The Evil Within

Do you wonder where the ideas behind some of your dreams come from? Did you ever have a dream or nightmare so weird that it must have come from someone (or something) else's mind?

Apparently, Andrew Getty thought so when he was a child. Written and directed by billionaire Andrew Getty, The Evil Within is the story of a nightmare plagued young man who actions are increasing directed by a demon who manifests itself in his dreams and later in his reflection in a mirror.

Dennis suffers from brain damage and lives with his irrepressibly cheerful older brother John. Most of the story is told from Dennis's point of view and while his dream sequences are weird, they take a back seat to his reflection in a mirror that John gives him. His reflection begins to talk to him, urging him and blackmailing him into increasingly psychopathic behaviour.

This isn't a jump horror movie, nor is it a splatter movie (despite the death toll it is surprisingly bloodless), it is mostly a creepy psychological horror with plenty of special effects. The dim house, dark dream scenes, and darker basement all contrast with John's relentless cheerfulness, the bright sunshine outside and Susan the bikini clad worker at Dennis's favourite ice cream parlour.

The Evil Within throws us into the weirdness from the beginning, using up many of its best ideas in the first few minutes. This means that like a lot of horror films it gets a bit repetitive before the finale. For light relief, there is a sprinkling humour throughout the film especially from the female supporting characters and a brief encounter with a laid back Cosmo Kramer inspired character.

Ian's rating 2.5/5