SYNOPSIS:

A woman arrives in a sleepy seaside town after receiving unsettling letters from her father, only to discover the town is under the influence of a strange cult that weeps tears of blood and hunger for human flesh. From Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, the writers of American Grafitti, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Howard the Duck, this dreamy and atmospheric film transposes the post-Night of the Living Dead zombie movie to a surreal small-town American setting, presented through gorgeous Techniscope visuals that echo the stylish European horror of Mario Bava and Hammer. A true cult film, Messiah of Evil, which was also released as Dead People, has overcome distribution challenges to enjoy growing awareness and high acclaim after decades of word-of-mouth enthusiasm among horror cinema fans and critics around the world.

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THE RT SCORES:

Messiah of Evil has the following scores: 

• Audience Score: 55%

• Critical Score: 100%

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REASONS TO WATCH: 

"Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz’s eerily brooding Messiah of Evil remains an undervalued gem of American gothic filmmaking." - Slant Magazine

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"After a lot of scene setting, the film delivers, almost out of nowhere, an intense and fully committed mythology which takes night scenes already set against a pitch black sky to a still darker place." - Eye For Film

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"It's an amazing success at instilling the sensation of waiting for something awful and nightmarish to happen." - Alternate Ending

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THE BONUS FEATURES:​​

• Audio commentary by critics and horror experts Kim Newman and Stephen Thrower

• Archival interview with co-writer-director Willard Huyck by Mike White from the Projection Booth Podcast (2019, 37 mins)

• What the Blood Moon Brings: Messiah of Evil, A New American Nightmare - A documentary feature which explores Messiah of Evil in the context of American independent cinema of the 70s, as well as examining the film's allegiance to several subgenres of horror

• Visual essay on American Gothic and Female Hysteria by critic Kat Ellinger (2023, 22 mins)

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow

• Limited edition booklet featuring writing by Bill Ackerman