Messiah of Evil (1973)

The perfect way to end Schlocktoberfest. Messiah of Evil is a slow burn, poetic horror movie, and in many ways resembles the masterpieces of John Carpenter, especially Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness. A young woman, Arietty, arrives in the small Californian coast town of Dune Point to find the whereabouts of her artist father whose letters have become increasingly schizophrenic. While there she meets a playboy and his "traveling companions", and they team up to unlock the mystery of the mysterious town, where something apocalyptic seems about to boil over. This is a great entry in the sort of "body snatcher" sub-genre of the zombie movie, but the use of 'Scope and brightly colored compositions are a cut above the usual fare. The artwork in the dad's studio, which depict a kind of weird sort of ultra-saturated post-modern landscape only add to the haunting atmosphere. And, of course, there is plenty of macabre blood-spattered antics to go around, but it takes a back seat to the sublime atmosphere-building. A great Halloween night watch.