This straight-to-video flick from Fred Olen Ray has not a single original bone in it's body. It starts out by stealing the premise of "The Legend of Hell House", dips into "The Exorcist" and then settles into a rip-off of "The Evil Dead". Robert Quarry headlines as a scientist leading an expedition to investigate a haunted house, bringing along psychic Brinke Stevens and a couple of other folks. This isn't exactly poorly done, but the film's budget just doesn't help it. The haunted house is just your average suburban home, and most of the film is just shot in broad daylight. While all this is going on, we meet priest Erik Estrada (yes, really) who is haunted by visions of, among other things, stark naked nun Michelle Bauer and scolding, not naked nun Carol Lynley. Eventually we learn how these two threads fit together, and the house is overrun by possessed people trying to kill other people. This should be awful, but somehow it's not. Maybe it's that the cast is not terrible, maybe it's that Ray borrows so many elements from good movies that some of them just work. It's by no means a good film, but it's no complete waste of time.
10 Reviews
Pretty bad
Charlotte_Kaye6 July 2006
This is a very boring, low budget haunted house movie about a group of paranormal investigators exploring a house supposedly haunted by the spirit of a sadistic murderer named Picard. Fred Olen Ray's name isn't exactly synonymous with quality film-making, but he is capable of churning out decent B movie time killers from time to time. This one is not one of his best. The story is thin, the dialogue is pathetic, the movie is padded out and the acting is mostly terrible. Saving this from the scrap pile are some make-up effects (at the very end!) and a trio of halfway decent performances. The first good performance is from horror veteran Robert ("Count Yorga") Quarry, who plays the man in charge of putting the crew together. The second is from Carol Lynley, who is wasted in a nothing role but manages to deliver her lines effectively. The final is from B-movie Scream Queen Michelle Bauer, who gives what is probably the best performance in the entire movie as a demon posing as a nun. Too bad she's only in the movie for two or three minutes because the movie could have definitely used a lot more of her! The rest of the cast (which includes a clueless Erik Estrada as a priest and a monotone B movie queen Brinke Stevens) are downright terrible in their respective roles.
Doesn't Deliver
danthewrestlingmanorigin29 October 2006
I have enjoyed similar B movies like Evil Toons, because they are just silly fun, with a little T and A, and cheesy, but cool fx to laugh at. Spirits takes itself seriously for the most part, and it just doesn't have the script to pull it off. And what I always have to nail a film like this on is the lack of nudity, only one brief breast shot from what I remember.The story is just a mish mash of better films, and the gore and makeup effects don't come in until towards the end, and they are just average at best. By the time they came I already lost interest. Sorry to say it doesn't deliver the goodies, so I'd skip it, unless you collect everything like myself, and are a scream queen completist.
LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE...Fred Olen Ray style
capkronos6 May 2003
Four researchers (ghost hunter Robert Quarry, psychic Brinke Stevens, skeptical Kathrin Lautner and Oliver Darrow) decide to investigate a supposedly haunted house with a history of murders that may have been committed by former mass murderer/rapist Andre Picard. A demon/ghost eventually possess them one by one, causing such things as Brinke driving a nail through her hand and Darrow having a sex dream with a redheaded succubus (played by Kaitlin Hopkins, the daughter of Shirley Knight). Carol Lynley is wasted as a nun and Erik Estrada is awful as a doubting priest who comes to the rescue a la THE EXORCIST.
The completely contrived plot is made damn near unbearable by the lack of gore, interesting characters, credible dialogue or anything else to make it worth watching. The demon/possession make-up is alright, but wasted, as is the great John Vulich/Everett Burrell designed demon creature at the end. Michelle Bauer however does liven things up a bit as a naked demon who strips out of her nun costume and tries to seduce Estrada by reminding him, "You knew your way around a p@$$y pretty good for a priest!" Look for a very obvious boom shadow on Brinke's face during the kitchen scene.
Score: 2 out of 10
The completely contrived plot is made damn near unbearable by the lack of gore, interesting characters, credible dialogue or anything else to make it worth watching. The demon/possession make-up is alright, but wasted, as is the great John Vulich/Everett Burrell designed demon creature at the end. Michelle Bauer however does liven things up a bit as a naked demon who strips out of her nun costume and tries to seduce Estrada by reminding him, "You knew your way around a p@$$y pretty good for a priest!" Look for a very obvious boom shadow on Brinke's face during the kitchen scene.
Score: 2 out of 10
Well...acting could have been better..
GrbgFAN29 December 1999
This movie was somewhat entertaining. There's more bits and pieces of many different plot ideas instead of one basic plot. I was a little offended that there was so much female nudity in this movie. I think it was sexist, and made mainly for men, which isn't right. The worst thing about this movie was the poor acting. The characters barely showed any emotion, and when they did, it was brief. Even though the movie was mildly entertaining, it never got you really interested. This movie deserves a 2 on a scale of 1-10.
Sad attempt to emulate the Exorcist...
southpaw-828 October 2000
Please do not waste your time watching this horribly scripted and acted movie. Let me tell you why...
A few friends and I were looking for a spooky movie at the video store, unfortunatly it was around Halloween and all the good movies were gone. So we settled for this, the box didn't look half bad, little did we know.
Okay, first Erik Estrada as a Priest? Then came the really corny music. The acting was terrible along with the visual effects, we were laughing so hard. Then we were totally appalled by the sex scences. A nun and a priest? Even if it was only a dream it was sooooo wrong.
It only got worse. The "evil" makeup was so bad it could not be taken seriously. Finally we just gave up. Don't waste your time or money on this cheap exorcist knock-off.
A few friends and I were looking for a spooky movie at the video store, unfortunatly it was around Halloween and all the good movies were gone. So we settled for this, the box didn't look half bad, little did we know.
Okay, first Erik Estrada as a Priest? Then came the really corny music. The acting was terrible along with the visual effects, we were laughing so hard. Then we were totally appalled by the sex scences. A nun and a priest? Even if it was only a dream it was sooooo wrong.
It only got worse. The "evil" makeup was so bad it could not be taken seriously. Finally we just gave up. Don't waste your time or money on this cheap exorcist knock-off.
Spirits
BandSAboutMovies27 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Dr. Richard Quicks (Robert Quarry) leads a group of researchers into a haunted house, like skeptic Beth (who was once a lesbian, which a Fred Olen Ray movie totally wouldn't exploit), on the make Harry and psychic Amy (Brinke Stevens) who of course gets possessed by the house, at which point Father Anthony Vicci (Erik Estrada!) becomes the only person who can save them all - as long as he gets past the fact that he ignored his vow of chastity and slept with a woman. The shame...
Anyways, more exciting than Ponch playing a priest is Michele Bauer playing a nun who gets naked and denies the existence of God and says "You knew your way around a pussy pretty good for a priest." as well as Tiffany Million - once a GLOW girl, later an adult video star - playing a demonic nun, which is better than just a nun.
Fred Olen Ray never made an Amityville sequel, but this is as close as he's going to get, as well as making The Haunting, as this movie calls the mansion Heron - instead of Hill - House. This feels like an Italian movie without the excesses that an Italian film would add. No turtles are killed for real, no eyeballs get stabbed and no gigantic demon made from the dead bodies of murdered villages rises from the catacombs. But hey - Erik Estrada trying to resist a Michele Bauer half out of a nun's habit. That's worth something.
Anyways, more exciting than Ponch playing a priest is Michele Bauer playing a nun who gets naked and denies the existence of God and says "You knew your way around a pussy pretty good for a priest." as well as Tiffany Million - once a GLOW girl, later an adult video star - playing a demonic nun, which is better than just a nun.
Fred Olen Ray never made an Amityville sequel, but this is as close as he's going to get, as well as making The Haunting, as this movie calls the mansion Heron - instead of Hill - House. This feels like an Italian movie without the excesses that an Italian film would add. No turtles are killed for real, no eyeballs get stabbed and no gigantic demon made from the dead bodies of murdered villages rises from the catacombs. But hey - Erik Estrada trying to resist a Michele Bauer half out of a nun's habit. That's worth something.
Fun and enjoyable cheese-filled haunted house story
kannibalcorpsegrinder25 July 2014
Attempting to investigate a supposedly haunted house, a psychic and her staff soon come under attack by a group of demons that live in the place and must rely on a priest with knowledge of the demons to stop them.
This is a really enjoyable and absolutely entertaining slice of prime cheese that gets highly enjoyable over time. One of the best facets about it is the utterly contrived plot that still manages to be quite entertaining and enjoyable during it's time due to the remarkable way it keeps the story lines moving along and staying interesting during it's duration. The initial start with the investigation is kept remarkably light and watchable considering the subject matter at hand, as the darkness it goes for is decidedly new and original enough to serve as the backdrop for the central mystery surrounding the house. These scenes, including the many walk-throughs that give us a great glimpse of the setting and how inherently creepy it is, serves as the basic formula for introducing the film's biggest plus, it's series of inherently cheesy and enjoyable hallucination scenes that crop up in this, which are truly fun for their cheesy attitude, rampant sleaze and demented qualities that truly make these scenes so much fun. The nude nun-demons tormenting the priests, the sex dreams with the former residents and all the possession sequences that play as straight-rips from other films that wonder throughout the running time before eventually winding up with the cheese-filled overload of a finale where the original demon manifestation is allowed to take shape and this one really gets a lot of fun. Still, despite all the cheese there's some flaws in this, mainly due to the fact that the film doesn't have a lot of action in here. Despite all the frequent and varied dreams and hallucinations present, this one still tends to waste endless time dissecting and analyzing what's going on without doing anything about it. This leaves the film with long stretches of time where nothing happens, and with the lower body count on display this manages to become quite infuriating if there's not a lot of extraneous action going on. As well, the cheese for some can be quite hit-or-miss with a lot of scenes not really working on more serious-minded individuals with a low tolerance or acceptance for such material that pops up here only due to individual merits rather than what the film does. Otherwise, there's still a lot to like in this one.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Nudity, Language, sex scenes and themes of child incest and rape.
This is a really enjoyable and absolutely entertaining slice of prime cheese that gets highly enjoyable over time. One of the best facets about it is the utterly contrived plot that still manages to be quite entertaining and enjoyable during it's time due to the remarkable way it keeps the story lines moving along and staying interesting during it's duration. The initial start with the investigation is kept remarkably light and watchable considering the subject matter at hand, as the darkness it goes for is decidedly new and original enough to serve as the backdrop for the central mystery surrounding the house. These scenes, including the many walk-throughs that give us a great glimpse of the setting and how inherently creepy it is, serves as the basic formula for introducing the film's biggest plus, it's series of inherently cheesy and enjoyable hallucination scenes that crop up in this, which are truly fun for their cheesy attitude, rampant sleaze and demented qualities that truly make these scenes so much fun. The nude nun-demons tormenting the priests, the sex dreams with the former residents and all the possession sequences that play as straight-rips from other films that wonder throughout the running time before eventually winding up with the cheese-filled overload of a finale where the original demon manifestation is allowed to take shape and this one really gets a lot of fun. Still, despite all the cheese there's some flaws in this, mainly due to the fact that the film doesn't have a lot of action in here. Despite all the frequent and varied dreams and hallucinations present, this one still tends to waste endless time dissecting and analyzing what's going on without doing anything about it. This leaves the film with long stretches of time where nothing happens, and with the lower body count on display this manages to become quite infuriating if there's not a lot of extraneous action going on. As well, the cheese for some can be quite hit-or-miss with a lot of scenes not really working on more serious-minded individuals with a low tolerance or acceptance for such material that pops up here only due to individual merits rather than what the film does. Otherwise, there's still a lot to like in this one.
Rated R: Graphic Language, Nudity, Language, sex scenes and themes of child incest and rape.
Erik Estrada as a priest? Sold!
udar555 March 2011
University psychology professor Dr. Richard Wicks (Robert Quarry) plans a weekend research experiment at the allegedly haunted Heron house, where a series of grisly murders took place 10 years earlier. Also along for the ride are fellow psychologist Beth (Kathrin Lautner), historian Harry (Oliver Darrow) and psychic Amy (Brinke Stevens). The house was built by Satanist Henri Picard and, of course, people start seeing things and get possessed. Also lurking around is Father Anthony Vicci (Erik Estrada), who has a connection to the events 10 years ago and is being haunted by it.
I revisited this low budget shocker recently and still enjoyed it. Ray rarely did straight horror flicks when he started getting his groove on and this proves he should have done more of them. Yes, it is cheap and plunders from LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, THE HAUNTING and THE EXORCIST, but Ray knows how to properly work in great exploitation material. Seriously, where else are you going to see Erik Estrada recoil in fear at the sexual advances of a nude nun (an uncredited Michelle Bauer) wearing only her habit? Surprisingly, Ray lets Brinke keep her clothes on and just lets her act. The location is that same big white house you've seen a dozen times in stuff like SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE II. There is also some pretty good make-up effects from Optic Nerve. Carol Lynley has a couple of scenes as Sister Jillian. Father Merrin gets a "thanks" in the end credits.
I revisited this low budget shocker recently and still enjoyed it. Ray rarely did straight horror flicks when he started getting his groove on and this proves he should have done more of them. Yes, it is cheap and plunders from LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, THE HAUNTING and THE EXORCIST, but Ray knows how to properly work in great exploitation material. Seriously, where else are you going to see Erik Estrada recoil in fear at the sexual advances of a nude nun (an uncredited Michelle Bauer) wearing only her habit? Surprisingly, Ray lets Brinke keep her clothes on and just lets her act. The location is that same big white house you've seen a dozen times in stuff like SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE II. There is also some pretty good make-up effects from Optic Nerve. Carol Lynley has a couple of scenes as Sister Jillian. Father Merrin gets a "thanks" in the end credits.
Spirits tries to tempt the church with sex.
Shaithis6 December 1998
Erik Estrada..yikes, as a priest! In this movie he is a priest trying to regain his pride having formerly fallen from grace by sleeping with a woman.
It's a tough battle for him as Spirits keep sending taunting sexually pleasing females to him in either visions or nightmares.
Brinke Stevens plays a psychic trying to get rid of these spirits. Michelle Bauer has a small but nice role in the film as well.
It's a well put together movie that has a decent storyline. An average movie at best.
It's a tough battle for him as Spirits keep sending taunting sexually pleasing females to him in either visions or nightmares.
Brinke Stevens plays a psychic trying to get rid of these spirits. Michelle Bauer has a small but nice role in the film as well.
It's a well put together movie that has a decent storyline. An average movie at best.
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