Little Evil
(Eli Craig)
I wanted something a little more from this Netflix film. All the ingredients are there; good actors, clever humour and funny premise, but I can't help but feel that the end product comes up a little short. The film has a lot of heart, but it doesn't feel as edgy as it could or should be.
Gary Bloom, a real estate agent, moves in with his new wife Samantha and her son Lucas. Samantha hopes that Lucas and Gary will get along, despite the marriage being a rather quick one. Gary attempts to be a good stepdad but something feels off about Lucas. For one; he has a goat sock puppet that speaks like a demonic toy to people. It doesn't help that Lucas also likes to sit in front of a static television and glare at Gary every chance he gets. But he's just a kid right? Wrong....he's the Anti-Christ.
After the hilarious Tucker & Dale VS Evil, I was anticipating Craig's next move. Here he's dipped his feet into the horror comedy genre once again, with similar results. Little Evil is just as clever as Tucker & Dale, but it suffers a little from some bland direction and too much heart. Yes, I said it...too much heart. The film pokes fun at, with respect mind you, films like; The Shining, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, etc. I expected a little bit more punch from Little Evil. The script is clever and subverts many of the 'Evil Child' tropes, which is welcomed. I saw a lot of the jokes and I chuckled or smirked, but I don't think I ever once laughed out loud.
Scott does a good job of playing the straight-man, as he does in most of his work. He's up against the spawn of Satan, but he also has his stepfather duties. The film plays with this duality quite well and offers up an interesting takes on his situation with his stepson. Evangeline Lilly is the clueless mother who only sees her loving son and not evil incarnate. Even when she sees the word RAPTURE, written in red paint, backwards on the ceiling of her sons room. Many would run in terror, instead she thinks to herself "How creative" and is proud of her sons artistic abilities. Even though the role is basically one-note, Lilly gives the character enough clueless charm to make her likable.
Horror comedies are hard to pull off. People either think the film is not funny or not scary. This is how I expect the reaction to Little Evil to be. I for one enjoyed it enough to recommend, I'm just not overly enthusiastic about it. Which is a shame because it feels right up my alley.
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I still have to watch The Godfather too. I haven't seen that one or the sequel. Or Taxi Driver for that matter of fact.
