The Evading (2007)
Review by Mitch Emerson
After his wife dies, Josh Carter (Eric Stevens) suffers from depression. The condition gets so bad he begins having visions of a figure in a black cape. The figure pulls Josh into a secret society, and soon Josh recalls the accident that killed his wife in a completely new and disturbing way.
Combining visual elements from films like The Ring and The Grudge, Rick L. Winters has written, produced and directed a film that has outstanding effects, somewhat decent acting and a twist that actually changed my opinion of the film. Let me expound on that for a moment. Starting off slowly (so slow you don’t learn the main characters name until eighteen minutes in) with shots that are held for a moment or two too long, then switching to a somewhat lengthy scene involving some Bible-thumping cult that culminates in a mass suicide (“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid!” my wife yelled at the screen) made me feel that I was wasting my time. Even the great, if overused, effects weren’t helping. Just when I was about to give up, Winters ramps up the action a bit and reveals a twist that fans of movies like Stay, The Sixth Sense and A Beautiful Mind will appreciate, which made me do an about face.
I am not going to comment too much on the acting, but I will say that there were a few bad performances as well as a couple of good ones, which balances out in the end. It wouldn’t be fair to the actors as this is a first time effort for most involved.
I am nowhere near an expert of the process of moviemaking but I would recommend that Winters works on the editing to tighten up some of the scenes, but all in all I think he may become someone to watch in the future. A great grasp of effects for such a small budget, but as stated earlier, they are reused over and over to the point of becoming annoying.
All in all, The Evading is a good start, even with a somewhat patchy story that at times doesn’t seem to follow its own rules. The great effects help make this a good pick for a down home horror marathon on a Friday or Saturday night. Just make sure to bring a lot of beer.
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