A scientist is locked in the laboratory by his assistant Evelyn Avery (Dawn Wildsmith) and a mutating creature attacks him. He turns into a monster and then he attacks a young man outside the building, but is killed by his girlfriend that crashes her car on him. Meanwhile, the aging actress Lynn Roman (Bobbie Bresee), who is a former famous star, is fighting for a lead role in a movie directed by Mark Randall (Mark Anthony). However, Mark wants a younger actress between twenty and twenty-five years old for the role. Out of the blue, Evelyn meets Lynn and tells that her secretary Elaine (Pamela Gilbert) allowed her to meet Lynn to show an injection with a serum developed by Dr. Emil Zeitman (John Carradine) that would make her younger again. Lynn uses the experiment and turns into a monster, becoming a threat to her friends.

"Evil Spawn" is a 1987 B-movie that recalls a sci-fi from the 50's with gore and boobs. Sort of an encounter of "The Wasp Woman" with Playboy and blood. The screenplay is confused and the only thing really not good is the cameo of John Carradine that neither deserves his name in the credit not this film in his filmography. Pamela Gilbert in the swimming-pool is maybe one of the best parts of this forgettable film, released only on VHS in Brazil. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): 'Evil Spawn - A Semente do Mal" ("Evil Spawn - The Seed of Evil")

An aging actress, Lynn Roman(Bobbie Bresee;who, at 37, had one knock out of a body), desperately desires to retain her past glory by nabbing a major part designed for a 20 year old lead, decides to inject an experimental formula given to her by a mysterious scientist. This scientist, Evelyn Avery(Dawn Wildsmith),an obsessive fan of Roman's, caused the deaths of her boss, Dr. Zeitman(John Carradine; whose role was actually lifted from stock footage of another proposed Fred Olen Ray project, Frankenstein's Brain)and fellow colleague using a formula designed from alien DNA. It is designed to make Lynn look younger, but has a nasty side-effect, when angered, she transforms into a hideous insect monster! Yes, Bresee turns into yet another monster. Anyway, Lynn's biographer, Ross Anderson(Drew Godderis, in a dreadful performance with equally appalling voice over narration that seems to attempt a homage of sorts to Sunset Boulevard)investigates the drug she's been injecting and discovers some disturbing truths. Meanwhile, Lynn's alter-ego, the insect monster, emerges killing her maid, Elaine(Pamela Gilbert), back-stabbing agent, Harry(Fox Harris), and cheating boyfriend, Mark(Mark Anthony).

I believe there's an alternate version out there with extra footage shot by Fred Olen Ray, but the version I viewed gives Kenneth J Hall full credit as director. On this page, several cast members represent characters that aren't in the film I just finished, which was released by Fred's distribution label for DVD. Anyway, the quality for this movie is below par and the camera-work is exceptionally flat and unimaginative. Bobbie Bresee, however, is well cast and gets a chance to flaunt her magnificent naked figure in a gratuitous shower sequence. Unfortunately, the close-ups of her false monster teeth are laughable, although her creepy eye contacts and furious facial expressions work a bit better. The monster costume comes right out of those bad creature features in the 50's which I felt was intentional..a beloved spoof of those films, placed within an 80's modern setting. The film's theme is the longing to remain a vital figure in Hollywood despite the expiration date looming(..again, right out of Sunset Boulevard)and Bresee, despite how yummy her figure is, seems to tap into the rage that befalls older actresses trying to keep up with the much younger gals entering the industry. The sub-plot with Wildsmith, as the diabolical, deranged scientist, really off-sets the tone of the rest of the film, particularly her scenes in her apartment, taping collective photos and clippings of Lynn on the walls. The monster mayhem is(intentionally?)goofy and rather poorly executed because the costume isn't the least bit scary..more likely, seeing it will give you the giggles. Pamela Gilbert(..a tall, athletic figure, with long brown hair), as Lynn's maid, disrobes for the horny male(..and female?)viewers during a swim while her employer is away, eventually falling prey to the monster..told she was too old for the desired lead role she so covets, Lynn's rage causes the beast to rear it's ugly head. The scene with an elderly Carradine, attempting to speak his lines(..and obviously reading from cue cards), looks to be on death's door..it's kind of hard to watch knowing that he wouldn't be with us very much longer and seeing him struggle with his lines, barely being able to breathe, kind of brought about sadness because I'm such a fan of his. The opening of the film, concerning the alien monster who attacks Evelyn's colleague, leads to the film's standout gore scene..the scientist interrupts a couple in a jeep searching for their pooch, ripping the arm off of the man attempting to see if he's okay.

Wow, I'm actually speechless … I have watched lots of awful horror movies in my life and I definitely know to keep my expectations low regarding late 80's low-budgeted monster movies – especially when the name Fred Olen Ray is even remotely involved – but still somehow I'm truly baffled about how inept and terrible "Evil Spawn" actually is! The best way to describe the film (if you can even call it that) is to label is a smutty and sleazy 80's remake of Roger Corman's "The Wasp Woman". Vain and arrogant actress Lynn Roman still considers herself as beautiful, young and successful, but her surrounding is slightly more realistic. Her agent can't find her any more roles, befriended directors prefer young brunettes and even her own husband sleeps with younger actresses. Luckily for Lynn, a totally bonkers female scientist comes to see her with a serum extracted from intergalactic Venus microbes that supposedly will make her appear younger again. Yes, seriously! The serum actually works, but not sufficiently and it doesn't help Lynn to obtain new roles. And thus, like any normal person would react, she injects copious amounts of serum into her veins and mutates into a gigantic alien bug creature that feeds on humans.

Sounds like a lot of brainless B-movie fun, doesn't it? Well it certainly is, but exclusively for people that are already familiar with the oeuvre/style of Fred Olen Ray and then still have an incredibly high tolerance lever for incompetence. The little intro video hosted by Olen Ray himself, known as the Night Owl Theater, already states clear that the man isn't really interested in good horror cinema, but merely in ugly monsters and especially naked women. It's particularly the retarded little details that make "Evil Spawn" such an amusing waste of 70 minutes. The film opens with images of a ridiculous looking spaceship, and yet the rest of the entire film takes place on earth. John Carradine, who looks more dead than alive, appears for approximately three minutes even though he receives top-billing on the DVD cover. He mumbles a couple of inaudible sentences and then literally drops dead in his seat. Several monster films of the 1980's have become genuine classics thanks to their marvelous transformation sequences. Like "An American Werewolf in London" for example. The transformation sequences in "Evil Spawn" are slightly less overwhelming. When Lynn injects herself with serum, she first receives a mouthful of ugly sharp teeth but then immediately changes into a full-grown and unidentifiable creature! It's harsh, but I more or less understand why this film didn't receive an Oscar nomination for the special effects. There's plentiful of gore and nudity, of course, quite often at the same time, like when the sexy brunette secretary gets eaten by the poolside and blood runs down over her butt-cheeks. The acting performances are horrible, although most of the cast members aren't all that inexperienced. Lead actress Bobbie Bresee appeared in a handful of B-movies, including "Mausoleum" and "Ghoulies", and furthermore there's Gordon Mitchell (who starred in literally hundreds of Italian flicks) and Jerry Fox. "Evil Spawn" is a lot of dumb fun, but I think everyone agrees the best thing about it is actually the DVD cover image.