In 1988, Frank LaLoggia wrote, produced, directed, and composed the music for his masterpiece, Lady in White. Seven years earlier, in 1981, he did all the same things for his… well, valiant effort, Fear No Evil. Not nearly as successful an achievement, Fear No Evil nevertheless shares some characteristics with Lady in White.
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First, he spends time establishing a physical setting that’s “real.” We get a tangible feeling for the town in upstate New York where events occur. For example, we clearly see where the “castle” estate lies in relation to the town. Then, we’re not spoon-fed its plot points. For example, we’re never told that Mr. Williams (Barry Cooper) is a postman; instead, we see him one afternoon in his uniform.
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However, Fear No Evil may be a bit too ambitious for the mythology it’s trying to form. Not enough is explained about things that need to be explained. For example, no purpose is ever stated for the trouble Andrew Williams (Stefan Arngrim) is about to make, other than a brief mention that it’s the eve of the second coming.
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The second coming of who or what is quite clear. Andrew is the physical personification of Lucifer, born in 1963, and he’s just turned 18-years old. Maybe we don’t need to know more than that. It seems like there should be more, though, since a pre-opening credits scene taking place “decades earlier” depicts an earlier incarnation of Lucifer being destroyed by Father Damon (John Holland.)
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Three other angels also appear as personifications: Michael (or Mikhail), Gabriel (or Gabrielle), and Rafael. It’s implied that all three are needed to put an end to the devil, but it’s not clear in the introduction why Father Damon/Rafael is alone. Likewise, only two battle Lucifer in 1981: Margaret Buchanan/Mikhail (Elizabeth Hoffman) and Julie/Gabrielle (Kathleen Rowe McAllen.)
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The movie’s opinion about homosexuality is uncertain, and I guess that would mean LaLoggia’s opinion as well, since he wrote, produced, and directed it. However, it’s almost certain that Andrew/Lucifer is gay. When Tony (Daniel Eden) harasses him in the shower of the high school gym, “forces” pull him to Andrew for a long kiss from which Tony cannot escape. Adding to the homoeroticism, there’s full male nudity, and a lot of it, in the shower.
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Then, in full Lucifer drag, Andrew wears lipstick and flits around shirtless in a sheer black cape. I’ve read theories that Fear No Evil is homophobic, making the bad guy gay, or that it demonstrates how religion seeks to destroy those represented by specific letters of the alphabet. For more on this topic, I suggest reading this Final Girl blog post. http://www.finalgirl.rocks/2019/10/shocktober-day-1-fear-no-evil-1981.html.
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There’s a lot of world-building that could be done here, but there just isn’t time in 99 minutes to do it. Instead, LaLoggia tells the story at a high level, and it lacks substance. As far as the music, though, while La Loggia wrote some of it, it also has some terrific early 80’s songs by artists including Patti Smith, the Ramones, Talking Heads, The Boomtown Rats, and The B-52s. For that feat alone, Fear No Evil deserves an additional "slasher" in my rating.
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