A man hires a murderer to kill someone. Via a recorded video, the man, Arthur, reveals why...
As I do with reviews I post here, if there is a trailer available I will add it after the review for those who want to see it to do so. However, in truth the less you know about the film going in the more enjoyable it is. The poster is somewhat misleading too for that matter.
I saw this film at FrightFest 2017 in London and it was my favourite film I saw there. There's a very simple reason for that and that is due to the film not being the film you think it will be. At the beginning and soon after we watch as a man brutally kills two women. The camera doesn't linger on the violence being inflicted but the sound is enough as well as what we see.
However, after this, the film...well...I don't really want to say more than this as the film takes a turn that is surprising in several ways once Arthur begins to relate his story.
The poster describes the film as 'The Sixth Sense meets The Exorcist' and in some ways that is true., but it doesn't come close to revealing the whole story, which I'm glad of as Samuel Galli, making his debut as writer and director here has crafted a very good story that he tells very well indeed. It might be a low budgeted film, Galli put his own money into making the film, but the film has ambition beyond its budget and delivers.
The direction from Galli is great, never letting the film get out of control, which in other hands it could so easily have done. The scare moments are well done indeed. But for a film like this to work, there needs to be an emotional aspect, you need to care what will happen to these characters and Galli's script allows time for them to breathe.
The performances are first rate. Ademir Esteves plays Arthur and is very good as a man who tries to help people, no matter what he has to sacrifice to achieve this. Ricardo Casella plays Charles the killer Arthur hires and he is truly menacing, even when trying to be charming, as when talking to women in a bar and also doesn't hold back when inflicting violence on his victims. Luara Pepita plays Michelle, the woman at the heart of the story and while not giving anything away, charms with the screen time she gets in the film, which adds to the emotional aspect of the story very well.
The design and use of colour of the film at moments had me thinking of the works of early Argento, the music from Guilherme Garbato and Gustavo Garbato is pretty good. For a low budget film, Galli has put a lot of effort in himself, also editing the film as well writing and directing and his efforts are rewarded.
I loved this film. From the opening, to it's ending it doesn't put a foot wrong. Galli said his next film will also be in the horror genre. If it's even half as good as this film, it'll be worth seeing.
In the meantime, Our Evil (or Mal Nosso in it's Brazilian title) is highly recommended indeed.
Rating 5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment