The Evil Within

On its own, it was fairly good; not very much to say since I couldn't help but think about the context. The ending was a little confusing, but if you saw the movie you'd probably be surprised if it wasn't confusing.

Now for the context. No one's first film is great or even good, but this was a very good first effort from the writer-director and I think it showed a great natural artistic capability that a longer career would have honed. I was amazed at how good this was for a first film and it's tragic to think there will never be another movie from this clearly gifted artist.

That being said, if I didn't know the backstory behind the film, I probably wouldn't have sought it out, let alone even heard of it, and it's better to judge a film on its own rather than the context around its making. I acknowledge that I had a bias going into this movie as I went in knowing the tragic story of the writer-director, but the bias should not be judged too harshly as I've gone into many movies wanting them to be good and that's never stopped me from judging them to be bad if they were indeed bad. While The Evil Within is not great, it's certainly memorable. 6/10 might not sound like a good rating, but I prefer a 4-star scale, with 2 stars being average, not bad but not exactly memorable, and 3 stars being good, and this movie's in between, so my rating is 2.5/4 stars. A not exactly good but certainly memorable movie, and an incredible first and only film from an untapped talent.

A young mentally handicapped boy who lives with his older brother life begins to crumple after he's brother brings him an antique mirror in his room, and a old demon who lives in it demend he do evil things to his family. The Evil Within is a very sadistic and twistic tale of loneliness and how it is to be different in this world. What I liked the most about this film is it's originality, and what limit the director is ready to go. The young Frederick Koehler, is really greati in this film.

Found it at random, and decided to give it a watch, as the storyline picked my attention. Being a horror movie veteran, I know ratings are not trustworthy, so I tend to ignore them (I'd think that there may be at least 2 points of error in the ratings in horror movies).

It turned out to be quite a surprise. At first, it won't look like a big deal. One of the characters may come across as a little tiring and the acting may seem to be going a bit over the top. Although I did not find acting brilliant, it was good overall, and my first impressions dispelled. I believe that, rather than acting, it was the bad text written for a couple of scenes that caused me discomfort.

At any rate, the movie is quite dark and it grew on me. The disturbing dreams, which seems to interweave with reality, gradually throwing a fragile person out of balance, and the quite unusual narrative. The way the move progresses fascinated me; it's dark, disturbing, and verisimilar. The character plunges further into a path he can longer emerge from; he is no longer himself, but is a captive in his own body. The symbolism used pleased me.

The disturbing characters that sprang as the movie neared it's conclusion were fascinating. From one point, I was confused as to whether it was a dream of the characters, an other-worldly dimension, or simply a quite disturbing reality.

My sole disappointment was the writer felt he should he resort to Christian clichés to describe evil ("legion"). I wish writers were more creative in this respect. If they can't find words to describe evil, they should not use words. After all, that's one advantage of movies.

Brilliant special effects and avant garde theatrics - this movie comes ever so close to being an instant cult classic. The brilliant, but ultimately annoying portrayal of the mentally retarded and easily manipulated Dennis puts the other poor acting and awkward scenes to shame however it does show an insidious subculture of deliberate manipulation and entrapment under the guise of a Tales from the Crypt style presentation. This could have been truly great.

It is such as tough movie to critique after one viewing. It is without doubt a flawed attempt, but the concept makes it worth a viewing. it is not a gore fest, but more of a mind bender, or at least tries to be. I applaud the effort and concept, but it lacks in a few key areas. Some basic details are forgotten and the continuity is stuttering, having said all that it is a film you want to like and this is probably due to the lead character giving a good performance, whilst others in the cast struggle.