This enigmatic, artsy horror film from the early 1970's is a lost classic waiting to be rediscovered. The dreamlike storyline echoes elements of Night Of The Living Dead and Carnival Of Souls but manages to chart a surrealistic course all its own, carefully weaving shocks into its hazy mood to build a very personalized sort of nightmare feel. Marianna Hill and Michael Greer offer subtle, nicely stylized performances, both slowly sliding from self-possessed cool into numb fear in a believable style. There are also effective character turns by Elisha Cook, Jr. as a drunk whose ramblings serve as an early warning of the horrors to come and Bennie Robinson's supremely unnerving turn as an otherworldly agent of the evil that infects the film's small-town setting. However, the most distinctive aspect of Messiah Of Evil is its striking visual design: Jack Fisk's production design is dazzling, with the nightmarish pop-art look of the artist's home being the highlight of his work here, and Stephen Katz's crisp widescreen lensing effectively deploys the kind of eerie, primary-colored lighting that genre fans usually associate with Italian horror films. First-time director Willard Huyck (better known for writing scripts for George Lucas with co-writer Gloria Katz) does a fine job of mixing all these distinctive to create a uniquely Californian variant on its gothic horror inspirations. In short, Messiah Of Evil is a macabre little gem and a must for any fan of 1970's horror. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
