As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
Netflix has been rather hit and miss with their original content, according to a lot of online bloggers and armchair reviewers (like myself). However, they keep pulling bigger names for their stable of directors, writers and actors. They've been continually pumping out more and more content and, for the most part, it's been good. The two most recent films available to stream, I'll be reviewing back to back, for my fellow Creeps. The first is Eli Craig's 'Little Evil'. If you don't remember Eli, he's the mad genius behind 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil'. The dark comedy, that came out of nowhere and threw us all into the wood chipper of love. Once again, for his new project, he's brought Tyler Labine along to enjoy the ride. Also starring Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Sally Field and Clancy Brown, this automatically smells like a recipe for success. Drawing from a plethora of horror history's most iconic characters and scenes, Eli has put together a love letter to Creeps, like ourselves, as well as to disillusioned stepparents everywhere. What could have been a simple exercise in horror comedy stereotypes, instead he's turned into something more. A metaphor on the realities of coming into a family, already in progress. Using a Damien like character as a plot device, the viewer is taken into a reality that is far more real than we would initially think. Now, the reviews so far have been very polarizing. Many people feel as though this film hasn't lived up to the expectations they had from Mr. Craig. However, with any follow up to an instant cult classic.... if you're not doing more of the same, then you're not doing things right. This is where I have to politely disagree with my peers, but we'll get to that momentarily.
'Little Evil' tells the story of a man who has recently gotten married to a single mom. This mother, already has a son named Lucas. For some reason, she had kept the boy from meeting his soon to be stepfather, but the man took that at face value and was so in love with the mom, that it didn't matter. Upon starting their new life, he quickly realizes that Lucas is more than he bargained for. One horrible thing after another starts to happen and everyone but Lucas' mother can see that the boy is evil. Before long, we find out that Lucas was born of a ritual, that cased his mother to be impregnated with him at a very young age. In an effort to change the course of their relationship, the stepdad joins a group for newly minted stepparents. Things go from bad to worse, as he realizes that Lucas may be Satan, who is hell bent on taking over the planet and bringing an end to life as we know. As if parenting wasn't hard enough, now he's got pure evil to overcome as well.
So, maybe Eli hasn't created a film that is as inventive as 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil', but that's a hard feat to overcome. That film was unique among almost all other horror comedies out there. I've yet to see another film like it, to be honest. 'Little Evil' is very much in the same vein, in terms of tone and storytelling, but it's a bit more straightforward, if that's possible for a movie like this. With that being said though, they both share one thing in common: heart. Both films took very dark subject matters and mixed in some blood, guts, gore and icky stuff to tell the stories of very likable and caring individuals. People with love to give, who just got put into some bad situations. In this film, we see the worst fears of every new parent who is thrust into a situation where they have to become the mother or father, to a child who isn't their own. Granted, some people may feel like the kid(s) are the spawn of the devil himself, but in this film it is. Borrowing heavily from outside sources, we the viewer, get various Easter eggs throughout the movie. 'The Shining', 'Poltergeist' and most notably 'The Omen'. All of this is done with love and faith in the movie watchers knowledge of scary kids that have come before. I found very little to dislike about this film.
At the end of the day, this film is a bit lighter than 'TaDvE' was, but that's not a bad thing. I found myself laughing, cringing and having several moments of emotional response during this movie. Adam Scott and Evangeline Lilly do a great job of playing newlyweds, navigating the pitfalls of a new life together. All of the supporting cast is on point with their performances and add a lot of great moments to the story. One of the biggest stand outs is Owen Atlas, who's portrayal of Lucas is rather understated and fun. You can actually see his character have an arc. From the twisted little devil child, who may or may not be Satan incarnate, to a loving little boy who just wants to have a family to call his own. You genuinely end up liking this kid. I can see, why some people may take issue with the film, but I think that you almost have to watch it, as though 'TaDvE' wasn't made by the same guy. As a stand alone film, it's really well done and very fun to watch. I felt that it's a 4 out of 5 star film and one that proves Eli Craig has a lot of great things to come. If he can continue to tell unique stories that break away from the norms that we've all come to expect in this genre, then we've got a lot more things to look forward to in the future. There may be a few bumps in the road, along this journey he's taken us on. But if you hang on tight and bring along your friends, then I think you'll find the destination satisfying and worth the wait.
If you like this kind of film, also check out: 'Burying the Ex', 'Tucker and Dale vs Evil' and 'Night of the Living Deb'
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