storyline is simple in the extreme, but the lurid atmosphere and appropriately grimy, monotone visuals prove moderately com- pelling and the film is a step above most other low-budget productions that dared to be this unpleasant prior to the late 1960s introduction of the MPAA ratings system. Less notable is the threadbare Spanish guitar score, which evokes unfortunate memories of Ed Wood’s JAIL BAIT (1954) in its determined monotony.
Grefé’s only B&W movie, THE DEVIL’S SISTERS was a lost fea- ture for many years until word got back to the director of a surviv- ing English language print in Germany. Unfortunately, the short final reel was missing, so— at the 79m 53s second mark— the movie stops and “burns” in a video recreation of what used to happen when prints jammed and were fried by the heavy-duty pro- jector bulb. Luckily, the director appears onscreen and provides a description of how the picture wrapped up, accompanied by new storyboards that nicely illus- trate his comments. While not an ideal way to experience this rare production, the new material has been assembled with care and the end result is more satisfying than you might expect. The com- bined total of the Grefé footage (which also includes an optional 2m 39s intro from him) and the surviving feature film is 86m 4s. The anamorphic 1.66:1 pre- sentation is fairly soft and dark, with contrasts on the limited side. However, given the project’s “true crime” roots, such a look is not unwelcome and Grefé’s regular cinematographer Julio C. Chavez (STING OF DEATH) manages some effective compositions. The print is generally unblemished, though element shrinkage around the 59m mark causes the image to weave in and out of focus for a
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Lovecraftian demon Yog Kothag is awakened in the early shot-on-video title, FOREVER EVIL.
few minutes. Audio is also at the mercy of the original recording, but it is adequate overall. Grefé provides a commentary track in which he relates his memories of the locations, per- formers and challenges he faced on the short shoot. He also in- corporates a few stories about his other pictures, including THE HOOKED GENERATION, which leads to an amusing anecdote about notorious boxer-turned- actor Willie Pastrano. However, don’t believe his story about Dave Friedman having made a nudie version of KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE (if only! Grefé is apparently thinking of THE RIB- ALD TALES OF ROBIN HOOD). The director also discusses the project’s history in a 9m video interview, astonished that he was able to get it done in only 10 days and had no time to worry about safety (lacking squibs, he allowed live rounds to be fired around him while filming the climactic gun fight!).
Film historian Chris Poggiali contributes one of his admirably detailed essays on the picture’s history, the case that inspired it,
and how productions like this often fell through the cracks be- fore the video revolution helped to make older movies commer- cially viable again. Also included are a brief radio spot for the film’s 1968 re-release through K. Gordon Murray as SISTERS OF THE DEVIL, some stills, and trailers for Grefé’s popular drive-in double feature STING OF DEATH and THE DEATH CURSE OF TARTU. The disc is offered exclusively through the Reality’s Edge Films website (
www.realitysedgefilms.net).
FOREVER EVIL
1987, VCI, 110m/119m 28s, $9.99, DVD
By Shane M. Dallmann
Having enjoyed remarkable retail success with such shot-on- tape horror offerings as BLOOD CULT and THE RIPPER (both 1985), VCI has enthusiastically forged ahead with numerous similar releases of widely varying quality. Among the most techni- cally competent and ambitious of the batch was the heavily- promoted FOREVER EVIL from
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