976-Evil (1989) Film Locations

You sat through 976-Evil and thought that Garden City looked like a nice place to visit. Dante’s serves some great pizza and a half-way decent cup of coffee. Maybe your curiosity has gotten to you. There’s that phone booth across the street from Dante’s next to the auto supply store. And, it’s just a horoscope. Nothing really bad will happen…

After discovering the movie was filmed at Monrovia High School near where I lived, I gave the movie another view. I have to admit I recall seeing the moving during its original release way back in 1988. Another admission, I own a copy of it. My mother was notorious for giving out odd DVDs as stocking stuffers over the last two decades of her life. Alas, I’ve compiled quite a collection from her. And as she said, one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

976-Evil was the directorial debut of Robert Englund. That’s right, Freddy Krueger directed this movie. So, it has historic horror movie credentials, or at least, a good piece of trivia. The movie centers on cousins Spike (Patrick O’Bryan) and Hoax (Stephen Geoffreys), both teenagers who live with Hoax’s religious mother Lucy (Sandy Dennis). You may remember Geoffreys from his Evil Ed role in Fright Night. Not to spoil the plot, but Hoax doesn’t make it, but Spike returns in the sequel: 976-Evil II.

The basic premise is that Hoax, a nerd of gargantuan proportions, is bullied at school. His cousin Spike, coolness personified, is his protector and savior. Hoax gets the 976-Evil business card from Spike and all Hell breaks loose as he takes his revenge on those who bullied him. There is an odd subplot involving a private detective or a reporter for Modern Miracles named Marty Palmer (Jim Metzler) who comes to town investigating the 976-Evil number. The movie doesn’t make it clear regarding his motives. Marty and Hoax’s guidance counselor Angela Martinez (Maria Rubell) become involved, and she becomes the damsel in distress to be saved at the end of the movie. The screenwriter was stuck once they killed off Suzie (Lezlie Deane) and had to come up with another romantic subplot, hence, the guidance counselor.

Well, going into the new viewing with the knowledge, the high school was Monrovia High School, I paid close attention to the other scenes. So, if you’d want to explore some of the Garden City locales, make your way to the city of Monrovia.

Film Location Comparison Shots:

Monrovia High School
845 West Colorado Boulevard, Monrovia, California
Founded in 1893 and added to in 1928 by noted Los Angeles architect John C Austin (Shrine Auditorium, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles City Hall). The high school has popped up in other movies.

East Lemon Street off of Old Town Monrovia
100 East Block between Myrtle and Ivy, Monrovia, California

Dante’s is in the historic Baxter Building (The Keefer Building). This is the oldest commercial building on Myrtle Avenue. The original structure was built in 1886 as the Grand View Hotel, which faced Myrtle. Dante’s was in an area of the building that was an addition done in later years on the north side of Lemon Street. In the past this area was occupied by various restaurants from Devon’s, which I never ate at, to Bull Taco, and now The Diplomat.

Virgil’s Auto Parts is at 112 East Lemon Street.
The doorways and the window have been remodeled since the movie, but you can line up where the phone both was located.
Also, you can catch glimpses of the Historic Lighting Building at 114 East Lemon Street next to the Virgil’s, which was originally a Southern California Gas Company building constructed in 1922.