Trespassing

Estella Warren put on the best performance in the movie, period. There was not much more going on than a lot of idle blather. I really tried my darnedest to listen intently and learn about the five main characters as they interacted with one another, but my attention span kept flipping over to what may be in my fridge because there was absolutely nothing of interest in Evil Remains.

The opening scene allowed the movie to clearly prove it was a horror film but it also set up the tempo for the movie with that long drawn out eerie music and then the anti climax when a friend or family member jumps out rather than the serial killer.

Oh, the serial killer? Well he happens to be an abused son who retaliates by first murdering his abusive father and then his dear mom at home. The movie then flips forward several years and a student decides to do his thesis on whether the house is still haunted and whether or not the son is still alive and living on the property so many years later. The psychiatrist who assisted the disturbed killer (before he was a killer) tells the student that rumors abound of the killer living on the property and running around with a dogs head covering his face. I believe the intent of covering the killers face with a dogs head is for the audience to still have some questions in their mind as to who the killer is. Is he the abused son all grown up? Or is he actually one of the five (5) students who are out to investigate if the killer still lives. Actually four of the five students just ran their mouths so much that I didn't care whether they lived or died.

The ending was predictable and the movie continued to deteriorate from the opening scene. Estella Warren seemed to actually be fighting for her life, too bad she didn't stay away from making this movie, as it will be a blemish on her career.

Rating: *** out of ****

I'll admit it, the deciding factor that made me seek out this film was Estella Warren. Sure, she displayed little acting talent and almost no screen presence in any of her prior roles, but there's no questioning she's a total hottie and seeing her in the role of a scream queen was a dream come true. To my utmost surprise, both she and the movie are pretty damn good, making this movie one of the more pleasant surprises of the past few months.

Evil Remains is about a small group of graduate students (five in all) who head to a long-abandoned plantation estate to help one of the guys do his thesis on myths. The plantation itself is the site of a popular myth, that the land is cursed and whoever trespasses will find themselves with an uncontrollable urge to act on their rage. Upon their arrival, the guys set up the equipment in the house while the two girls (Estella Warren and Ashley Scott), who also happen to be lesbians, go for a short walk in the woods, not knowing their return to the house will be a particularly bloody and messy one.

Right from the beginning, Evil Remains is immediately distinguished by the effective direction of James Merendino, who has a knack for developing creepy atmosphere, building suspense, and even delivering a few genuine scares. Despite the fact that natural lighting typically annoys me (and it does make it a bit difficult to tell apart the male characters for a while), it's used to good effect, giving the movie a stark look that works especially well during the nighttime scenes.

Merendino handles the stalk-and-slash sequences superbly; the second half of the film is essentially a series of bloody slasher action and exciting chase scenes that utilize both the claustrophobic and wide-spaced settings fairly well. The house itself is only explored to a mildly satisfying effect, but it's an effectively constricted location that immeasurably aids in tightening the suspense, especially in one scene where the survivors find themselves anxiously awaiting the killer on the other side of the door.

Taking everything into consideration, I was most surprised by the performances, which are all quite good. The gorgeously hot Estella Warren is especially excellent as the smart, likable heroine who actually thinks the situation through before acting. As a matter of fact, I was quite amazed by Warren's work here, since she showed no discernible acting talent in any other film I've seen her in. The only one in the cast that doesn't quite hold up is Ashley Scott, who's not bad, but the role requires her to do little more than whine.

The movie is still obviously not without its flaws. Despite the solid acting, the movie does little to establish its characters, in particular the two brothers with a troubled past that's brought up but dropped just as quickly in favor of some bloody slasher action. The decision to make the lead a lesbian is interesting (the only other slasher I've seen that made its heroine a lesbian was Deep in the Woods, but it only seemed like an excuse for nudity in that flick), but it ultimately makes little difference, as Warren and Ashley Scott could merely have played best friends and no one would be the wiser, but at least it prevents Warren from having a forced romance with one of the male characters.

A few of the characters could also show a little more common sense; one guy sees a freaky-looking image on a photo he just took, but neglects to show it to anyone else as incentive to leave. Another guy leaps off the roof of the house to escape but actually ends up backing himself towards the front door! And there's one lengthy scene that'll have you shouting "close the damn door!" Most disappointing is a potentially exciting chase scene through the woods that makes an abrupt segue that temporarily kills the momentum.

The plot's also a little hazy, there's no sense of clarity regarding exactly what it is the curse does and how a masked killer would specifically factor into it. Still, the film works for what it is, a fast-paced slasher with a number of bloody kills, exciting chases, and a terrifically secluded setting. Definitely recommended to genre fans.

To be fair, it was watchable. The thing that annoyed me mostly with this movie is that it was very slow moving, the character's you never really got any inside depth of so you was left with that neutral feeling of you don't care if they LIVE or DIE. The acting was somewhat to be desired but what do you expect when they probably picked a handful of people from the street and gave them a few hours to remember their lines. The thing that amused me the most was the actual DVD box, on the back it says "Scarier than CABIN FEVER, more terrifying than JEEPERS CREEPERS" - LOL what planet is this guy from, first off he picked 2 lousy examples of horror movies to compare with and second off it was NEITHER!

I rented Evil Remains because I saw James Merendino's SLC Punk and liked that film allot. I thought since SLC Punk was so clever, I bet Merendino writing and directing a horror film would be equally as such, not to mention a good idea. But in my opinion I my judgment was made premature. Evil Remains is a decent little horror flick when compared to most of the b-schlock that is out there. In fact after my initial viewing I found out that this film was at one time slated for a national release, but after the executives watched the film it quickly changed to home video. You see as negatively as I'm painting this picture for you, there is some decent acting with several fleeting minute's enjoyable slasher fun. All in all I liked this film but the storyline and ending really don't make for a great ride. But then again the films premise may have been made to avoid that feeling of a great ride. So in conclusion I liked this film, but if was to watch the film again, I wouldn't rather check out one of the great films that everyone has already viewed.

I saw this one today at the Fantasy and Horror Filmfest in Munich. This was very disappointing. Absolutely no suspense at all, apart from the two or three "shock moments" which resulted through the sound effects. A wanna-be-shocker, who tried to copy movies like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Blair Which Project", with exchangeable actors and a storyline told in one second. It could have been so good! As the "monster" was shown the first time, the whole audience laughed because it was everything but frightening (I just say: dog). This movie was one of the worst and most boring movies I have seen in a long time, I checked my watch every ten minutes. No shock moments, instead of that endless talks. Before you spend your money at this movie, think twice.