THE EVICTORS (1979) **

The Evictors comes to us courtesy of Charles B. Pierce, and it’s a lot like his Legend of Boggy Creek and The Town That Dreaded Sundown.  Purporting to be based on a true-life incident, Pierce takes the pseudo-documentary approach he enjoys so well and applies it yet again, giving himself another opportunity to indulge his penchant for local legends and small-town gossip.  While this is arguably his most atmospheric and accomplished work (which honestly, isn’t saying much), it still leaves much to be desired.

He did assemble himself a good cast at least.  Vic Morrow is top-billed, but his role isn’t all that sizeable.  He’s the real estate agent who sells a couple played by Michael Parks and Jessica Harper a house secluded in the countryside during WWII.  Naturally, they’re blissfully unaware of the multiple violent incidents that occurred in the home years before.  Soon after getting settled in, they begin receiving threatening messages in their mailbox and are subject to a shadowy prowler that likes to lurk about the property.

Most of Pierce’s films have an amateurish feel to them, but this one is a serviceable enough attempt to elicit chills.  If anything, it shows what he could accomplish with a capable cast and a decent-sized budget at his disposable.  The black and white flashbacks are marginally effective, although their placement in the narrative often brings the present-day action to a screeching halt.  I’ll admit, Pierce gives the old-timey scenes a nice attention to detail.  It’s just that all the back-and-forth between the timelines prevents the movie from gaining any momentum.  

I liked the scenes where Harper is stalked by the creep while she’s all alone in the house.  Whenever she’s on screen, her presence alone is enough to make you want to watch it.  Unfortunately, the usually weird Parks doesn’t bring anything to the table as he plays things far too low key to leave much of an impression.  I mean, who wants to see Michael Parks play a “normal” guy?  Morrow does a fine job, but his very presence in the role sort of gives away the twist ending.  I mean, would YOU buy a house from Vic Morrow?