AKA a ‘Little’ bit boring. Evil? Really? He’s like a frigging puppy at the end. And…and…and this film got 92% on Rotten Tomatoes?…I just…what?
1.25/5 screams
SPOILERS AND MATURE CONTENT AHEAD:
I had somewhat high hopes for this movie. I remember it being released and the trailer looked promising, but it has sat in my ‘WatchList’ for over two years so, read into that what you will about the premise and the trailer. Honestly, anything was going to be better than the 9 minutes we gave ‘Scary Movie 3’ which was utterly, holy, yawnably (is that a word?) crap. Just pure crap. So anything, anything had to be better….right?
First impressions: the parallels in both the colour schemes and the dialogue are initially pretty interesting. For example; the mother shouting “Time out” and the husband latterly stating “I want a divorce”. Both of these statements have huge impact behind them, yet they’re stoic, to the point, blunt – short sentences with fists behind them. I thought this was clever. Moreover, the colour schemes were very well thought out – visually pleasing. Dark at the start, bright and cheerful afterwards. Everybody’s clothes are plain, unadulterated. There’s something eerie about that, to be honest. Maybe that’s just me. Lucas, throughout the film, is coloured darker than everyone around him. Whether it’s clothing, clouds behind him etc. This sort of breaks when he’s at the fair with the step-dad. Even his eyes seem brighter, thus by comparison the beginning looks far darker than you think.
Seeing Adam Scott being genuine and not saying something sarcastic and deadpan is strange, I keep expecting there to be a punchline but that expectation never really comes because this film, frankly, is not funny.
The shift in pacing every now and then is effectively jarring.
Quotes that did make me laugh:
~ “I just love the smell of an old nunnery”
~“God never gives you more than you can handle” ~ NO NO NO, I cannot stand this quote – Just, no, I’m sorry if you put this in your film with serious intentions I will hate it. -_-
~ The therapist is hilariously accurate: “I see…Hmm” ~ also the Newton’s cradle is very effective for building the tension.
~ “The way they’re paying teachers these days i’m not surprised”
There
are little meta hints of connections to ‘The Omen’, ‘The Shining’,
‘Poltergeist’ and, I think (please correct me) ‘The DaVinci Code’. You get
points if you can tell me the links between these films and ‘Little Evil’ are.
-The Omen: Lucas’ hair and clothing, the camera focuses sometimes, direct eye
contact.
-The Shining: the two (blonde) twins in blue dresses, the puppet seems to be a
variation on Tony
-Poltergeist: communication through the TV – darkness except from static, focus
on clowns
-The DaVinci Code: The man lacerating himself with a whip ~ self-flagellation
The worm scene was pretty gross, I’ll give the film that. Question: Why the hell is there a fully operational bar at a children’s sixth birthday party? I know kid’s parties suck but jesus, at least hide it in a water bottle of sumthin!
“Want to play?” did make me jump. But the humour throughout the film is very hit and miss, almost like it was added at the last minute – they just thought about ripping of somebody else’s story but adding a few shitty comedy scenes. Also, the wife is sooo dumb.
My overall impression: boring, so boring I was just waiting for it to end. Eek, sorry Rotten Tomatoes – we’ll have to agree to disagree!
So, i’m leaving horror-comedies alone for the time being (after I publish my review of ‘Cockney’s Vs Zombies’) phew! What binge should I do next? Let me know what you think in the comments or tweet me! I like a good twittering.
Don't Scream 