‘The worms are waiting!’
The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is a 1971 Italian giallo horror thriller film directed by Emilio P. Miraglia (The Lady in Red Kills 7 Times) from a screenplay co-written with Massimo Felisatti (Strip Nude for Your Killer; The Maniac Responsible) and Fabio Pittorru (The Weekend Murders; Nine Guests for a Crime). The film’s easy listening score is by Bruno Nicolai. The original Italian title is La notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba.
Main cast:
Anthony Steffen (The Crimes of the Black Cat; Tropic of Cancer; Evil Eye), Marina Malfatti (Seven Bloodstained Orchids; All the Colors of the Dark), Erika Blanc (Devil’s Nightmare; Mark of the Devil, Part II), Giacomo Rossi-Stuart (Kill Baby, Kill; Reflections in Black).
Plot:
England: Alan (Anthony Steffen) is a wealthy aristocrat who has just been released from a mental institution following the death of his wife, redheaded Evelyn. Having caught Evelyn making out with an unknown man prior to his institutionalisation, the psychotic Alan begins luring redheaded strippers and prostitutes to his home to torture and kill them, as a means to deal with his grief and inability to get revenge on his deceased wife.
Alan attends a séance in which the medium contacts Evelyn, causing Alan to faint. Alan’s cousin (and only living heir) Farley offers to move into the mansion to take care of him. Farley takes him to a strip club and Alan takes home Susan (Erika Blanc), one of the strippers at the club who disappears after barely escaping with her life. Afterwards, Farley believes that Alan would be cured of his instability if he replaces Evelyn with a new bride that resembles her. On Farley’s advice, Alan moves to London to get away from his home and marries Gladys (Marina Malfatti), another redhead.
Gladys finds herself being haunted by strange goings on at her new home and being shunned by Evelyn’s brother and Alan’s invalid aunt, whom Alan has taken in as staff at his mansion. Gladys tells Alan her suspicions that Evelyn faked her death to escape Alan and run away with her lover. Alan’s mental state continues to unravel as Evelyn’s brother and Alan’s aunt are each killed by a mystery killer and when he sees a zombified Evelyn beckoning to him from her tomb, he breaks down completely…
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Reviews:
“Evelyn is a dark film churning with a rich, gothic atmosphere. Miraglia makes fantastic use of his castle setting, managing a number of moments that are undeniably creepy. It never goes as far as I would’ve liked in terms of scares, but there’s one show stopping sequence set inside of a crypt that seriously crawled under my skin and stayed there – something that scarcely happens to me these days. Miraglia’s sweeping camera, surreal imagery and textured lighting helps to cover up some pretty comical lapses in narrative sense.” Matt Serafini, Dread Central
“There’s lots to enjoy here, including Aunt Agatha and her wheelchair hiding in a wardrobe to spy on people. Plus the hilariously tone deaf pop-combo at the outdoor party. Then there’s Malfatti’s miraculously tiny wardrobe, which shows as much cleavage as humanely possibly without letting her nipples burst free. Bruno Nicolai’s score is typically lush and the film boasts some great cinematography – plus some seriously gorgeous 1970s furniture (now who wouldn’t want that grey faux fur spiral staircase in their home?).” J. Kerswell, Hysteria Lives
” … Evelyn switches narrative gears so many times that first-time viewers may get a nasty case of whiplash. From the lurid S&M sessions and stripteases in the basement to an out-of-nowhere corpse devouring by foxes, Evelyn pulls out all the stops to please its audience without tipping its hand about the characters’ true intentions until the climax. And what a climax it is; suddenly switching the film’s setting to a chilly, icy-white interior out of a Kubrick film, the last showdown is an unforgettably unhinged concoction with poisonings, stabbings, blood-smearing cleavage, and a handy bag of sulphuric acid creating a true Grand Guignol finish.” Mondo Digital
“It’s no easier to follow on the screen, believe me, but it’s all so demented that it becomes compelling in spite of itself. On the other hand, it should be borne in mind that my tolerance for goofball Italianate filmmaking has been raised to great heights by years of intensive exposure.” Scott Ashlin, 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
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Bruno Nicolai’s main theme with Edda Dell’Orso vocals:
Complete soundtrack:
