The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave
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''The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave'' ( it, La notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba) is a 1971 Italian ''
gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
'' film directed by
Emilio Miraglia Emilio Paolo Miraglia (1 January 1924 – 26 August 1982) was an Italian film director. He began working in film as a director's assistant and technician and worked on many B movies. Miraglia is known for his two early 1970s giallo films, ''The ...
.


Plot

Alan (
Anthony Steffen Anthony Steffen, born Antonio Luiz de Teffé von Hoonholtz (July 21, 1930 – June 4, 2004), was an Italian-Brazilian character actor, screenwriter and film producer. Steffen achieved fame as a leading man in Spaghetti Western features. He was als ...
) is a wealthy aristocrat who has just been released from a mental institution following the death of his wife, the red-haired Evelyn. Having caught Evelyn making love with an unknown man prior to his institutionalization, the psychotic Alan begins luring red-haired strippers and prostitutes to his home to torture and kill them, as a way 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. George Harriman (Enzo Tarascio) - Alan's cousin and his only living heir - offers to move into the mansion to take care of him. George takes him to a strip club and Alan takes home Susan (
Erika Blanc Enrica Bianchi Colombatto (born 23 July 1942), usually known by her stagename of Erika Blanc, is an Italian actress. Career Her most notable role was as the first fictional character Emmanuelle in '' Io, Emmanuelle'' (1969). Blanc starred in se ...
), one of the strippers at the club who disappears after barely escaping with her life. Afterward, George suggests that Alan would be cured of his instability if he replaces Evelyn with a new bride that resembles her. On his advice, Alan moves to London to get away from his home and marries Gladys (
Marina Malfatti Marina Malfatti (25 April 1933 – 8 June 2016) was an Italian actress. Biography Born in Florence, Malfatti moved to Paris at the age of 17 where she attended the Cours d'Art Dramatique, the drama school founded by René Simon. Two years late ...
), a blonde. Gladys finds herself being haunted by the 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 mysterious killer. When he sees a zombified Evelyn beckoning to him from her tomb, he breaks down completely. When Alan is taken away for permanent institutionalization, Gladys and George celebrate, as they had been trying to push Alan back into insanity, with George supposedly impersonating Evelyn, so that he would gain control of Alan's fortune and estate. After they toast their success, Susan appears. George reveals that Susan was the one impersonating Evelyn and that the champagne Gladys is drinking has been poisoned. He stands by as Gladys attacks and kills Susan before succumbing to the poison. However, Alan appears along with Richard Timberlane (
Giacomo Rossi Stuart Giacomo Rossi Stuart (25 August 1925 – 20 October 1994) was an Italian film actor often credited as Jack Stuart or Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1953 and 1989. Biography Born in Todi to an Italian father ...
), the doctor who treated him for his first mental breakdown. Alan had suspected he was being manipulated all along and had faked his most recent breakdown to lure out the members of the conspiracy against him. George tries to escape and in the ensuing fight, a bag of sulfur-based fertilizer falls into the nearby pool. The water in the pool becomes acidic and George falls in, getting burned horribly. Getting out of the pool, George is arrested and Alan manages to get away with his crimes.


Cast


Style

Italian film historian Roberto Curti described the film as an example of a hybrid of a
Gothic film A Gothic film is a film that is based on Gothic fiction or contains Gothic elements. Since various definite film genres—including science fiction, film noir, thriller, and comedy—have used Gothic elements, the Gothic film is challenging to def ...
and the rising popularity of
Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...
esque ''
giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...
'' films. Curti noted the Gothic elements combined with the elements of a castle, a crypt, a séance, and a vengeful ghost evoked by a portrait that haunts the main character.


Production

''The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave'' was written by screenwriters,
Massimo Felisatti Massimo Felisatti (12 May 1932 – 7 September 2016) was an Italian novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and director. Biography Born in Ferrara, Felisatti graduated in Modern Letters, and then he started collaborating with some local newspapers, ...
and
Fabio Pittorru Fabio Pittorru (24 August 1928 – 4 September 1995) was an Italian novelist, essayist, screenwriter, journalist and film director. Biography Born in Ferrara, after the World War II Pittorru was very active in the local cultural scene, workin ...
who had previously worked together on the television miniseries ''
Qui squadra mobile ''Qui squadra mobile'' is an Italian television series starring Orazio Orlando and Luigi Vannucchi. All 12 episodes were directed by Anton Giulio Majano and written by Massimo Felisatti, Anton Giulio Majano, and Fabio Pittorru. See also *List o ...
''. This film was their second ''giallo'' film after ''
The Weekend Murders ''The Weekend Murders'' ( it, Concerto per pistola solista, also known as ''The Story of a Crime'') is a 1970 Italian giallo film directed by Michele Lupo. It starred Ida Galli, Beryl Cunningham, Anna Moffo and Orchidea De Santis. Plot A family g ...
'' based on a story by
Sergio Donati Sergio Donati (born 13 April 1933) is an Italian screenwriter. He has written for more than 70 films since 1952. He was born in Rome, Italy. He started as a writer and had some of his books optioned for film. He is well known for his collaborati ...
.


Release

''The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave'' was released in Italy on 18 August 1971 where it was distributed by
Cineriz ''Cineriz'' was an Italian media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films, founded in the early 1950s by the businessman Angelo Rizzoli. The company catalogue counts also many films directed by Federico Fellini, Gil ...
. The film grossed a total of 446,574,000
Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...
on its domestic release. Curti described its profits in Italy as a "reasonable success". It was released theatrically in the United States on 26 July 1972 as ''The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave''. When shown theatrically in the United States, it was distributed with such gimmicks as theaters serving "bloodcorn", popcorn that had been dyed red. Several versions of the film circulated which were often edited and/or re-edited, such as the television version titled ''Evelyn Raises the Dead''.


Home video

The film was first released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
by Australian distribution company Gryphon Entertainment on 20 June 2013. The film was again released, with wider distribution, by
Arrow Films Arrow Films is a British independent film distributor and restorer specialising in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. It sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs online, and also operates its own subscription video on-dema ...
on 30 May 2016 as part of the two-film Emilio P. Miraglia DVD/Blu-ray combo set ''Killer Dames'' (AV053). The other film on this release was ''
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times ''The Red Queen Kills Seven Times'' ( it, La dama rossa uccide sette volte) is a 1972 ''giallo'' film directed by Emilio Miraglia. Plot Two sisters, Kitty and Evelyn, are cursed by a family painting depicting a hundred year-cycle in which a Red Q ...
'', a similar film also directed by Miraglia.


Critical reception

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
wrote "''The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave'' might make acceptable fodder for ''giallo'' fans but isn't as memorable as its reputation suggests." In his essay ''Danse Macabre'', author
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
described the film as an "Italian turkey"


References


Footnotes


Sources

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External links


''The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)''
a
DBCult Film Institute
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave, The 1971 films 1971 horror films 1970s psychological thriller films Giallo films Italian horror films 1970s Italian-language films Films directed by Emilio Miraglia Films scored by Bruno Nicolai Films set in country houses Italian serial killer films 1970s Italian films