Insight of Evil (2004) Poster

User Reviews

Review this title
4 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
3/10
Teens in peril, in beautiful suburban Ontario
wecantbestopped27 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
A slasher film is like a jazz standard. Thousands of musicians have played "Body and Soul," but the Joe Schmo Quartet's version isn't nearly as good as the Coleman Hawkins one. Similarly, "Insight of Evil" isn't a work on a par with any number of other teens in the woods, like "Friday the 13th," or "Moonstalker," or "Twisted Nightmare," or- well, the list goes on and on. Maybe it's a little better than some of the very lowest slasher flicks, but it's certainly a lot worse than the statistical mean for this type of flick.

The story starts in flashback, as Chris (writer/director/editor/music composer/misc. crew) Nigel Hartwell) blows his brains out after being accused of rape by Tiffany (Tiffany Edwardsen) after a night of drunken partying. We then cut to Mr. and Mrs. Schreider, Chris's parents, heading up to the very same house of the suicide (and subsequent disappearance of the rape victim), in order to prepare it for a weekend party that their other son, Jordan (Anthony Cortese) is planning to celebrate the end of school. That's all well and good, until they get stalked and killed by a disembodied POV shot, which apparently has the power to take control of others' bodies.

Now is the point in the movie where we meet the lambs who are about to be sent to the slaughter, in the form of seven dumb high school kids. There's Jordan, his nerdy pal Ryan (Chris Wahl), their drug dealer, bad-boy buddy Jason (Chris Simis), quarreling couple Spanky and Kim (Mike Bruce and Cheyenne Ennis) area slut Megan (Annie Pantusa), and, most troubling of all, Tanya (also Tiffany Edwardsen), who is the rape victim's identical twin sister. Thing is, she doesn't know whose house it is, or the history of what went down there. The kids are, of course, oblivious to their ensuing doom. Megan is downright psyched: "All I know is that I'm ready to swim, drink, and play a little strip poker."

Well, long story short, the disembodied POV shot (whose main powers are inhabiting the bodies of others and making those it stalks sound like they've been sippin' on some sizzurp) starts to pick the kids off one by one. It gets Spanky and Kim before they even arrive at the cabin. By the time night falls, Tanya is getting really bummed about the whole experience, and insists to Jason that she take him home. Jordan consents to give Jason the keys and take her home, leaving the cabin to be inhabited by Ryan, Megan, and Jordan. By the time Tanya and Jason find Spanky and Kim's deserted car, it's too late back at the cabin. Ryan is the next to go, killed by confusing editing. Then it's Megan, before Jordan discovers the remains of his parents. By this time, Tonya and Jason get back, in time to be attacked by Jordan.

In a long, expository flashback we find out the truth of what really happened with Tanya's twin sister Tiffany, the rape victim. Turns out that Jordan roofied her, and with the accomplices Ryan and Spanky, killed her as revenge for her making his brother kill himself. So now, her ghost (whose true form resembles a mash up of the Pig Woman from Twilight Zone and a pre-exorcism Regan) stalks the house, seeking revenge of her own. Although Jason's not entirely innocent here (he sold the roofies to Jordan) he's the nice guy, so he gets off, but Jordan gets it in the end, from a rock to the dome by Tanya (or is it Tiffany?) And that's pretty much it.

Nothing really new or original to say here, but mildly short and brainlessly entertaining, even if the sound did sound like it was recorded in a sting operation. Bonus points for the ridiculous pop stylings of the Ben Thompson Band, whose song "I Need a Little Time From Time to Time" would surely have sold a million copies if it had been put out by Matchbox 20 or some other such band.
5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
The Worst
tomikoband14 October 2015
This is the worst movie I've ever seen. Everything about it is awful. I usually don't write reviews, but this movie made me angry. And I've seen horrible movies, as I'm usually a fan of bad movies. I read reviews here and see people say such and such movie is the worst ever, and I usually think that these people haven't actually seen the worst movies. I have. This movie is worse than Manos: The Hands Of Fate. And that's saying something. It's not even funny. The music is horrible. The acting. The actual technical aspects are horrible. I guess, if it was made by a bunch of high school students as a project, it wouldn't be so bad. But any older and there's no excusing this. The plot might be interesting if anyone with any talent or experience or know how was making it. But the plot is just standard fare, so I don't know if it would be good at all. I know that this seems harsh, but this is just bad. Plan 9 is Citizen Kane compared to this. I've made a mission to see the worst movies, and usually there's something, at least, a little entertaining, even if it's funny because of how bad. There is nothing good about this one. And to think it's on Hulu. Amazing.
2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Another example of a good idea wasted
TheLittleSongbird16 November 2012
Insight of Evil is not without its redeeming qualities, the idea was great, for low-budget it doesn't look that bad- I've seen far worse- and the soundtrack was serviceable. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie just didn't deliver. I've seen worse effects, but the monster was not menacing at all and looked cheap and awkward above all else. The dialogue is trite and stilted, never once coming across as believable. And it certainly doesn't help when the acting lacks any kind of personality or any heart for what they're participating in and when the characters are so bland and annoying in alternative to reasonably developed and likable. The story is also executed poorly, sluggishly paced and predictable, hindered further by overlong and lazy exposition in flashback, a forced opening and a ridiculously contrived ending. On the whole, a real waste of a good idea. 3/10 Bethany Cox
1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Inside of Evil (filmmaking)
kosmasp4 July 2015
That cover got me good. That art is really something. It really looks good with "hidden" demons and other things lurking in the shadows, this made the movie look intriguing. Unfortunately the movie did not look and feel the part once I started watching. But I thought, well another movie that hasn't aged well .... Until I looked on the cover of the DVD (after watching the movie) and realising this is only 11 years old! No excuse for that camera then.

I guess you could excuse the "acting" if you wanted to, but even movies with small budgets can do great things. And if it isn't from the acting department, at least something else has to be there, to elevate it above others. Nothing to find here though ... Maybe this was or can be seen as a stepping stone and the filmmakers went on and learned from this (though nothing in the filmography points to that), but as it is I'd tell you not to watch this/waste your time (the blood effects and not that redeeming to help too much with the rating either)
1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed