942, a couple moves into an old farm house in Northern Louisiana only to discover all the previous tenants have met with sinister fates. But does this eerie history have anything to do with the ominous stranger that's now terrorizing the young wife? Director Charles B. Pierce may be best known for his docu-chillers The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972) and The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976), but The Evictors may just be the over-looked gem of his film career. Like his previous films The Evictors has a splendidly gritty, rural atmosphere that gives it a raw believability. This becomes all the more effective when the story builds to some strong tension as our heroine is stalked by a phantom prowler. There are also a number of flashbacks, shot in stylish black and white, that have a chilling creepiness.The story is fairly well-written, as the plot takes a few unexpected and surprising turns. Its only real flaw is a final revelation that's a bit improbable. Pierce does well at creating a 40's era atmosphere, much like that of The Town That Dreaded Sundown. The camera work is nicely done and the music score solidly spooky. The biggest highlight here may come from star Jessica Harper's understated performance. Harper (best known as the heroine of Suspiria and Phantom of the Paradise) makes a truly convincing role here.Over all, The Evictors is definitely a film worth checking out for horror fans, particularly those who are fans of Pierce or Harper. This is an underrated effort in need of a new audience.*** out of ****