The Evil Within Review
The Evil Within is the first and only film from writer, director Andrew Getty. The film follows a mentally handicapped thirty year-old man named Dennis (Frederick Koehler), and tangentially, his older brother John (Sean Patrick Flanery). Dennis is haunted by his dreams, where a nefarious presence played by Michael Berryman, seeks to torture and ultimately possess him. The nightmares quickly become reality as the evil presence communicates to Dennis in his waking hours through his reflection in a creepy antique mirror that his brother John has thrust upon him. His manipulative reflection quickly instructs the befuddled protagonist to commit heinous acts to escape from his nightmares and show the world he is smarter than they think.
If you want to watch The Evil Within, please consider renting or purchasing the movie through this amazon link to help us support the podcast.
David found this movie by browsing the horror section of Amazon Prime Video. Watching the trailer convinced me that this movie was going to be an entertaining train wreck; my favorite kind of train wreck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ_sduGRt_w
I wasn't that far off. The film suffers quite a bit from the terrible and, at times, pretentious script. However, there are some really great and disturbing moments, and commendable acting throughout.
The highlights of the film are the many scenes with an impressive mixture of practical and visual effects. For example, the opening nightmare sequence features the evil presence unzipping Dennis' back and climbing into his body. This is done with a mixture of stop-motion and makeup that is truly disturbing in a way that CGI and jump scares just can't touch. Also, lots of camera movements and optical effects are pulled off in a way that shows the first-time filmmaker had flashes of genius.
Frederick Koehler did really well with his portrayal of the mentally handicapped protagonist. He adhered to Tropic Thunder's admonition to "never go full retard". The Gollumic switch between Dennis' voice and that of Legion in the mirror is creepy and well acted.
Michael Berryman, the perennial horror favorite due to his unique appearance is used sparingly, but to good effect throughout the film. You might recognize him from The Hills Have Eyes or One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
The scenes with Sean Patrick Flanery (Powder, Boondock Saints) and Dina Meyer (Saw, Starship Troopers) were probably the worst parts of the movie. The dialogue-driven subplot of John and Lydia's relationship suffers most from the weak and, at times, confusing script. The film in these scenes steps into The Room territory. As with the Room, even these scenes can be entertaining, if only because of the ham-handed exposition mixed with the non-sequitur word vomit.
Overall, the good balances with the bad. There is enough going on visually that is genuinely interesting and creepy that you can overlook the sins of its storytelling.
My Rating
5/10
If You Like Experimental Independent Horror Movies, Check Out Our Review of Kuso