There is always the evil that is man-chaos and cruelty on a human scale. But what of the evil that is not of man? An otherworldly evil. We've heard much lately about the eternal battle of good versus evil, a thing from on high brought among us. Or better yet, from down below. Running through the hot summer months, Excess of Evil looks into the light to explore those dastardly human deeds that have a devilish provenance. The Old Goat, the Cloven One, plain old Satan-whatever be his name, he is behind the acts of ill in all these fiendishly fun films. Sometimes there is a pact in play, a deal with the devil himself, as in The Brotherhood of Satan and Rosemary's Baby; at other times it's the arrival of an awful anti-god, as in The Blood on Satan's Claw and God Told Me To. Occasionally the words of God are mistaken, resulting in misdeeds like those of Night of the Hunter or The Devils. Then, too, there is the world where demons freely roam, preying on human weakness and vanity, the mythic 'scape of Incubus. (But hark: here he does not speak in tongues, but in Esperanto.) Join us for Excess of Evil, a season of hell on earth.
Steve Seid, Assistant Curator