Evil Takes Root

Everyone's doing the batibat! I remember that from Sesame Street. The Count... I'm not sure if that's where the title comes from, but... Okay

I left the room while it was playing to do dishes, didnt even bother to pause it. Stopped it a half hour before the end. Couldn't care less about anyone or anything. Hard pass.

Evil takes Root is based upon Philippino folklore and at first I did not understand what was going on. The DVD commintary help to clearify the confusion of Batibat and the production quality right up. As stated in the DVD commintary by several of the producers they had many challenges to overcome with getting this film into the public eye. They struggled with major financial setbacks, lost or not recorded scenes and audio, and having to find and reshoot years later at the original locations or similar locations. The production was able to coble together something that resembles what they had envision besides the losses both due to unforeseen circumstances and oversights of their own. Watch the film and then watch it again with the commintary it is infinatly better then just watching the film on its own.

IMO, Evil Takes Root deserves more than current score of 4.4/10. It stands out among low budget horror movies despite lacking in scary moments. It has decent plot, pacing and ending that makes sense in its universe. Characters don't frustrate me with their stupidity either. At least, it has a proper story unlike recent trend of films that focus more on themes, art and delivering a 'message'. I would rather watch this than Relic (2020).

I stumbled upon "Evil Takes Root" by sheer random luck. And I must admit that I was immediately enthralled by the movie's cover/poster, and the title of the movie was definitely also helping to sell the movie for a veteran horror fan such as myself.

So I sat down to watch this 2020 movie from writers Chris W. Freeman and Aaron Mack, but I have to say that when the movie ended I wasn't particularly impressed, nor were I overly entertained. Sure, "Evil Takes Root" is watchable, but the storyline is just a tad too messy and incoherent for my liking, and that took away a great deal of the enjoyment of the movie.

There were some genuinely interesting aspects to the movie though, such as the spreading of the roots as the evil found foothold, and also some of the creature concepts were interesting.

However, for a horror movie, then "Evil Takes Root" just didn't really cut it. Perhaps if you are fresh off the boat and unfamiliar with horror movies, then you will find this to be a scary movie. But for a seasoned veteran, then "Evil Takes Root" was a mere walk in the park.

The acting in the movie was good, although the actors and actresses were stunted by the limitations of a rather messy and semi-boring storyline. It was a shame, because it felt like the actors and actresses were being held back from giving it all they had.

If you enjoy a good horror movie, then there are many better choices readily available in the horror genre. "Evil Takes Root" came and went without leaving a lasting impression on me, and I doubt that I will ever find myself sitting down to watch it a second time.

My rating of "Evil Takes Root" becomes a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.