NEW BLOOD ALERT: THE EVIL WITHIN

THE EVIL WITHIN
Supernova
2017 color
98 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Frederick Koehler, Sean Patrick Flannery, Dina Meyer, Michael Berryman and Brianna Brown star.
Written and Directed by Andrew Getty.
N/R contains strong language, violence, gore and disturbing weirdness.

The Evil Within arrived earlier this year with little buzz and a generic poster. When the trailer finally arrived it looked to be no more than just another notch in the straight to VOD belt of endless mediocre cinematic offerings. But recently someone turned me on to some information about the film and I became very intrigued. Apparently Writer/Director Andrew Getty was this millionaire who was a meth addict and poured all of his money into this production before he died in 2015. He shot the flick over six years and when it was all done the price tag grew to around five million dollars. So imagine a meth addict shooting a horror film inspired by his experiences and that's what you have here.

 Sound intriguing? Well let me amp it up a little. The movie centers on a mentally challenged young man who commits gruesome murders after being instructed by his reflection in an antique mirror. It starts off with animals and than children and than people. The movie fluidly moves between nightmarish bad dreams and hallucinations as well as family drama packed with dirty little secrets. The brutality and bizarreness increases as the film goes along as well as the disturbing awkwardness that permeates almost every inch of it.

 It is an amateur film, make no mistake but it's delivered with such passion and zest. The end product feels silly, over the top and kind of brilliant all at the same time. This is a completely original film that came from the mind of someone that was really, really high. There's a bunch of strange special effects and animatronics as well as some stylish and uncomfortable set and costume design. The film is shot really, really well. There are moments that are created visually that rival some of our best classics. Although the film doesn't gel altogether completely what remains is a truly inspired collection of disturbing thoughts brought to life by unique film making and solid performances especially from the lead Frederick Koehler whom really deserves some recognition. The film burns into your psyche and not in a pleasant way but for all it's faults and whether you love or hate it. It won't be something you will forget. ***.5/5

NEW BLOOD: ANNABELLE CREATION

ANNABELLE: CREATION

Warner Bros.

2017 Color

109 Mins.

Horror/Thriller

Lulu Wilson, Miranda Otto, Anthony LaPaglia, Talitha Bateman and Joseph Bishara star.

Written by Gary Dauberman

Directed by David F.Sandberg

Rated R for violence, gore and terror.

The Conjuring is one of the scariest horror films I've ever seen. There's a real sense of believable darkness about it. In that film James Wan began a cinematic Universe which preyed on audience's most simplistic fears. Fears of the dark, the unknown, strange noises in the night, the unseen, etc. It is a perfect blend of character and story growth, effective performances and a much needed dose of classic terror. Since than the universe has burdened us with an overly melodramatic and hammy Annabelle prequel as well as a solid but over the top Conjuring sequel. So here we are now at a prequel to Annabelle a film of overly mediocre quality that really didn't really deserve a follow up. Well like the recent, terrifying Ouija 2 this installment fares way better than it's predecessor and most surprisingly is the most effective entry since the original Conjuring.

 The film centers around a couple in the 50's who looses their daughter in a horrible accident. So many years later they open up their house to a group of Catholic orphans. It however, just so happens that the father had handcrafted the original Annabelle doll and after loosing their daughter had unwittingly invited an evil spirit to accompany it. They of course did their best to contain that evil but now with the arrival of new visitors the evil has escaped and is in search of a new body.

The film does a nice job of setting up the story and characters even though it feels a bit rushed at times. That being said the scares are quite terrifying and effective even though a few of them feel a bit silly. The performances are solid all around as well as the staging by Lights Out Director David F. Sandberg. As the film rockets towards it's inevitable but clever finale it becomes more aggressive and even a little grotesque. It never quite hits the Conjuring high notes but does manage to succeed not just as a solid entry to the franchise but as the film that solidifies the new horror universe they have succeeded in creating.

There are a few Easter eggs scattered throughout for the franchise's fans one of which includes the nightmarish nun from Conjuring 2 which will get her own spin off movie next year. It's strange that in this day and age that the new horror universe that in past  consisted of Dracula, Frankenstein and the wolf man and than Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers has transformed into something that's inspired by real life events. it certainly echoes our times and is both inspired and exciting to look forward to. ****.25/5