(2012)

Submitted by Joseph C

Something Evil
(TV Movie – 1972)

Steven Spielberg’s second movie, after Duel.  Even Spielberg had some duds, and this mediocre movie may be his worst.

Marjorie (Sandy Dennis) and Paul Worden (Darren McGavin) and their 2 children, Stevie (Johnny Whittaker) and Laurie move into a remote farm house.  Paul is an advertising executive who travels a lot for work.  Marjorie notices strange things happening, sounds of crying children, glowing red eyes in the distance, objects moving on their own.  She wants to move.  Paul thinks she is imagining things, and insists they will lose too much money if they move out.  Marjorie befriends their neighbor, Mr Lincoln (Ralph Bellamy) and learns of previous mysterious deaths on the property.  Lincoln shows her pentacles drawn in different places in the property, to ward off evil spirits, and Marjorie begins to make many more pentacles. (Possible foreshadowing is that they keep drawing the pentacles wrong, as 6 sided Star of David, not 5 sided pentacles.)

Marjorie senses an evil entity centered on an old shed behind the house.  In the shed she finds strange jars with glowing red gel inside, that moves and seems alive. Stevie becomes obsessed with the shed, even though Marjorie forbids him from entering it.  When she catches Stevie in the shed, Marjorie beats him badly.   As things spiral out of control, Marjorie pleads with Paul to come home urgently.  She calls Mr Lincoln, to come help her.  Objects in Lincoln’s house begin flying across the room on their own, and he is beaten down by the flying books, chairs etc.

Paul arrives to find Stevie and Laurie locked in their bedroom, with books and toys flying around the room on their own.  Paul forces the door open enough for Marjorie to enter, but the door closes keeping Paul out.  Stevie is levitating and speaking in a demonic voice.  Marjorie remembers that Lincoln said the only force strong enough to stop this demon is love.  She hugs Stevie, yelling “I love you, I love you.”  The demon releases Stevie and they all run from the house.