History of Evil

I have to preface this by saying I'm not the biggest horror movie fan. However, I really wanted to give this one a shot. While the atmosphere is quite intense throughout the movie and the plot moves reasonably fast, there were some big flaws with the characters.

The couple has barely any chemistry even in the beginning of the movie and the mother seems quite uninterested in her daughter. Therefore, it's really hard to be invested in their story, feel sorry for them or root for any of them.

The movie had potential, but it was executed quite poorly. Even so, it's not the worst movie out there and if you really just want to watch something I say you can give it a try.

I recently watched History of Evil (2024) on Shudder. The storyline unfolds in a post-apocalyptic society devastated by civil war, where the US government has been overthrown. A group of rebels attempting to sneak an activist under the radar find themselves trapped in a haunted house. The ghost(s) in the house causes some of them to flip perspectives which threatens everyone's lives.

This film, written and directed by Bo Mirhosseni in his directorial debut, features Jackie Cruz (Orange is the New Black), Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries), Rhonda Johnson Dents (Renfield), Murphee Bloom (Clock), and Thomas Francis Murphy (12 Years a Slave).

While it had a promising start reminiscent of "The Handmaid's Tale," the haunted elements fell short for me, particularly with a less-than-creepy misogynistic ghost. The characters' reactions felt oddly handled, leading to a rapid deterioration of the storyline after the initial setup. The horror elements lacked intensity, and there was a shortage of impactful kills.

In conclusion, History of Evil fails to deliver in any area, making it a waste of time. I would give it a 3/10 and recommend skipping it.

Living in a dystopian society, a group of refugees trying to hide out from the totalitarian government trailing them manage to seek shelter at a remote house in the wilderness until they can complete the next step of their escape, but when they come under the houses' grisly history must try to stop it from spreading.

This was a mildly disappointing if somewhat still enjoyable genre effort. One of the better elements here is the solid starting point to everything which manages to provide some rather intriguing starting point to everything. The main setup of the totalitarian state that's found here with just enough of a preamble to get an idea of the type of setup at play here and the need for the secrecy in their operation to the safe house and the concurrent dangers that are in place with staying there. That's given quite a fine balance with the qualities involving how they're trying to remain out of sight of the authorities as they wait for the pick-up to get them to safety which is a great enough touch to be had even without the introduction of the supernatural qualities. It's the introduction of the supernatural qualities that tends to show where the film starts wavering from what it really wants to be. The idea of the house being haunted and the father coming under the spell of the ghost involved in the house' history that starts to bring about a strong series of scenes featuring his behavior change in front of others white staying there, but this just turns into a colossal bore with hardly any kind of rational build-up for what's going on or why no one seems to notice the change. This leads to a decreased sense of terror involving the ghost who is much more hands-on and noncommittal to doing anything as the majority of the scenes consist of horribly-misguided advice and logic that doesn't come off in the least bit frightening, much less worthy of being followed. This type of identity crisis is what's the biggest issue facing this one overall.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

One of the worst movies I have seen in a very long time. I can not describe how bad it truly is. There is no need for me to be more verbose. The actors have clearly chosen a career that is not suitable for them, with the exception of the older gentleman who played the ghost\malevolent spirit. He was the only thing worth watching, and there was not enough of him.

It is so tiring to see these types of uninspired films being released all the time. This movie doesn't even know what it is, or what it's trying to say. It just vaguely alludes to trendy, triggering topics in a way that will appeal only to children raised on a diet of internet memes and tik tok videos.

Anyone paying any sort of attention would have gotten the message without it. But with it, the film ends on a heavy-handed, overwrought, redundant and corny note.

Other than that, it is fairly obvious metaphor horror destined to rile those who empathize with the BBEG here.

The Vampire Diaries guy is okay. The mixing of techno-future dystopia and ghosty past is kinda cool. There is a matte-finish black truck with people riding in it. And a commercial for white sugar. I did notice that several of the supports for the wrap-around porch of the house were in need of repair. Seemed kinda like a safety hazard - all things considered.