Everyone should see at least one (and preferably more) of Don Dohler's low budget indie movies. Fiend is consistent with the Dohler brand; put together on the cheap, stars a bunch of his friends and relatives, and is just good crazy horror movie fun. They're usually horror/sci-fi cross-breeds, and Dohler showcases his specialty, special effects, in the production.

This time, a ghost or spirit looking like a bright light enters a grave and reanimates a body. The walking dead man, frequent Dohler star Don Liefert, gives an adequately sinister touch to his blood thirsty character. He draws life essence from his victims, and has a voracious appetite to do this, since he has to replenish his energy frequently. Of course, this means there will be a high body count unless the fiend is stopped quickly. Only a neighbor of his suspects the guy, who is living amongst his victims in suburbia.

The tone is more sinister and bloody than other Dohler films; even a child is among the victims. The rampaging beast is merciless, and the violence somewhat masks the mediocre acting of the cast.

The low budget is visible at times throughout the movie, and the MST3K gang probably would have bludgeoned this film if they had ever shown it. Still, like all of Dohler's bargain basement horror flicks, it makes for a good thrill ride.

Remote and secretive immortal Eric Longfellow (a creepy portrayal by the beefy Don Leifert) needs to absorb the life force of others in order to continue existing. Longfellow moves to a quiet suburb in Maryland where nosy neighbor Gary Kender (a solid performance by Richard Nelson) begins to suspect something is amiss with Longfellow.

Do-It-Yourself indie auteur Don Dohler does a solid job of crafting a spooky gloom-doom mood, keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a steady pace, and grounds the fantastic premise in a believably blah everyday small town reality. Moreover, Dohler deserves extra praise for having the guts to bump off a little kid as well as end on the film on a pretty downbeat note. George Stover offers sturdy support as Longfellow's timid toady assistant Dennis Frye. The modest (not so) special effects possess a certain lovably rinky-dink charm. Richard Geiwitz's fairly polished cinematography boasts several nifty tracking shots. Paul Woznicki's shivery synthesizer score hits the shuddery spot. A fun little fright flick.

John Waters is from Lutherville. Don Dohler was in the next neighborhood over in Perry Hall. Together they made some astounding movies on a small scale that remain influential within their very specific genres. Waters is the Pope of Trash. Doehler was more on the side of comix, horror and science fiction.

Writer, teacher and film historian Donald Leifert plays the dead body of Eric Longfellow, which has been brought back to life by an evil spirit - that's all the reason the movie gives - and starts roaming suburban Baltimore and choking the life force of people into his body.

Fiend stayed unwatched for years, which is a shame. It's a blast with basically no story to get in the way, just a monstrous force out to kill everyone.

Doehler didn't just shoot this in his hometown. He shot it in his house. This is lo-fi regional horror, which is pretty much all we love around here. At one point, people made movies because they wanted to, not because Amazon monetized content. Watch this and dream back on better days, like, well, 1980.