HORROR LIVES
ON VIDEO
BANNED
BUT NEVER
FORGOTTEN
Home › Films › Evilspeak
VIDEO NASTY ARCHIVE ENTRY

Evilspeak

Original / alternate title: Evilspeak
1981   |   USA   |   Occult horror

A bullied cadet at a military academy discovers an old occult text and uses a computer to translate its rituals. His fascination with black magic grows into a supernatural revenge fantasy, leading to one of the era’s more unusual combinations of satanic horror and primitive computer imagery.

Film details

Original / alt titleEvilspeak
Year1981
DirectorEric Weston
CountryUSA
RuntimeApprox. 89 min
Main castClint Howard, R. G. Armstrong, Joseph Cortese, Claude Earl Jones

UK status

DPP 39 — PROSECUTED

One of the 39 successfully prosecuted Video Nasties.

Current UK position:
Now a cult favourite for its mix of early computer technology, occult horror and revenge fantasy.
▶ WATCH / FIND TRAILER← ALL FILMS

Why it caused controversy

Its unclassified pre-cert UK video became a target during the 1983–84 panic and the title was successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act. The controversy centred on its occult horror content being available on cassette without the cinema-style classification controls that viewers were used to.

UK censorship / Video Nasties history

A quick status check first, followed by the film’s censorship timeline. A DPP prosecution was an obscenity case against a particular video publication — it was not automatically the same thing as a permanent nationwide “ban”.

DPP listYes — DPP 72
Prosecuted?Successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act 1959
Seized?DPP-listed title; police forces used the list during raids and seizures
Banned / cut / rejected?DPP era: Evilspeak was successfully prosecuted and remained in the final 39.
Later BBFC certificateNow a cult favourite for its mix of early computer technology, occult horror and revenge fantasy.
Now uncut / restored?Now a cult favourite for its mix of early computer technology, occult horror and revenge fantasy.

Detailed censorship timeline & facts

1981Released in the United States during the occult-horror boom.
Early 1980s UKIts graphic climax made it a natural target for the emerging video panic.
DPP eraEvilspeak was successfully prosecuted and remained in the final 39.
Later video eraThe film developed a strong cult audience through imports and collector editions.
TodayRemembered as one of Clint Howard’s signature horror roles.

FACTS & TRIVIA

  • Clint Howard plays the tormented cadet Stanley Coopersmith.
  • The film combines satanic ritual with then-futuristic computer imagery.
  • R. G. Armstrong adds veteran genre presence to the cast.
  • Its revenge structure gives the film a strong outsider-fantasy element.
  • The climactic violence played a major part in its notoriety.
  • It is one of the prosecuted DPP 39.

Distributor / VHS label

Video release

Archive cover shown is the user-supplied scan. UK distributor / VHS-label attribution varies by edition and is not asserted here without a verified sleeve imprint.

Trailer

Open a search for the original theatrical / VHS-era trailer. This keeps the archive linking to publicly available trailer sources rather than hosting copyrighted film footage.

▶ FIND ORIGINAL TRAILER

Research sources

DPP 72 list ↗
Archive note: the DPP list changed during 1983–84. This site distinguishes the 39 successfully prosecuted titles from the 33 acquitted / dropped titles, and separately labels related censorship-era films.

Related films

Axe1974 • DPP 39
Devil Hunter1980 • DPP 39
Faces of Death1978 • DPP 39
Fight for Your Life1977 • DPP 39