Call now to hear your HORRORscope.
What would happen if you
called a 976 number only to get the devil? Aside from a mild heart
attack and a sudden impulse to pray for your immortal soul, you'd be
wondering what the hell kind of nightmare you wandered into.
Directed
by Robert Englund (A Nightmare On Elm Street) and starring Stephen
Geoffreys, Patrick O'Bryan and Academy Award winner Sandy Dennis,
976-EVIL is an 80's movie with an original concept.
Englund
steps behind the camera for the first time to film a story about a
couple of cousins, Spike and Hoax, who are as different as night and
day. Spike (O'Bryan) is cool, riding around on his motorbike,
picking up women, having sex and playing poker. Hoax (Geoffreys) is
a nerd. Plain and simple. He has his head flushed down the toilet
every day at school. He's bullied by Spike's friends. He has
trouble talking to girls. His scooter is tricked out with the sounds
of a motorbike all because he wants to be like his cousin.
Hoax
lives with his overbearing religious mother (Dennis). Spike lives
with them too, except he resides in an apartment over the garage
which looks into Hoax's room. If that wasn't enough of a creepy
obsession, Hoax sends Spike messages via a tube while Spike is having
sex with his girlfriend (Suzie).
So
how does the devil get involved?
Spike
is lying on his bed, flipping through a magazine when a scrap of
paper falls out that reads “For your Horrorscope 666 Dial
976-EVIL.” Not thinking anything of it, Spike does. A creepy
voice on the other end tells him his future in that his finances will
turn around. Spike then enters the kitchen and steals some of his
aunt's money that is hidden in a cookie jar.
From
there fish fall from the sky, which in turn attracts the attention of
a reporter. Spike's aunt thinks it's a sign from God, asking Spike
to repent his ways.
Spike
leaves his aunt's place in favour of taking Suzie out on a date. But
once they arrive at the movies, Spike is roped into playing a game of
poker with his bully buddies. Getting irritated with him, his
girlfriend leaves.
By
this time, Hoax has entered Spike's bedroom where he discovers a pair
of panties that belong to Suzie. Shoving them into his pocket, Hoax
notices the paper with the 976-EVIL number on it. Wanting to be cool
like his cousin, Hoax dials the number. He is told that to get what
he deserves he should take in a late show with the girl of his
dreams.
Following
the advice, Hoax goes to the cinema only to run into Spike's
girlfriend who he has a secret crush on. From there they go to the
near by pizza parlour where they share a pizza and have a good time
until a spider appears on the table. Hoax learns that Spike's
girlfriend is afraid of them so he takes it outside only to have
Spike's friends show up, stomping on it. As they beat up Hoax they
discover the panties in his pocket which in turn makes Suzie angry at
him, thinking he's nothing more than a pervert. She tells him that
she thought he was different.
Feeling
rejected, and wanting to teach her a lesson, Hoax calls the
horrorscope hotline. He performs a spell to make a spider or two
appear before her, scaring her. But it backfires when numerous
spiders appear, sending Suzie into a panic that kills her.
Feeling
guilty, Hoax tries to confess to Spike who ends up attacking him in
the locker rooms at school. Hoax vows that one day his cousin would
be the one on the ground while he was standing above him. And that's
where the fun begins.
Hoax
calls back and this time he yearns for more power. The power he
receives turns him into a monster with sharp claws where his
fingernails use to be. He manages to beat up his bullies at school.
When he gets home, the devil has taken him over completely. His
mother notices this, and before she can do anything, Hoax kills her.
From
there he returns to the cinema in hopes of exacting revenge on his
bullies. Two of them leave the strip poker game to stuff Hoax into a
dumpster while the remainder stay to watch their gang girl strip.
Hoax returns and asks if he can open with a pair of hearts. At that
moment he pulls out two human hearts and lays them on the table.
The
film turns bloody as he rips of the hand of one of his bullies while
the other flees with the gang girl. Hoax stalks them before brutally
slaying the male, leaving the poor girl crying and shaking on the
rooftop of the cinema.
By
this time the reporter has caught up with Spike and Angela, the
school principal, and has informed them that something satanic has
happened to Hoax.
Racing
back to Hoax's place, the reporter and Angela discover that Hell
indeed has frozen over and that Hoax is now the devil himself.
Spike
comes in to save the day, pushing Hoax into a flaming pit that had
opened up in the backyard.
The
end of the film sees the man who invented the horrorscope sitting at
his desk while the machine picks up the next caller who will be
possessed by the devil.
For
a B-Graded 80's horror movie, this was rather enjoyable because it is
an unique concept.
The
characters of Hoax and Spike, whilst stereotypical, were also easy to
not only associate with, but easy to sympathise with. While Hoax is
being bullied, you feel for him. Although, when he takes his revenge
I can't say that I was cheering for him.
The
make-up effects on Hoax were really good considering the decade that
it was made. The special effects for the time would have been
fantastic, but by today's standards they're terribly fake. Englund's
direction was great, building the characters up, allowing the
audience to feel for them. There are a couple of cheap laughs and
scares. The spider sequence would have had me shaking like a leaf on
set. Over all, it is worth a watch.
Rating:
6/10
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