The Evil In Us

You know the story; July the 4th, a group of six friends, one survives. What you don’t know is how this mess all began and in THE EVIL IN US, it unfolds somewhat differently than expected. Don’t get me wrong, this is no CABIN IN THE WOODS, but credit to writer/director Jason William Lee for going with something fresh for the standard formula of vacation horror.

 

This time round, the group of young adults prepare to celebrate the annual day of independence with the aid of some strong drugs, fortunately for the unfolding terror that those drugs are stronger than they expected.

 

THE EVIL IN US is not afraid to be gory and from the opening it sets the tone with a stylish credit sequence followed by a morbid discovery by police. Then comes the complexity of an interweaving story that feels so detached from the central story that when it all begins to make sense, it still feels like the film would have benefitted without. The issue with THE EVIL IN US is that it’s a happy slasher that masquerades an anti-drugs message but as it slowly becomes obvious, it lays it on rather thick.

 

A decent soundtrack and some passionate work on the visual front make this a cut above other zombie entries of late and while there are moments that don’t quite gel, it’s never a bore to watch and between Lee’s vision and Cole Graham’s cinematography, there’s a lot going on here.

 

At its core, this is a familiar story done well, the acting is choppy, the script is wooden but overall this doesn’t detract too far from the blood fuelled violence and entertainment the film has to offer. So long as you don’t expect a game changer, you could do a lot worse than this, but you could also do a lot better.