The Evil Within (2017) Reviews

• Not Everybody Will Like This Film; Though, I Highly Recommend Watching It.

  stephenabell2017-05-17

  This is a special movie, not just because it's a brilliant and original horror movie, but because of the story behind the making of the film. The writer and director Andrew Getty started this film back in 2002 when it was titled "The Storyteller" and was released in 2017 under the current title, two years after Getty's death due to an ulcer causing internal bleeding. This is a shame as he spent so much money on the project and wasn't around to see his creation brought to life... or take credit for it. The story is about a mentally handicapped man, Dennis (expertly portrayed by Frederick Koehler), living in his brother's, John (Sean Patrick Flannery), care. Dennis is plagued by twisted and dark nightmares for which a tall grey man claims responsibility. Then one day John and his girlfriend, Lydia (Dina Meyer) bring home a mirror for Dennis' bedroom. Dennis hates the mirror as he doesn't want to loose his hamsters like he's lost his comic collection. However, his decision changes when his reflection starts talking to him and offers him a way to get better... to get smarter... It was the trailer that had me salivating at the thought of watching the film. However, be aware the movie isn't how it looks on the trailer. Instead of an exciting run-of-the-mill horror what Getty gives his audience is a deep and powerful insight into the human psyche and not just through Dennis, but all of the other characters have some kind of dysfunction. John is hiding a secret. Lydia has relationship issues. Even Pete (Tim Bagley) - who is only in the film a few minutes - hates people touching him and invading his person space. The film can even be taken a couple of ways. It could be a very dark psychological thriller or it could be a supernatural entity possession, making it a horror. It works in either genre. The star of the show is Frederick Koehler as Dennis. He is brilliant at portraying the character, giving him facial ticks, body form, hand gestures, and a speech impediment. His acting is really believable and draws the audience into the film more. However, it's Flannery's and Meyer's characters that appear flat at times, a little too dimensional and wooden; I think this may be the characters they were playing or the direction at the time of the scenes, as both of them are good actors. It just jars the mood and atmosphere at times and this is a bad thing as the movie depends on mood and atmosphere, which Getty builds beautifully. It's also great to see Michael Berryman again. This film reminds me of Phantasm in its essence and spirit, and like Phantasm I will gladly watch this film again... and again... and, probably, again... There are a lot of interesting and well thought out concepts in this story, which should send a chill down your spine. However, if you prefer shock horror over creepy and atmospheric then this probably won't be your cup of tea.

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• Bizarre, yet amusingly twisted.....

  jpowell1802017-03-22

  This film was quite unexpected; it appears to have been filmed over a decade ago (Matthew McGrory has a "Tiny" cameo, but the actor died in 2005); Dina Meyer looks like she was fresh out of Starship Troopers, and the televisions appear to be old Sony Trinitron Wega tube TV's. In the film we have what appears to be a mentally challenged man in his 30s who lives with the older brother who caused his impediment by punching him when he was six, thus sending him reeling down the stairs, resulting in brain damage. Big brother feels an obligation to care for his little brother, who is a tad difficult to take care of. Little brother (who was a prodigy genius child until his brain was damaged) starts seeing his reflection in the mirror start to talk to him, and tell him to do bad things - this, he is assured, will make him smart. He is told that he must kill his neighbor's cat, and that this is perfectly OK as people eat meat, which is supposed to be a "clue" that it is OK to kill all animals, and that the rule against killing pets is "a fake rule", and is told to learn taxidermy. One amazing line from the evil mirror twin - "Grab another doggie from the cooler." He soon is told by his evil reflection that he must now kill a child - he reluctantly does so, and eventually graduates to killing adults. The ending is quite zany, and it's important to also note that the late director (who was a wealthy heir to the Getty oil fortune) was a meth addict who died in 2015, so it's plausible that some of the film was shot while he was under the influence. This film is worth watching, if only for the sheer mind-twisting absurdity - there really is nothing quite like it out there.

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• Surprisingly good

  farchettiensis2017-07-18

  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.

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• Cinematic Genius

  social3ngin33ring2018-12-06

  The story, script, and everything are phenomenal!!! Everything from the angles of the shots, to how the characters interacted with each other (themselves), to the types of shot, were done beautifully! This movie is a hidden gem. If people aren't able to see that this is a masterpiece for future generations, they shouldn't be making reviews. The movie is (in my opinion) light horror and a mind freak. If you don't like the first few minutes, you won't like the movie. If you don't like the movie, you probably shouldn't be making reviews. After I watched the movie I found out that the director and writer are the same person...I also found out that he is dead! The world lost the next great writer/director/producer all at once. -cheers, social3ngin33ring

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• Quite good!

  fil-nik092017-06-27

  This film is so much better that the rating below 6 ! It is interesting from the 1st second til the last one - you can not say that for many films. The opening of the film was very unusual that it is almost like a fairy tale setting in an eerie land...but I think the one thing about this film that stands out is really the setting of the whole film! The fact that you can not say for sure what is a dream - if it is a dream - and what is reality - if there is reality - is what makes this film so much better than many others of any genre. The main character is just phenomenal in his role! Really, his acting is worth a 10 alone. His brother is quite good too and the woman from social. The fiancée was rather so-so... To me this is not a horror movie - though it certainly does have elements of horror and creatures that are mostly found in horror ones - but more of psychological monologue/dialogue between your 'two selves'. Anyway, really interesting, really entertaining film. 9 from me, though it is close to 10!

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