"Evil" is a beautiful, but fearless trifle from the author of "Saw"

Having made a name for himself, Wang did not shoot horror stories for a long time (only in 2018 he directed the Aquaman movie comic strip), but focused on producing. Therefore, it was doubly interesting to find out how the director's attempt to enter the familiar river would turn out. After all, his previous works brought novelty to the genre and gave rise to high-profile franchises.

Only this time it is not worth waiting for some unprecedented techniques. It seems that Wang's signature handwriting is instantly recognizable, and the idea is not bad. But "Evil" does not frighten at all.

From the terrible - only a terribly predictable plot

The action begins in 1993 in a closed psychiatric clinic, where a group of doctors is confronted with the aggression of an unknown creature. Already today, a pretty young woman Madison is expecting a baby. She has experienced several miscarriages in the past and is therefore very afraid for her current pregnancy.

But the heroine is not destined to become a mother this time either: her husband brutally beats her. Immediately after that, an entity breaks into the house, from the presence of which electrical appliances behave strangely. The scarecrow kills the tyrant, and the woman somehow miraculously survives, but loses the child.

Then there is a whole series of attacks throughout the city. The same monster is to blame. At the same time, the heroine feels a close connection with the creature: she is visited by hallucinations in which she sees the details of the murders. In what is happening, Madison is helped by a lively sister and two caring detectives.

It is likely that seasoned fans of on-screen horror have already begun to understand in which direction the plot will unfold. He really amazes with his predictability, and the characters - the illogicality of their actions (we will return to this later).

The origin of the monster will surely remind some of François Ozon's film "Two-Faced Lover". There, a very similar intrigue was revealed more gracefully and made many times more sense. In "Evil", it is as if the viewer is being held for a fool, to whom everything needs to be explained.

At the same time, we know no more than the characters. But they still cannot figure out what is happening, although the plot twist is sewn with white thread, and in the English version the clue is read even from the name of the picture itself.

Cool camera solutions and a mesmerizing palette of colors

James Wang is loved by many for his visual style, which sets the director apart from others. And the camera work in "Evil" is at a height: the camera moves freely around the characters, follows them on their heels, flies over their heads. Wang succeeded just as well with static plans with well-thought-out symmetry: even hang these on the wall.

The director told James Wan / Facebook about the origins of all this beauty to fans on social media. He was inspired by his favorite movie classics: the works of Brian de Palma and David Cronenberg. In addition, "Evil" took a lot from the Giallo films. These are vintage Italian thrillers with spectacular bloody scenes, from which Van borrowed his love for the ominous red glow.

Flowers, and especially their combinations, in "Evil" must be admired. Especially in scenes where cold blue, warm yellow and James Wan's favorite scarlet are combined. And in general, the tape, it must be admitted, was shot with taste.

Helpless dialogues and impenetrable stupid heroes

However, all faith in the film is shattered when the characters open their mouths or do something. Most of all, the main character, played by Annabelle Wallis, amazes with her actions. The girl's reluctance to leave the house, where, under strange circumstances, her husband was recently killed and almost killed her herself, the girl motivates simply: she lives here.

An experienced detective, when meeting with a killer, is in no hurry to call for help, but prefers to deal with the monster himself, and he is not stopped by the injuries inflicted. Sister Madison is studying important papers right where she found them. By the way, the necessary documents, shedding light on the past of a relative, managed not to get lost in the archives, but lie in a conspicuous place.

Some things are shown, apparently, simply because they look beautiful in the frame. For example, in one scene, the main character's sister appears in a princess dress. This image is explained by the fact that the girl works as an animator. But this information does not add anything to the character of the character and does not affect the plot in any way. The director just wanted to.

The story of domestic violence also looks like a patch that was hastily stuck on due to the relevance of the topic. And maybe so that the audience does not regret the death of the hero (especially since they do not even remember much about him). And it also remains completely incomprehensible why the monster knows how to control electricity and why he needs it.

Lots of clichés and no suspense

It was probably all conceived as a dodgy postmodern game, but what another director might have looked unusual has turned into a set of cliches for Wang. A vinaigrette of platitudes awaits the audience: villainous laughter, creepy calls, frightening (actually not) children, a gothic mansion, a sympathetic cop and his skeptical colleague. Did you miss the abandoned mental hospitals with wheelchairs everywhere? Here it will be just like that.

But the film's biggest problem is that it's not scary. Not a single scene, not even those with screamers, creates enough tension. The antagonist does not frighten at all. Moreover, the sight of the villain causes an awkward laugh, especially closer to the finale, when the monster is shown in all its glory. But there is little that speaks more eloquently about the quality of the horror than the chuckle in the audience. Especially if the movie was not advertised as a horror comedy or deliberately absurd trash.

Cut James Wang out of the tape for 15–20 minutes, she would not have lost anything except meaningless dialogues. The movie is not too scary, not funny enough, and you will most likely forget it almost immediately. Against the background of modern smart horror films, "Evil" looks very weak. As for the Giallo references, Luca Guadagnino in the Suspiria remake and Peter Strickland in The Little Red Dress did much better to blow the dust off the work of Dario Argento and Mario Bava.