Granted, "Prime Evil" isn't all that great, but it's taken fairly seriously, and played with a minimum of cheesiness. It stars Christine Moore, a beauty who's also not much of an actress, as womens' shelter employee Alexandra Parkman. She's targeted by a devil worshipping cult that have existed for centuries. Her dull boyfriend Bill King (Tim Gail) tries to make her see reason, but she falls under the spell of the cults' leader, Thomas Seaton (William Beckwith). Meanwhile, a young nun named Sister Angela (Mavis Harris) pretends to turn her back on the church in order to infiltrate this cult and attempt to bring them down.
Veteran sexploitation legend Roberta Findlay directed, shot, and edited this minor horror item, which was scripted by Ed Kelleher and Harriette Vidal. It's got enough ingredients to make it decent horror fare: an ominous mood, fine use of locations (in this case, entirely in NYC), okay music (by producer Walter E. Sear), decent gore (by Ed French, who also created an amusing "Satan" for the film), attractive ladies, bare breasts, and the like. The cast is variable, but some actors come off fairly well, such as Max Jacobs as Alexandras' grandfather George, who because of his vows to Satan looks three decades younger than his actual age. Gary Warner is a little too goofy as the NYC detective on the case, but Beckwith is a fun villain; he's both seductive and coldly charismatic.
There is a fair amount of dopey humour (for example, scenes in the gym with Alexandras' friend Brett (Amy Brentano), but it never gets too much in the way of a good time.
At the very least, viewers can entertain themselves ogling such female cast members as Ruth Collins, Jeanne Marie, Roseanna Peterson, and the stunning Ms. Moore.
Six out of 10.
Veteran sexploitation legend Roberta Findlay directed, shot, and edited this minor horror item, which was scripted by Ed Kelleher and Harriette Vidal. It's got enough ingredients to make it decent horror fare: an ominous mood, fine use of locations (in this case, entirely in NYC), okay music (by producer Walter E. Sear), decent gore (by Ed French, who also created an amusing "Satan" for the film), attractive ladies, bare breasts, and the like. The cast is variable, but some actors come off fairly well, such as Max Jacobs as Alexandras' grandfather George, who because of his vows to Satan looks three decades younger than his actual age. Gary Warner is a little too goofy as the NYC detective on the case, but Beckwith is a fun villain; he's both seductive and coldly charismatic.
There is a fair amount of dopey humour (for example, scenes in the gym with Alexandras' friend Brett (Amy Brentano), but it never gets too much in the way of a good time.
At the very least, viewers can entertain themselves ogling such female cast members as Ruth Collins, Jeanne Marie, Roseanna Peterson, and the stunning Ms. Moore.
Six out of 10.