The Evading (2007)

Director: Rick L. Winters

Writer: Rick L. Winters

Tagline: It's coming for you...

Actors: Jason Adkins, Olivia Alsept-Ellis, Bob Bishop, Bob Bishop III, Scott Caster, George Dunn, Renee Gilbert, Akbar Kedear, Dixi Lee, Patrick Mackay, Hilary Mawindi, D'Angelo Midili, Brittany Quist, Jonathan Reis, Eric Riedmann, Darlene Sellers, Eric Stevens, Clint Tibbits

Runtime: 1h 38m

Category: Creature, Nightmare, Supernatural

Synopsis: Josh Carter has fallen into a deep depression after the loss of his wife. Every morning he wakes up and stands in front of his bay window remembering his final interaction with his beloved. But lately the memory seems to be changing…and a ghostly figure seems to be following him around. He sees “it” everywhere; in his house, on his computer screen at work, even in his car. One day his boss tells him that he knows what’s happening to him and that he should meet him at his house for some group thing. There, he tells Josh about the being that following him and that “it” has been around since before recorded time. No one really knows what “it” is, but one of the group members claims to have wounded it. Now “it” is after all of them and it doesn’t seem to want to stop. One by one the group members meet their demise until the truth about Josh’s true past is revealed.

Review: I found out about this movie on MySpace. The official MySpace page for the movie asked to be my friend and I did a little research. I thought that the trailers all looked really cool and the cover art is pretty sweet. So, once it came out…I found it. And…as you may have guessed…I loved it! This is one of the best indi films I’ve seen in a long time. The camera work is not all that amazing, but I’ll get to that later. For right now, just know that this movie is gonna make waves.

The story is a little bit confusing for the average viewer. It’s really confusing for those of you who are not necessarily…uh…horror-savvy. But overall I thought that the story was very well thought out and was compelling throughout. I liked how Josh’s memory of his last moment with his wife changed throughout the story. It gave it that little something extra to keep you wondering. And do you know what sets this extraordinary movie apart form ordinary movies? It’s that little extra. Yes, that’s a movie quote. If you’re not gonna keep up…go home.

Anyway…

From the start I had originally thought that the hooded figure was The Angel of Death, and I still kinda think it is. But from reading more information about the movie on the website, I think the write/director meant for the figure to be what some people call a “shadow figure” or “shadow person”. I dug a little deeper and found out that shadow people are supposed to be those things that you see out of your peripheral vision that look like people, but when you turn to look nothing was ever there. These apparitions are perceived to be a couple different things; 1) a being that lives on another vibrational plane that is similar to ours that only exists in some quasi-dimensional parallel universe, 2) they’re ghosts, or 3) they are a complete figment of our imaginations due to the refraction of light off of the iris. I’m gonna go with door number three. Choose what you will…but choose wisely.

The acting was not bad…it was actually pretty good. I was expecting to have to horribly bash this area but was pleasantly surprised to not have to. The actors were able to capture almost every emotion and convince the viewer of such. I gotta hand it to Winters who directed this flick, he knows how to put together a good movie with a cast that can do the job right. That little girl though…she gave me more creeps than that little freak from The Ring (2002). Not as much as those brats from The Shining (1980) though. She did an excellent job as did her make-up artist. Bravo Olivia…bravo.

The effects were my favorite part of the movie. I loved how they made the figure fluid; almost liquid in the air. I also loved the effects used to accelerate time and the ones used to distort the viewer’s perception of reality. This effects director deserves major credit for putting this viewing experience together with almost flawless continuity. The only thing I would have liked to see is some ballsier camera work. It seemed like most of the shots were done with a stabilized camera that didn’t want to or wasn’t supposed to move. That’s really my only complaint.

Rating: 23. Overall I thought this movie was absolutely awesome. It’s one of those flicks that comes out straight to DVD, gets little recognition, after a while gathers and underground following, then explodes into a classic. I know I am building it up quite a bit but, it was just very well done! Apart from the camera work, I also would have cut down a bit on Olivia’s script weight. For the type of character she was playing, less is more. Think of it like this; those two girls from The Shining (1980) spoke once and scared an entire generation, Samara from The Ring (2002) didn’t talk at all, and if she would have, I would have pissed in my pants…and nobody can do anything about it! So…I would suggest that if you have Netflix or Blockbuster’s Total Access package, that you should take time out of your day and rent this movie…yes, go out of your way to rent this one. (23of25).