Months back, our good friend Johnny from
Freddy in Space wrote a piece on a surprise package he received in the mail from a mysterious source. While it immediately piqued my interest, I never expected to have the same package dropped at my door! I share his sentiments exactly when I say this is one of the most brilliant micro-marketing campaigns I have ever seen. An unmarked envelope with "CONFIDENTIAL" stamped all over it greeted me when I got home late last night, so naturally I got worried thinking I was overdue on the mortgage. After stalling and putting the milk away, I went back to it and cracked it open to find a letter from the US Department of Justice accompanied by evidence from a recent open investigation in the form of a DVD simply titled "The Artifact." The letter read that the FBI has currently been investigating the disappearance of five friends in the Catskills Mountain range, NY. In an attempt to locate the missing persons, Agent Dominic Perez has requested our help in reviewing the evidence and reporting back our findings.
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Not only did it make my weekend to come home to an unexpected surprise, but the conception of this faux investigation in order to promote an Independent genre film is sheer genius, and the effort put in to the distribution deserves recognition. Now that I have expressed my thanks for being allowed to participate in the investigation, let's get on to the findings:
EVIL THINGS jumps on the "found-footage" angle that was originated in
CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and then revisited most recently in films like
THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT,
CLOVERFIELD, and
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. It finds five friends on their way out to a house in the woods nestled in the Catskills Mountains, when they run afoul of a murderous madman. I will preface this by stating that I love this method of filmmaking, and I buy into it immediately if done properly.
EVIL THINGS is done properly. What is most interesting about this most recent micro-budget take on the "found-footage" film is that there are numerous inherent flaws in the filmmaking, like muffled sound, inaudible dialogue, and shaky camera work during a few earlier scenes in the film. Where this would normally detract from any conventional film, it actually enhances the integrity of the hand-held experience, since it is in no way polished with crisp audio or finely edited visuals like in
DIARY OF THE DEAD.
EVIL THINGS does have a very raw appeal to that effect. The acting is surprisingly natural as well, and I did not find any point where I was questioning the acting or dialogue as being contrived. It felt like an honest and personal home video made by friends in every moment. The look of the characters also adds to the reality-based setting. The actors and actresses look like real people and not chiseled models.
What I also liked about the film is what most fans will hate, and that is a remarkable amount of down time where there is very little action or suspense, but ample amounts of character interaction. I say interaction in place of development, because that is what it is; character development is a forceful action where the writers intentionally instill a back story and distinct personality into each of the characters, whereas
EVIL THINGS establishes that the characters are real people that know each other in advance and simply interact with each other rather than building the plot on their past experiences. In this way, it reminds me of Greg McLean's brilliant build in
WOLF CREEK, where the audience is left stranded in the Australian outback with nothing to do but participate in the thoughts and conversations of the characters as they fight to survive. If we are to presume that this is legitimate video evidence of a group of people that were filming their vacation before being brutally killed, there is going to be minimal filming of the deaths themselves. The lack of suspense shouldn't be misconstrued as a lack of anticipation, however, since Perez establishes early on that the group had an exchange with a shady unseen character in a van in the beginning of the film. What we don't see from the character's perspective is what is going on around them. For all we know as the audience (and vicariously through the lead's perspective), nothing is going on, but there is a lingering fear that we are being watched through frosted windows in the barren thickets surrounding the house in the woods. This ever-present awareness of the dangers waiting in the dark is enough to keep the audience engaged as we await whatever is coming to us in the end.
I am reluctant to describe the catalyst that changes the pace at the hour point, but the characters receive an item that instantly shifts the mood of the picture and cranks up the tension and terror. The concept is so subtle and effective, and plays entirely into the very nature of the "found-footage" film. This was completely unexpected, and is a genius turning point. The one thing that both adds to the suspense of the moment but detracts from the integrity of the film is the creepy droning music and sharp music cues that are overlayed into the scene. The rest of the film is bare from all music and sound outside of the character dialogue, so introducing the music now acts against everything that the film has achieved up until this point. I will say, however, that the selections were perfectly appropriate for the scene had it been told in any other format. I am certain that the average Horror fan will be enraged by the method in which Perez has chosen to depict the final shots in the film, with many key moments being implied off-screen or being told through the audio that continues running after the camera has been destroyed, but these moments are what makes the film. They lend the credibility to the events that this format requires in order to be successful. I found the ending to be so provocative and real that any unsuspecting person receiving this DVD in the mail that is unfamiliar with the filming format would buy into the events completely, and probably shit their pants while doing so. It is voyeuristic, invasive, and above all believable. The one thing that Perez may consider clipping would be the moment where the film breaks the 4th wall in a clever but failed attempt to run the credits sequence. It removes the audience from the moment, and it is unclear where the audience has been removed to. Other than that, my only advice would be to remove the score if the film is to maintain its realistic edge from start to finish.
It is surprising to me that
EVIL THINGS has not found distribution given the current peak of interest and marketability being the "found-footage" films. It is a smart and engaging entry in the category, and is well deserving of a wide DVD release if not a limited theatrical run. While I do not feel it will succeed in a mass-market theatrical campaign due to the slow pacing and structure,
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY curved that angle and proved to be a phenomenal Independent success which could finally pave the way for small films of this nature to reach a much larger audience. I would recommend this to anyone that has the same love of this particular format that I do. There is no difference in the quality of the filmmaking between this and other films of the same theme, it is handled very well and at the close of the film I felt entirely satisfied. Part of me feels that this review is going to be discredited by the fact that I was so excited to have received such an awesome promotional package in the mail, but I hope that my catalogue of reviews and the integrity I try to maintain as a reviewer will sway your opinion and cement my take on the film. It will not be for everyone, but it is smartly played and I truly appreciated it for what it was. Highly recommended for fans of
ILS,
REC, or
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY.
Rating: 8/10.Entertainment: 8/10.
Gore: 0/10.
Number of views: 1.
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