Evil Everywhere
What is it about filmmakers making horror movies set in the ’80s, which embody the aesthetics of ’80s horror films, that is just an easy sell nowadays? We can also discuss why make them, but filmmakers have always been inspired by things they grew up loving, so that is nothing new. Still, the way filmmakers like Mykee Morettini go out of their way to recreate ’80s horror cinema feels like a double-edged sword- it all comes down to the story, and the sincerity. If one of those things are missing, the movie won’t work. “Evil Everywhere” works.
Morettini’s film begins with exposition about horrible events that happened in 1985- a high school class was beset by murder, as members of the senior class in alphabetical order. Zeke Zanderfeldt (Mykee Morettini) and a mysterious Jane Doe, who had telekinetic powers, discovered the pattern, and was able to stop the evil. Two years later, though, and the evil seems to have been unleashed. After going into hiding, Zeke must once again face the evil, and hope to contain it for good.
“Evil Everywhere” feels like it’s going to be a slasher, but it’s really closer to “Evil Dead” in how it goes about its business, right down to the way the evil is “accidentally” summoned by reading from the Book of the Dead. Much of the film from there becomes a supernatural detective story, with Zeke, Jake (Jared Walker) and Julia (Corrinne Mica)- an art student who also dabbles in the dark arts- not only trying to stay alive, but also discover the origins of where this came from. (Thankfully, Morettini has a scene for that.)
This is an entertaining piece of schlock. It leans into the cheesiness of its low-budget roots, and the genre that inspired it. I love the look of the film, and the soundtrack by Patrick Casey, Patrick Ryan Deasy and Mykee Morettini (who’s also the cinematographer). The performances are as perfunctory as you expect from this genre, and there’s a level of absurdity in the plotting and execution of the story that is fun and goes with the tone. If you enjoy the genre, “Evil Everywhere” is a movie you’ll appreciate.
