Cast and Crew:  Vic Morrow, Dennis “Pahoo” Fimple, Bill Thurman

What It’s About: Ben (Michael Parks) and Ruth Watkins (Jessica Harper) move to rural Louisiana after Ben is hired for war related work in the area.  They rent a beautiful old house, but it’s not long before Ruth is experiencing a frightening series of events while Ben is out working.  The locals seem to know something about the house’s history-can the Watkins figure out what’s going on before it’s too late?

Why Watch it Today?:  Two of the previous owners of the house, the Mudds, were kicked to death by a mule on this date in 1934.  The Evictors is an atypical thriller from low-budget filmmaker Charles B. Pierce.  In addition to working as a set decorator on everything from The Outlaw Josey Wales to Coffy to Black Belt Jones, Pierce made a series of low-budget independent films in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, including cult favorites The Legend of Boggy Creek and The Town that Dreaded Sundown.  The Evictors throws together disparate elements from haunting films like The Amityville Horror and slasher films like Halloween.  The results don’t quite come together, but it definitely gives the experienced fan of both genres something different, as well as featuring cult favorite leads Parks and Harper.