The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971) User Reviews

Nice mix of Giallo and Gothic horror

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 16 December 2005]

Lord Alan Cunningham has been a troubled man since the death of his wife. The only release he can find from his torment is by luring women that remind him of his dead wife to his castle and then brutally murdering them. That is until he meets Gladys. The two are quickly married and Lord Cunningham appears to be cured. But a series of strange events involving the possibility that his first wife has returned from the grave seems to send him over the edge.

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is one part Giallo and one part Gothic horror. It's not the greatest example of either sub-genre you'll run across, but I was reasonably entertained throughout. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing up to the very end. While I've seen enough of these Gialli that I'm rarely surprised anymore, there's no way I could have predicted all the twists in the last act. The acting is about average for this kind of film, but it was nice to see Marina Malfatti with a large role as Gladys. Most of the rest of the cast will be familiar to fans of 70s Italian films.

A word of warning about the DVD - there are a bunch of El Cheapo DVD companies out there that offer The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. One appears to be about as good as the other. The best that can be said about these DVDs is that they are watchable (and I'm being generous). If this sounds like a movie that would be of interest, I've read that NoShame DVD has acquired the Region 1 rights. Based on their track record, it should be worth waiting for. I'll definitely upgrade once it's released.

Edit (5/7): NoShame's new DVD of The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is, in a word, stunning - especially when compared with what's been available until now in Region 1. I have a new appreciation for the film and actually enjoyed it much more than I did just a couple of months ago. It's like watching a whole different movie.

She's Waiting.

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 12 August 2007]

Emilio Miraglia's "The Night Evelyn came out of her Grave" is an entertaining slice of perversely manipulative and seedy Gothic Euro-horror. The way the format works out (Gothic crossed Giallo) is a delicious web of eerie uncertainty and devilish twists, where is it the cracking mind of the protagonist or maybe the supernatural has something to do with the mysterious occurrences and demented happenings. Where never quite sure how it will pan out, despite its strictly routine and what you think a simple set-up. It does create many effective and spontaneous passages, like a layer upon layer structure, which compellingly builds up to its show-stopping, and unforeseeable conclusion. Which eventually goes out of its way to shock. Miraglia sharply paints a sombre atmospheric setting that at times embraces a dreamy elegance and for the darker, glum moments it's covered with moody shades due to its shadowy lighting. There's plenty of rough, jolting blocks of viciously nasty violence, sensual nudity and sordid fetishes. Bruno Nicolai's peering camera-work is smoothly orchestrated and Gastone Di Giovanni's wicked, bustling music score fits every scene. The pacing can get rather stumpy and editing can lumber with little rhythm, but it has a certain glow and the strangeness of the idea seems to hold you. The performances fair up decently, with a voluptuous Erika Blanc looking rather stunning and nailing down her part. Antonio De Teffè's nervous wreck portrayal is finely tuned in a neurotic sense and Marina Malfatti is there to shower us with her gratuitous looks. Rod Murdock colourfully hams it up, with winning results and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart is suitably adequate as the stable-headed doctor. There are able performances from Joan C Davis and Roberto Maldera too. The story can get patchy with few plot-holes, but it has a sedately arresting, stylised appeal.

Clever mix of gothic horror elements and Giallo story

[rundbauchdodo · 6/10 · 13 July 2001]

This creepy Italian thriller tells the story about a widowed lord who still suffers from the memory of the death of his red-haired wife Evelyn who betrayed him. So the aristocrat lures red-haired prostitutes into his castle to take revenge on his dead wife again and again: He whips them before he kills them.

But he's obviously not the only whacko in this film, because after he has found a new wife - a blonde woman this time - he seems to be getting better, but strange things happen and there's even a gloved killer who murders a couple of people in quite nasty ways.

This film from the director of the fine Giallo "La Dama Rossa Uccide Sette Volte" (1972, see also my comment on that one) is a clever blending of gothic horror elements (a creepy castle, mysterious events taking place and an empty coffin that suggests that Evelyn indeed came out of her grave) and a typical Giallo story (gloved killer, nasty murders and some surprising twists during the climax). The only letdown is the slow paced start (after a great opening sequence, though), but the second half makes up for that in many ways. The film is not that gory, but there is one particularly gruesome scene when the killer batters a woman with a stone and then throws her into a fox cage - you actually see the foxes munch on her innards.

All in all an interesting and unusual film that is worth looking for (although it's not easy to get it on tape at the moment).

Albert wants his thirty pounds

[carlsevier · 7/10 · 18 November 2005]

OK, maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so. If you want to watch great cinematography maybe you should watch this for a base to judge it on. I have the r rated version and I've seen more breasts in this than in a regular porn movie. This is a wonderful movie to have with a ton of friends over. If there were only more spaghetti horror movies like this.

From the get go, there are red heads galore. And more S&M than you'd have thought could be filmed back in the 70s. I'm not saying this is the best movie of the age, but the costume designer should have won an Oscar. Can you say "Titty"? And the under lying theme of "Get rid of your old flame's s**t!" can't be denied.

Perhaps those who don't appreciate this film aren't the "artsy fartsy" types but this movie also can boasts non-stop high quality Sets. And any flick that involves Red head chicks naked, Rufees, and gore can't be bad. Oh!, and foxes eating intestines.

And let's not mention Aunt Agatha getting her head knocked in ala. Apollo Creed in Rocky IV.

Evelyn Should Have Stayed Buried!

[BaronBl00d · 4/10 · 2 August 2005]

Italian horror/suspense film about a wealthy English lord who cruises pubs and taverns for girls with red hair just like his recently deceased wife Evelyn. You know he must have really loved his wife, because he brings them to his home - a huge, rotting castle - and makes them disrobe and then tortures them, whips them, and kills them. The most bizarre aspect of this film for me was that somehow by the film's end, we see this guy played by Antonio De Teffe as the HERO of the film. Anyway, soon, under the advice of his playboy uncle Roberto Maldera, De Teffe settles down with a girl he meets at his uncle's party. She moves in and strange things begin to happen to De Teffe's fragile state of mind. He begins to see and hear his dead wife and finally, well, just look at the title if you are still curious. Also, family members and friends begin to die in the most brutal fashions. Poor Aunt Agatha(she looks like she might even be younger than De Teffe and they have her in a wheelchair and trying to look old) meets her fate in a foxy fashion. Another man is injected and then buried alive. And of course, there is a whole explanation as to why/how Evelyn did what she did. Director Emilio Miraglia does do some things fairly well: the settings in the film are well-suited for this film though trying to make us believe it is England is ludicrous at best. None of the actors look English. Many having dark black hair and Mediterranean complexions and wearing clothes an Englishman wouldn't be caught dead in. The cars drive on their wrong side of the road. But all that notwithstanding, the crypt scene was effectively shot and I liked the cheesy resolution too. And of course any film with the sultry, red-headed Erika Blanc is always a plus. There is a streak of sexual perversion; however, which I found somewhat appalling with the idea that torturing women was quite alright and healthy in order to relieve one of his mental demons. C'mon.

I preferred Emilio Miraglia's other giallo, 'The Red Queen Kills 7 Times'.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 15 February 2008]

Alan (Anthony Steffen), an English multi-millionaire with a few screws loose (thanks to his first wife's infidelity and untimely death during childbirth), entices sexy, red-headed women to his castle, offering them bundles of cash to stay the weekend. Once back at his ancestral pile, he gets them nekkid, proceeds to flog them with a bull-whip, and then kills them.

But when he meets blonde hottie Gladys (Marina Malfatti) and falls for her ample charms, he decides to give up his murderous ways and get married. Their wedded bliss is short-lived, however, thanks to Alan's iffy mental state, which becomes increasingly fragile when his dead wife Evelyn starts to appear outside his window and a spate of gruesome murders occur within the castle grounds.

So let's recap: a groovy 70s Euro-horror with loads of tasty women in various states of undress; spooky Gothic retreats and misty graveyards; a sadistic rich psycho with a penchant for drop-dead gorgeous babes with cracking bods; several vicious murders (including a great bit where one victim has her head bashed in with a rock and her entrails eaten by foxes). Normally, a checklist like that would guarantee me a good time—so why did I find 'The Night Evelyn Came Out Of Her Grave' so dull? Well, for starters, the plot is way too convoluted: there are red herrings, crazy plot developments, and suspects galore, and it all becomes a bit too much. By the ridiculous ending—in which we discover that, all along, several people have been plotting to get their greedy paws on Alan's wealth, and that our red-head killing nut-job is actually supposed to be the hero of the movie—my head was hurting too much to care! Secondly, Emilio Maraglia's direction is pretty torpid. Stylish, yes; but as slow as molasses at times.

And then there's the bits that are just too damn silly, possibly even for a giallo: the death by poisonous snake bite (surely one of the most bizarre choices of weapon ever); Alan's Aunt Agatha, an old crippled relative who is played by a pretty young woman; the hiring of a group of identical curly headed blondes as maids; the poor attempt at convincing the audience that the film is set in England (mentioning 'pounds' and hiring a crap police uniform for one of the extras is not enough); and then, of course, there is the unlikelihood of finding a bag of sulphuric acid laying next to a swimming pool...

'The Night Evelyn Came Out Of Her Grave' isn't a total waste of time (how could it be, with so much female flesh on show?), but there are much better giallo's out there. Watch this one if you're a fan of the genre and you've already seen the best—but don't expect too much.

Foxy babes and babe dinner for foxes.

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 31 August 2009]

Nice mix of giallo an Gothic horror, brought to you by Emilio Miraglia, writer/director of Red Queen Kills 7 Times. Maybe Miraglia likes red, as this is a tale of a dead red-headed wife, and a series of red-headed prostitutes brought home by the rich widower, Lord Alan Cunningham (Anthony Steffen).

Not only does Alan bring a lot of redheads home to his castle, which means a lot of flesh for your enjoyment, but he has a propensity to engage in a little sadism while he is at it, as Susan (Erika Blanc) finds out.

After Susan, he meets Gladys (Marina Malfatti) at a party. He is instantly attracted (and who wouldn't be?) even though she is a blond, not a redhead. So much so, that he asks her to marry before he even gets her in bed. She is much more practical, and goes to bed without marrying, though I suspect she feels it will lead there eventually.

When they are married, the title comes alive as does Evelyn, his first wife. Naturally, I suspected Albert (Roberto Maldera) and Aunt Agatha (Joan C. Davis) in this ruse, but that is quickly dispelled. Needless to say, the foxes didn't have any appetite for breakfast after a late night snack.

Things move forward with a double double cross and a surprise ending. Interesting giallo with boobilicious treats.

A fabulous slice of Euro Gothic!

[The_Void · 9/10 · 8 June 2006]

Emilio Miraglia's crossover between Gothic horror and Italy's finest cinematic export, the Giallo, really is a delightful film for the fan of cult horror. While the movie is certainly no masterpiece, the story moves well and the imagery on display and imagination on the part of the director that is shown throughout elevates a rather simple tale of insanity and murder into an amazing slice of cult cinema. The title alone is graphic and lurid enough on its own, and I'm pleased to say that the film itself carries on this style throughout, with some well worked and ingenious death scenes, as well as plenty of nudity and some truly beautiful cinematography. The story takes place in a castle just outside London, England. We are introduced to Lord Alan Cunningham and a hooker that he is taking home. After brutally torturing and eventually killing her, we discover that his mental trauma is due to the loss of his wife, Evelyn. His friend and doctor talks him into remarrying to ease his mental anguish, and that's a piece of advice that he takes upon meeting the ravishing Gladys...

Despite the fact that this film is very much a piece of schlock cinema, the director appears to have taken it very seriously, and the result is a film that puts a lot of emphasis on the plot and characters, and ultimately this means a stronger show as Miraglia takes time to draw his audience in, rather than just showing blood and nudity and leaving it at that. The acting performances aren't bad, and even though Spaghetti Western star Antonio De Teffè is a little hammy, he convinces in his role; while Marina Malfatti provides eye-catching eye candy. The murder sequences on display are typically gruesome and beyond the immediately obvious, as we watch a woman being ripped apart by foxes and a scene that sees a man burn in a pool containing sulphuric acid. Bruno Nicolai's rock score works very well and brilliantly accents every scene. The film all boils down to a satisfying ending, which despite seemingly coming out nowhere; works well and adequately describes many of the loose ends up until the conclusion. Overall, while this film isn't the best of its kind; it's certainly a very good one and I'm sure that fans of cult cinema won't be disappointed!

Splendid giallo, they don't make them like this anymore!

[DVD_Connoisseur · 7/10 · 29 October 2006]

"La notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba" is a splendidly wicked tale, ably directed by Emilio Miraglia. Possibly the most politically incorrect giallo I've seen, the film is a real treat for fans of spaghetti horror.

The film is a visual feast and has a great score by Bruno Nicolai. It is rich in atmosphere and '70s spirit.

The cast are excellent - Antonio De Teffè is outstanding as the "nuttier than a bottle of chips" Lord Alan Cunningham. There is a bevy of beauties in this movie (which always helps the proceedings), notably Marina Malfatti as Gladys Cunningham.

There are some genuine surprises in this film, I thoroughly enjoyed it. A solid 7 stars.

The castle in which anything can happen

[Camera-Obscura · 13 January 2007]

THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE (Emilio Miraglia - Italy 1971).

I only watched this delirious piece of Euro-tosh in the way of Alpha Video's dreadful DVD-release (looks like an extremely bad video-transfer), but from what I saw, not nearly interesting enough to purchase No Shame's recent DVD-release. Considering their excellent track record, it will undoubtedly be a major improvement over all previous releases. And don't pay attention to the ridiculous cover shown here, it's not taken from this film (some girl holding the head of a Jim Carrey look-a-like).

Spaghetti Western star Anthony Steffen sports a hip hairdo and assumes the role of Lord Alan Cunningham, a man haunted by the memory of his dead wife Evelyn. This leads to a nervous breakdown which has him being retained in a psychiatric clinic. Once released, Cunningham channels this trauma by taking redheaded prostitutes to his countryside castle, subjecting them to vicious acts of torture. His doctor and friend, Richard Timberlane (what do you mean, Italian horror names sound "made up?"), advises him to forget the past and remarry but Cunningham is obsessed with Evelyn and even organizes a séance at the castle. Eventually, after killing some more girls, he meets Gladys, another redhead, and marries her almost immediately, but the arrival of his new wife spawns a series of sinister events. Bloodthirsty creatures strike at Sir Alan's family, killing them off one by one. Becoming more distraught, Cunningham visits Evelyn's tomb and discovers it to be empty. Soon, a number of "outsiders" begin to suspect something fishy is going on in the castle and Lord Cunningham's treatment might not have been that successful after all.

Director Emilio Miraglia tries to blend Gothic horror with Giallo conventions with limited success. As usual, not the slightest effort was made to convince audiences the film is set in England. The cars drive on the right side of the road, everyone looks very Mediterranean and the castle (and the rest of the architecture) is patently Italian. This is common practice in Italian horror, but sometimes they just take this a little too far. The bad print made this even slightly bearable, since it's so dark, you couldn't see much of the surroundings anyway. But, then again, this is the kind of film where anything can happen in the name of exploitation and depicting reality isn't really the issue. A large part consists of sado-masochistic torture scenes in the castle torture chamber, but most of the time, Anthony Steffen hams his way through this and shows some horrible over-acting. I guess it all depends on your state of mind and this can be a fun piece of nonsense if you're in the right mood. I just couldn't take it, at least not with the print I watched. A pleasant score though by Bruno Nicolai which combines easy-listening tunes with some psychedelic rock numbers.

Camera Obscura --- 4/10

The Night Evelyn Never Came Out of the Grave and I Slipped into a Coma...

[codfish · 1/10 · 5 August 2001]

Exceptionally horrible tale that I can barely put into words. The best part of the movie was when one of the murder victims turns up at the end, alive and well, only to be massacred again. There is the chance that I missed some crucial plot elements since I may have been in a slight coma during the time this baby was on. The box that the movie comes in shows scenes that are never even in the film. I was lured in by the crude images of bondage torture and promises of a 'Euro-trash, sexy horror flick.' I get the feeling this was the budget version and about one quarter of the film was left out. All the good stuff more than likely. I got the PG-13 addition that made about as much sense as the end to the new 'Planet of the Apes' movie. Watch this one with a friend and a bottle of the hard stuff. You'll need it.

The worms are waiting.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 21 October 2019]

"The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave" is a twisty (naturally), engaging example of the Giallo genre that benefits strongly from its environs, atmosphere, and visual poetry (not to mention nudity). Anthony Steffen ("Evil Eye") stars as Lord Alan Cunningham, an aristocrat who can't get over the death of his first wife Evelyn. Now, his personality has taken on a sadistic, fetishistic bent as he takes his one night stands back to his remote castle and tortures them. Then, he decides he can best move on by impulsively marrying new acquaintance Gladys (Marina Malfatti, "All the Colors of the Dark"). But when some of those close to Alan meet horrible deaths, it seems as if Evelyn might be seeking revenge from beyond the grave.

This is a pretty good mystery that keeps its viewers engrossed, just like any good film of its type. Even if they think they have it figured out early on, it's still worth sticking with for its melding of sex, violence, and style. The actors are all excellent, with Enzo Tarascio ("Sword of the Empire"), Giacomo Rossi Stuart ("The Last Man on Earth"), Umberto Raho ("Seven Seas to Calais"), Roberto Maldera ("Assassination"), Joan C. Davis (in her only film role), and the luscious Erika Blanc ("Kill, Baby... Kill!") offering great support. The lounge score by composer Bruno Nicolai is the ideal accompaniment, especially for those flashback scenes in the garden. The film is violent, but the gore comes in spurts, such as a sequence involving pet foxes, and a series of stabbings near the end.

Alan is an interesting sort of protagonist: far from innocent, since he's spilling his share of blood, but not entirely unsympathetic due to his deteriorating mental state. This plays into a delicious final turn of events, when miscreants get revealed, but characters still have surprises for each other. Those are often the best kinds of endings in murder-mystery fare.

Recommended as a companion piece to filmmaker Emilio P. Miraglias' follow-up Giallo, "The Red Queen Kills Seven Times".

Seven out of 10.

The Night Boobs Came out the ETC

[Bezenby · 7/10 · 27 September 2017]

I've read there's at least nine different edits of this film floating around so I've put off watching it for years, and have now watched it in all it's demented glory! It's good! Long too! And booby!

We first meet rich millionaire Antony Steffen while he's running through the garden of a loonybin, screaming at the top of his voice. Seems our Antony has gone quite mental following the death of his wife Evelyn. He's released from the crazy house, but I don't think luring red-headed prostitutes to his house and murdering them in his torture room is a long term therapy.

Antony lives in his huge house with the following potential victims: wheelchair bound Aunt Agatha, who likes to spy on people from cupboards and is having it off with Albert, Evelyn's brother who's constantly blackmailing Antony for money. There's also his lawyer (Umberto Raho) who seems to have specialized in looking shifty, his doctor (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) who constantly looks suspicious, and of course his hippy cousin who's always having orgies and what not.

Antony's doctor recommends that he should get married again and forget about the dead ginger wife, which Antony does after we see him trying to kill Erika Blanc. Things start getting more mysterious around this time as it would appear that Evelyn may well have returned from the grave, seeing her grave's open and she's appearing every all the time. Then again, if this film is a Gothic horror as the haunting suggests, why is there's also a gloved killer going around murdering the cast?

This a lengthy, gorgeous looking, trashy giallo with many a braless lady on display to keep you awake while the film develops a plot. There's also a lot of strange sights on view, from Erika Blanc emerging from a coffin to do a striptease, to the five identical maids with their blonde Afros or when one of the victims is dumped in a cage full of foxes, who then proceed to eat the corpse's guts. It's also daft as hell mind you – check out the ending – who leaves sulphuric acid next to a swimming pool?

Antony Steffen gets a lot of stick for not being the greatest actor but he does fine here. He would also go on to play a blind composer in Seven Crimes of the Black Cat!

A Classic, Now in the Proper Release

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 12 May 2016]

A wealthy English lord is suffering a mental breakdown following the death of his red-headed wife, Evelyn, whom he feared was cheating on him. He tours local bars and dives, scouring for lovely red-heads willing to come back to his decaying castle in the country, where he seduces them, then tortures and kills them.

This is the first of two giallo films directed by Emilio Miraglia, and both revolve around a woman named "Evelyn" who has died. Is there something behind this? Probably, but who knows. Miraglia had a bit of a history in Italian film at this point, working his way up to director after assisting others, including Lucio Fulci. Miraglia only directed a total of six films of any genre, so no surprise if you are less than familiar with him.

Troy Howarth actually says the film is not strict giallo, but calls this a hybrid of giallo and modern Gothic, which is a fair claim. It stars Anthony Steffen, the royal-blooded Italian Clint Eastwood, best known for "Django the Bastard" (if he is remembered at all). But the biggest name in this film is Erika Blanc (known for Bava's "Kill Baby Kill" among others). She may in many ways be here more for her looks than her acting, but her acting is nothing to sneeze at.

Bruno Nicolai, second only to Ennio Morricone (and maybe Caludio Simonetti) supplies the soundtrack, though not all of it is fresh. We have, for example, a re-use of Nicolai's "Criminal Sex" for the early, memorable naked whipping scene. But when you already have a good tune, why use something else?

On VHS and DVD, the film has been released by various labels over the years with questionable legitimacy to the rights and subpar, truncated presentations. Finally, thanks to Arrow Video, we get the ultimate release -- uncut, in both English and Italian, and loaded with extras. Of particular interest is the audio commentary from author Troy Howarth, an expert on this sort of film. Erika Blanc also has an interview.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Terminally Boring

[Jonny_Numb · 1/10 · 14 January 2004]

Oh, those Italians! Assuming that movies about aristocrats with weird fetishes, castles drowned in gothic atmosphere, and back-stabbing relatives trying to get their hands on an inheritance are inherently interesting to all! If you've seen one film of this type, you've basically seen them all (the MST3K favorite "Screaming Skull" fits the mold, too)...and "The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave" is formulaic, by-the-numbers, and dull as hell. Even the luscious Erika Blanc is put to waste here.

zero/10

Sexy,stylish and compelling Italian giallo.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 9/10 · 30 June 2006]

Alan is a rich playboy haunted by the memory of red-headed Evelyn, his dead and unfaithful wife.He brings red haired prostitutes to his gloomy castle where they are whipped and killed.But when he marries Gladys,the terrible things begins to happen:his brother-in-law Albert is buried alive,aunt Agatha is fed to the foxes and Evelyn herself seems to pop out of her crypt with a sexy body and grinning skull face.1971's "The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave" is an enjoyable and stylish giallo with lovingly-photographed murders and plenty of sleaze.Every killing is associated with nudity and there is a lot of Gothic mood throughout.The location sets including a decrepit castle,a shadowy mausoleum and a sinister torture dungeon are truly creepy.The film is worth seeing for Erika Blanc's sensuous coffin striptease alone.9 out of 10.Fans of Italian gialli should give it a look!

An enjoyably entertaining if slightly disappointing giallo

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 26 November 2022]

While trying to keep his sanity in check, a wealthy entrepreneur tries to move on with a new wife which is supposed to help him cure a debilitating psychological condition, but the more they stay together the more convinced he becomes that his former wife is still haunting him and affecting his relationship.

This was a generally solid second-tier genre effort. One of the better features here is the strong setup involving the main characters' clear psychological issues. Introduced very early on with the clear obsession he has with the old wife when he has a mental breakdown and snaps while meeting the prostitute, that there's plenty of work here with the doctor treating him for his condition while their friends are more concerned with trying to contact her spirit offers the kind of grand work the genre needs to work. This is carried throughout the majority of the first half where his mental sanity is continually questioned with the interactions involving the dancer playing this off quite nicely. This setup offers a fine inclusion for the film's psychological undertones to mesh well with the Gothic sensibilities involving the belief of whether or not his dead wife is still alive. Since his psyche is already shown to be fractured, the constant notions of seeing her figure around the castle grounds despite all the reassurances to the contrary create an intriguing sense of suspense over the whole situation as the shifty staff and constant misdirections about the incidents. It all comes to a head with a fantastic finale that has some impressive twists and turns that are incredibly fun to see play out which are all factored together to be the positive features of this one. There are some big issues to be had here. The main factor is the completely uninteresting main group of people we're supposed to root for as everything here is just bland and dull. Rather than imparting any kind of sympathy here, the constant blackouts, putting down his wife's queries that something's wrong, and the claims of the staff that something's wrong are nowhere close to making us side with him. For a film like this to be built on siding quite heavily with the protagonist during the whole situation, for the film to be so underwhelming with the lead in this manner and making him this dull and unlikeable is a massive hole to have to overcome that the film struggles as a whole to do so. That ties largely into the other issue prominent with the film where it's quite full and bland for the majority of the first half here. As this section never really does much with the idea of his maddening obsession and eventual psychosis beyond going through an endless stream of women to placate his deviances, there are some rather dull and underwhelming moments to be found here. It has the unfortunate addition of also enhancing the unappealing characters are we're forced to spend time with these types of characters so it can be all the more frustrating to see play out here, which all combine to lower this one slightly from what it could've been.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Language, Full Nudity, and sex scenes.

The Red Head Is Dead

[wes-connors · 2/10 · 11 August 2008]

Wealthy widower Anthony Steffen (as Alan Cunningham) is a sadomasochistic lover, and British Lord. He brings sexy red-haired women to his castle, where he whips and murders them. Black-booted stripper Erika Blanc (as Susie) gets away, temporarily. Mr. Steffen is haunted by wife "Evelyn", who died in childbirth. As therapy, he decides to marry again, after meeting pretty blonde Marina Malfatti (as Gladys). By the end of the movie, they will have had to dig a few more graves. "The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave" is great title, at least.

** La notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba (8/18/71) Emilio Miraglia ~ Anthony Steffen, Marina Malfatti, Erika Blanc

An impausible, goofy Gothic Giallo. I love it!

[rdfranciscritic · 10 February 2023]

Yeah, I've been around the Neapolitan thriller-horrors block a few times and then some. I have many favorites, but this is the ONE -- The Night Evelyn Came Out of Her Grave for you U. S. folks -- that warms the 'ol UHF-to-VHS cockles to 10 stars.

Once again, the red-wigged and skull-faced Evelyn sashays around a crumbly castle in her flowing nightie as part of Arrow Video's 4th box set from their "Giallo Essentials" collection (Red, Black, Yellow, and White) -- with Evelyn's now crisp and restored exploits as part of the "White" collection. Until Arrow released these 2022-2023 DVD packs (as well as other boutique imprints, such as Severin; but Sinema Diable and Sinister Cinema offer their own restores on Evelyn), horror connoisseurs were unable to watch these Neapolitan thriller-horrors in their original, pristine state -- free of the heartless butchering imposed by '70s American drive-in distributors and '90s cheap jack, 50-film public domain box sets (that issued worn-out UHF-TV versions).

Yeah, yeah, I know. Giallo films make no sense -- more so when Gothic-cum-supernatual elements are in the mix -- but it's all just an amped-up '40s-to-'50s film noir with a little Henry James's Turn of the Screw gaslighting. Yes, "gaslighting" your lover -- overly graphic gaslighting -- is the key element in a giallo.

So the British Hammer-Amicus overtones of this tale concerns a psychologically-troubled British aristocrat recently released from an asylum: he's haunted -- read: obsessed -- by the death of his cheating first wife: the red-maned Evelyn. To assuage the "haunting," he seduces red-heads in the local taverns -- who he subsequently tortures and kills in his kinky dungeon (kink is an important Gialli element; religion, too). Then he meets Gladys: she digs his kinks. Oh, yes, that triggers the Mario Bava-Twitch of the Death Nerve-styled deaths at Lord Cunningham's crumbly, remote estate -- backed by great music and lush sets. Stream it and enjoy the implausible twists brought on by characters that deserve to be screwed.

If you'd like to know more about Italian Gialli, check out my "Exploring: Italian Giallo Films of the 1960s through the 1970s" feature at B&S About Movies.

So-so Italian horror

[preppy-3 · 6/10 · 24 September 2006]

Handsome and wealthy Alan Cunningham has just been released from an asylum. He was put there after a breakdown he had when his unfaithful wife Evelyn died. He now picks up women who look like Evelyn, takes them to his remote castle, tortures them and kills them. But he seems cured later on when he marries Gladys--who looks just like Evelyn. But then people are being killed, Alan starts seeing Evelyn's ghost, her tomb is found empty and he starts to slowly go mad...

The synopsis may sound strange but so is the movie! There's plenty of things wrong with this: the plot refuses to make sense, the acting is pretty bad, the dubbing is awful and the film is relatively bloodless. Also there's an astounding amount of misogyny in this (even for a horror film). It's actually quite dull--until the end. There's a double twist ending which caught me by surprise and it gets very bloody too. Still, that's only the last 15 minutes or so--the preceding 80 minutes are hard to slog through. There is also a fair amount of nudity (all female of course) and the main actors are attractive--but that's not enough to recommend this. Completists of Italian horror cinema may enjoy this. Also most of the DVD versions of this are in terrible shape--mine was incorrectly letterboxed, had faded color and nonstop jumps and scratches. One sequence even started with the top of the image on the bottom of the screen! So--beware. I give it a 6--mostly for the ending.

A Fairly Good and Scary Film

[Rainey-Dawn · 6/10 · 9 November 2015]

This film is known as 'The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave', 'The Night She Arose from the Tomb' and it's original title 'La Notte che Evelyn Usci dalla Tomba' (1971).

The film is a horror and mystery with some sexploitation. A man's wife recently died and he was afraid she was cheating on him all along. He's starting to drive himself insane with these thoughts. He goes out and lures young women to his castle and has his way with them by having sex with them then torturing the women. His doctor is trying to help him by "freeing his mind" from his insanity but is this cure what he really needs?

It's a somewhat entertaining film with seances, a ghost, a castle, torture chamber, insanity, and a possible hope for a cure. He is very sadistic madman towards the women who only wanted to have some kinky fun with him.

6/10

A movie that shows nothing and also does nothing to me.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 4/10 · 21 September 2010]

Most people that like this movie seem to like it for its artistic value. I couldn't even enjoy the movie for that.

This was a bit of an odd movie, that could be called a bit of an artistic one, with its overall approach. But this approach really goes at the expense of the story, that just never seems to get off the ground. I just couldn't get really into this movie or feel involved with any of its characters and the events that were happening on screen.

The story in itself sounds good and interesting enough. The premise makes this movie sounds like an Italian torture-porn movie or just a plain horror one. In fact it's really neither, fore it does not feature enough horror to consider this an horror at all and though the movie does has hints of some sadomasochistic tendencies, the movie shows actually very little of the torturing and a lot is being implied but very little is ever shown. So this really isn't a bloody or gory, typical Italian genre piece. Granted that it's still a stylish looking film, with also some good moments in it but it really doesn't make the much better or more interesting to watch.

Not a very interesting movie to watch and a disappointing lackluster, that still shows some hints of a great movie, buried somewhere deep down in all of it.

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Nice little giallo

[ruediger_vienna · 6/10 · 29 December 2003]

My comment is based on the 96' German version of Notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba AKA Die Grotte der vergessenen Leichen, which is shown quite frequently on German pay-TV "premiere".

This German TV FSK 18 version is cut as well, but obviously not as severe as the versions mentioned by my fellow posters.

Nice style, beautiful women, brutal killings (some of them chopped away by censors), the plot fails to be logical (but who cares) - and has some twists.

Very charming: The typical 70s anglo-Italian style.

6 black gloves out of 10

Rest in piece, Evelyn

[Chase_Witherspoon · 4/10 · 29 February 2012]

At times incoherent, this Italian Gothic horror piece has a wealthy aristocrat (Steffen) suffering from a psychotic in-balance that causes him to lure pretty red-heads and lookalikes of his deceased wife Evelyn to his dilapidated castle, for S&M and more. His doctor (Rossi-Stuart) is concerned about his condition and recommends he find a new wife - which he does in Malfatti, but things quickly deteriorate between the newlyweds when "Evelyn" appears to rise from her crypt.

Disjointed in parts with hokey special effects and poorly contrived plot set-ups, it's often described as "giallo", but I'd disagree with that definition being applied. Gothic horror perhaps, but the essence of giallo (everyday man witnesses an apparent crime, assumes amateur detective role, becomes the target of the killer) isn't present. The cast is reasonably proficient, although the dubbing is atrocious.

Not as violent or sadistic as I'd read, the scene in which the pet foxes "dine-in" on one of the scheming relatives isn't nearly as brutal as reputed (it's also very difficult to discern what's happening by virtue of the poor lighting). Atmospheric at times, the suspense never holds you for very long before it's back to the awfully dubbed dialogue and somewhat puerile haunted castle effects (endless mist, storms, creaking boards and cobwebs). There's a twist ending which partially redeems the movie, but it's too little too late and leaves a gaping plot hole in its explanation that won't go unnoticed.

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave

[Mister-Creeper · 6/10 · 11 November 2014]

Having sat through nearly every pre-1990 American horror movie worth watching, I began broadening my horizon quite a few years ago now. It was a necessary step, an evolution, to see what the rest of the world offered in the genre that I most adore. Growing up with the many slasher films of the 80s, it wasn't long before I discovered the sub-genre, Giallo, and from there it branched out to the many other horrors from Italy. I was hooked. Several Italian horror films are now amongst my favorites. La notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba is not one of them, but I still enjoy it. Just because it's not a favorite doesn't mean it isn't worth watching.

A very wealthy, widowed English Lord lives in a castle and isn't coping very well with the death of his red-headed, cheating wife, Evelyn. So, being the sadist he is, he brings home many young, red-headed women to torture and kill. Will a new wife cure him? ...and what about Evelyn? I don't want to say more than that. Spoilers isn't really my thing. If you're a fan of Italian horror films, then I suggest you seek this one out if you haven't already. Try to get the uncut version. Trust me, it's much better.