‘Another Evil’ Focuses More on the Human Condition Than the Haunted Condition

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Another Evil SXSW

Dan and his wife Mary enjoy their vacation home. It’s a place where Dan traditionally paints some of his best art. After their son, Jazz, hears a ghost in the hallway, things become a whole lot less comfortable. Dan and Mary turn to a local ghost hunter. When he shows up in cutoff sleeves and holding a can of Arizona Iced Tea, they become a lot less sure of his recommended abilities. Speaking with his art dealer, Dan is given a reference for an exorcist named Os. Os definitely knows his stuff, but might also be absolutely crazy. Dan returns to the vacation home himself to paint, and against Mary’s wishes gives Os a try. Os quickly tries to become more friend than exorcist, even going to far as to get Dan to hire him a stripper. When Mary tells Dan she’s coming up with Jazz, Dan realizes he needs to get rid of Os quick. It isn’t long before he realizes that is going to be much harder than exorcising a ghost.

Another Evil does contain ghosts. In fact, they are creepy looking, but so cheesy they are hard to take too seriously. Os, however, is absolutely terrifying. The film begins to switch gears into the territory of psychological nightmare when Dan and Os share some talking time. Initially, Os tells Dan that he got into the business of exorcism because he saw the devil outside of his window as a kid. The real story, however, is much more graphic and will leave the viewer feeling sick to their stomach.

Steve Zissis excels in his role as Dan. He is believable as a man who really just wants his house back after a series of ridiculous nightmares. Mark Proksch is fantastic as Os, leading the viewer bouncing back and forth on whether to trust him or not. A few times in Another Evil, Os says something that makes perfect sense. The other half of the time he’s standing in the house naked to “feel energy,” talking about his ex wife leaving him for having too many cats,  or trying to convince a stripper to kiss him for money. While the viewer definitely has that “there’s something not right” feeling about Os from the start, it is easy to follow along with Dan’s thought processes and feel like one is becoming a part of the film themselves.

In the end, Another Evil is less about fearing hauntings and more about fearing human nature

Another Evil is playing at the SXSW 2016 Film Festival in Austin:

Saturday, March 12th, 8:45PM at Alamo Ritz 1
Sunday, March 13th, 8:00PM at Alamo Slaughter (SXSW Satellite)
Tuesday, March 15th, 2:30PM at Alamo Lamar D

 

 

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