The October 6 of 13

This supernatural horror film from 1973 is the next film in the October 13. Messiah of Evil is a wild film, nightmarish-like with zombies and a “Dark Stranger.”

According to IMDB, “After losing contact with her artist father, Arletty (Marianna Hill) travels to the west coast. Though she doesn’t find him, she meets Thom (Michael Greer), an odd wealthy man who’s travelling with 2 lovers, Toni (Joy Bang) and Laura (Anitra Ford), to meet her father. She reads his diary and realizes there’s something strange with the residents of this California town.“

I will say that the story of the film is convoluted and fairly messy, but that seems to work with the tone that the film is setting. The dreamlike state of the film adds to the overall confusion of the situation and it helps keep the audience off-balance.

The “Dark Stranger” is an intriguing concept that the film does not go into much specifics about. This feels like it could have been an opening chapter of a film franchise. The whole Dark Stranger idea feels very Stephen King-esce. I would have liked more about that character.

The film took definite inspiration from the other zombie films of the time, specifically those by George Romero.