EVIL CLUTCH (1988)
Ahhh, Troma…
Who else would have the distinctive vision to pick up Evil Clutch, a grimy 1988 Italian Evil Dead rip-off that’s as poorly dubbed as it is awesomely splattered in late-80’s attire. When your heroine is an Asia Argento lookalike who rocks monochromatic-striped leggings and a matching hot-pink-Chucks-and-headband ensemble, and your back story is narrated through the voice machine of an old French hermit with aviator goggles on his head, you know you’re in the presence of something special.
Its plot is simple: a young couple are being hunted through the woods by a nutty zombie woman, who looks a bit like 80’s sensation Basia on the third afternoon of a meth binge. Soon other zombies start popping out from their graves, hungry for Eurotrash brains. At this point it’s almost quite literally Evil Dead Redux - cameras zoom through the forest towards our running heroes; zombies pop into close-ups against foggy backdrops, alternately groaning or laughing maniacally; blood and gore flow abundantly; our heroine is ultimately reduced to ticks and screams; and we even get an attack by an evil tree.
Gotta love that Goblin-esque music, too.
This is the kind of movie that scares the shit out of you as a kid, and becomes a guilty B-Movie pleasure as an adult. There’s enough in here that probably would have messed me up had I caught it on KDOC - I still remember being creeped out by The Video Dead, a film that’s somewhat laughable now. Though that zombie bride is still kind of creepy…
Evil Clutch is a decent Euro zombie flick, and surprisingly restrained in camp for a Troma release; any and all camp here is unintentional, and a product of the style of its time (blame Swing Out Sister). As bloody and as gory as the films it aspires to emulate, it’s a worthy bloodbath to throw on with a group of your favorite fellow zombie junkies.
Oh, and definitely watch the closing credits for the title song Evil Clutch, all-too-obviously inspired by Siouxsie and the Banshees. This movie has it all!
- Logan Crow, 01-28-09
Comment:
