The Evil (1978) 2009 IMDb write-up

 I'm currently revisiting this 70s possessed house relic on Shudder so I thought I'd release my user comments from November 2009 on this blog.

Intensely skeptical former psyche professor Crenna, his doctor wife Joanna Pettet, former student(..now a psyche professor in his own right)Andrew Prine, and other loyal associates prepare to renovate a really old and enormous, cob-webbed and decrepit, mansion, not knowing that it houses a powerful evil force bent on their destruction, killing them one by one in various ways. Seeing characters levitated in the air, with a hand cut into by a band-saw, a woman raped by an invisible predator, an enraged dog attacking it's master, victims engulfed in flames, victims electrocuted, among other supernatural shenanigans are on display for your viewing pleasure. The group wish to escape, but we see the force shutting the windows and doors, not allowing them to. We also hear the evil force snickering as it terrorizes victims. And, even when it appears one is able to finally be free from their hellish prison, he falls in quicksand and is sucked into the muddy earth. Soon it's discovered that a former resident a century ago, his spirit also remains, beckoning for Joanna to defend themselves using religious devices, because their foe is actually ole Scratch! In the bowels of the mansion is a pit with a steel door which held Satan at bay and it was Crenna, in his curiosity, who opened it not knowing the repercussions of his actions. A crucifix is the key to closing the door and halting Beelzebub's reign of terror..that is according to Vargas, the former centuries-old resident whose ghost guides Crenna and Joanna along the way. The oft-used theme of Good vs Evil is applied to The Evil with Victor Buono, in about five minutes, producing some wonderful time on screen as the Devil, dressed in white(..his place of rest a large room within the pit is white as well)clashing with what one normally expects him to look like. It's a testament to the acting profession to behold such a cast with an ability to hold a straight face during this silly nonsense.

"I sealed the pit and you released the EVIL!!"