Evil Remains (2004)

Psychological Slasher Horror @ Its Finest!

I just caught this on late night TV last night, and at first I thought that I was in for just yet another bad generic slasher/horror film ("Jeepers Creepers", "Saw", "Final Destination"), but after the film starts moving along, and even though there are some scenes early on that look very familiar to viewers that have seen the likes of "Halloween", "Friday the 13th", "The Amityville Horror", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and "The Blair Witch Project", the plot and the acting and the story are so addicting that it is very hard to turn away...Then, wham, it turns into one of the most ingenious, original, refreshing horror films ever. Psychologically disturbing, supernaturally haunting, and bloody and violent and grotesque in the most brilliant way.
It is very hard to describe this film without giving away any of the plot, and some on here have done that (or have tried), and to do so would ruin the film for those who haven't seen it. For the whole point of the film is the mysterious aura placed all around and inside it. Three guys and two girls (I don't know WHY everyone on here keep wanting to stress that the girls are lesbians...WHO cares???!) go to an allegedly 'cursed' plantation house to investigate. From that point on, the way the story twists and turns, and the way characters turn on one another, lose trust in one another, misplace trust in one another, and question and/or argue about who and/or what they saw and/or seeing will have you on the verge of your seat the entire time until the end of the film.
The spookiest part of this film relies on the brilliant use of sounds, like floorboards creaking, walls bleeding and thumping, steps sounding as if someone is coming or going. Loud attic noises. Loud basement noises. Just flat out creepy!
I can't believe I had never heard of this unknown masterpiece of modern slasher/horror, and for fans of good psychological supernatural slasher horror, I heavily recommend this, as I will definetly be buying a copy for myself VERY soon. Don't let the hokey DVD cover fool you, this is along the lines of "Rosemary's Baby", "The Omen", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "The Funhouse", "The Exorcist", "The Shining", "Psycho", "Halloween", and "Identity"" as far as being a very top notch horror film. Very well made, and awesome casting and acting, and an awesome story (even though it may sound rehased, it's VERY original once it gets going!).
Hope this is helpful, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. If not, then check out a few other 5 star ratings on this film, for they are all valid reviews. This is what the "Saw" and "Hostel" films only wish to be.
And, after seeing this, you may wanna rethink just how careful you have to be in the woods, what with the dangerous animal traps that could so easily kill a Human, or at least keep someone trapped long enough for someone to kill them.
There is never a dull moment in this, and refreshingly, it's a film where the dialogue is very interesting throughout the film, for with every line of dialogue there is something learned about the characters and/or the plot, and/or both. Great mind f**k film! Thank you.
September 4, 2007

Good Movie

I expected this movie to be a piece of crap by looking at the cover of it, but after some convincing by my fiance I finally agreed to watch it. This movie ended up being really good & I was quite surprised. I did go into this with low expectations so I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. If you are a fan of the horror genre then I think you will like this one. March 17, 2007

Is this the Brokeback Mountain of Slasher flicks?

Not Bad Not Great. Ok lets start off with a group of good looking kids including a hotter then donut grease lesbian couple with my favorite buck toothed actress Estella Warren and some other girl with dreads. We also have the 2 studs that are petting each other and looking longly into each others eyes, not to worry though homophobes nothing happens at all between any one.
Witch to me is a missed opportunity with theses two young ladies, I mean damn this is a slasher flick and heck this is a new idea for the genre.
Now lets talk about the cover of the dvd witch has some pretty blond girl that does not seem to be in the movie. Look up Trespassing to see the original cover art.
Who is the dude with the red-eyes or what do's the bloody sickle have to do with this flick?
Not bad used for $3.00 bucks off Amazon with a great cast and a weak plot. June 22, 2006

A Contender For "Greatest Unheralded Horror Of The Decade"

"Evil Remains" is one of the most totally captivating, most intense, well-done, horrific and just plain Best movies to come out in what's been a great last few years for movies in general and horror movies in particular, so much so that it's hard to see how this one flew so far under the radar.

A group of young college students is heading up to do some research on an abandoned estate where violent murders took place some years ago. Sound familiar? Well, at First it is (but in a good way, reminiscent to me of the first time I saw the first "Friday The 13th" or the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre") but "Evil Remains" departs from the familiar trail before long. What we have is a movie that starts shifting and opening up questions as to the real nature of what's happening. Is this, indeed, "Friday The 13th" territory, or is it more along the lines of "The Amityville Horror" or even "The Blair Witch Project"? Is what's happening real? If it is, what is the nature of that reality? The characters don't know, don't have a lot of opportunity to find out, and the more cryptic it gets the better. "Evil Remains" presents multiple possibilities of what's happening and then keeps shifting the scales of probability back and forth and throwing monkeywrenches into the gears at the same time. It's also loaded up with truely interesting and likable characters, many of whom have intriguing backstories that are only briefly referred to or hinted at but that play roles in their own motivations and in the movie's larger story. And these hinted backgrounds rip open some new possibilities of their own. I would just leave it at that, vague as it is, but with this movie having gone largely unseen, I'd really like to encourage people to at least give it a chance, and I'm going to point out a few things that I think might draw people in. I'm not going to go past the halfway point of the movie but nonetheless, if you're already planning on seeing it, you might want to stop reading now.

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SEMI-SPOILERS(1ST HALF OF MOVIE ONLY) AHEAD ****


- In a lot of horror movies, a variation on one of two approaches is used: show the monster and the mayhem; or don't show it, use hints and suggestions, and let imagination take over. Both are perfectly valid approaches that have helped create many great horror movies. "Evil Remains" is perhaps the ultimate example of a movie that does both: I don't think I've ever seen such a full-throttle and visually horrific movie that still leaves so much to puzzle out and wonder about and imagine.

- Fans of truly gruesome horror take note: Leatherface's leather mask is brutally disturbing and Freddy Krueger's razor claws are deadly, but the 'dark bizarre' ante gets upped again here. Have you ever heard of a killer(?)(apparition?)(hallucination?) that wears the filleted head of a dog he murdered as a mask?

- If that makes some fans want to turn away from this, it should be re-iterated how interesting and likable the 'non-evil' characters are on here. All helped along by great acting, and many of them carrying some kind of mystery of their own, these very empathisable characters are, I think, going to win over some viewers who usually shy away from the more graphic horror to how great a lot of these movies can be, from "Friday The 13th" to "House Of 1,000 Corpses" and "Saw", for starters.

- Speaking of graphic horror, how about human-sized sharp steeljawed snare-trap type devices? That look nothing like anything factory made but dead-on exactly like something a psychopath with a working forge and sufficient time wuld cobble together in a basement of horrors, or a totally insane, possibly possessed mind, would conjure up? People who still advocate trappers setting up these things in the woods may think a bit differently after seeing "Evil Remains".

- Finally, if you've liked any of the following (and I know this is an eclectic batch, but this movie aggressively tears open a Lot of possibilities) I'd really urge you to check "Evil Remains" out: "Friday The 13th" , "Amityville" (especially the second one, from 1981), "Wrong Turn", "Fear Runs Silent", "The Blair Witch Project", "Tourist Trap", "Saw" or "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

Truly one of horror's great undiscovered treasures. November 10, 2005

Lots of potential, not a lot of substance.

This movie starts out, like most, with a pretty good plot, though it soon deteriorates into just another long, dragged out borefest. For example, you'll get annoyed with the never-ending card game, as well as the painfully tedious conversations between characters who become possessed (ala The Shining), most notably between Estella Warren's character and her on-screen girlfriend as they hide out (I won't give away more than that, in the event you actually want to see this one). On the positive side, Estella Warren's acting is actually pretty good (better than The Planet of the Apes, anyway). In sum, though, I wouldn't recommend this one.

Just by way of background, and while other reviewers seems to prefer to reveal much of the story and plot, I think that sort of ruins the film in many cases. So, you'll want to look for other reviews and reviewers if that is what you are looking for... August 28, 2005

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