Messiah of Evil (Willard Huyck & Gloria Katz, 1973)

6.5/10
Little known U.S. 1971 horror film by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who would eventually go on to direct and produce Howard the Duck, effectively killing their film careers. Messiah of Evil shows lots of promise though, as its a visual overload of Technicolor flair and the set designs are fantastic. The plot is pretty humdrum (a woman visits a strange town to check up on her father quickly realizes things aren't what they seem blah blah) and the action is minimal, so anyone hoping for gore is going to be let down. The plot and execution is actually a lot like Carnival of Souls, maybe mixed with Suspiria's colours and sets and H. Gordon Lewis' Americana weirdness. A neat curio.