The October Zombie-Thon! - Day 6: Evil
Posted by Trevor Snyder on 10.06.2007
Zombies go Greek...no, not like that, you pervert.
EVIL (To Kako) (2005)
Written & Directed by: Yorgos Noussias
Country: Greece
In zombie films, just as in life, a little energy and passion can go a long way. Sure, you can spend your time coming up with overly elaborate stories and complicated plot twists but, as films like Shatter Dead have taught us, if you don't have the budget (or talent) to pull it off, you might as well not even bother.
Better, then, to avoid trying to reinvent the zombie wheel (as too many ambitious filmmakers have attempted, and failed), and instead simply get back to the basics and approach the old-fashioned with a lot of heart and enthusiasm.
Need proof? Check out Evil, a blood-drenched spectacle that bills itself as the first Greek gore film. I freely admit that I don't know enough about the Greek film industry to have any idea whether this is true or not; but if it is, they're certainly off to a decent start.
In terms of story, Evil doesn't really bring anything new to the zombie-film table; but, as far as overall execution goes, it approaches the familiar scenarios and clichés with admirable zeal and liveliness. For instance, while a number of zombie films I've seen fart around for quite a long time before even getting to the goods, Evil recognizes what its viewers are here to see, and starts pouring on the mayhem almost immediately.
The film opens with three friends exploring a cave somewhere in Athens, when they are attacked by…something. The movie doesn't bother getting into what kind of evil force it was lurking down there, and good for it. Writer/director Yorgos Noussias is smart enough to know that it doesn't really matter – we don't require explanations for everything. If you can deliver the goods, then I'm more than happy to just accept that the three were attacked by something bad, and that's that.
And bad it must have been, for it soon has the men, now back to their normal lives – if acting a little strange – suddenly turning into raving maniacs and attacking anyone near them. Keep in mind the movie has barely hit the 10-minute mark when this starts to go down, which should give you some idea of the film's rapid sense of pacing. Alas, as striking as the sequence is, with one of the men going crazy at a crowded nightclub and another suddenly tearing into his family at the dinner family, the film still misses a great opportunity: it teases a very cool shot, as the third man turns and begins mauling those seated next to him at a soccer game. This is the kind of movie where anyone bitten almost immediately turns into a zombie themselves, so for a second we think we will see this violent epidemic sweep through the entire crowd in one uninterrupted shot. Unfortunately, the scene cuts away after only a couple seconds.
Oh well, it's not like there's any lack of mayhem to make up for this faux-pas. With the bite's almost immediate effect, and the fact that these zombies are of the ultra-aggressive and super-fast variety, the madness soon takes over all of Athens. From this point on, the movie turns into a sort of hybrid of 28 Days Later and Run Lola Run, with a group of survivors endlessly chased by the flesh-hungry infected. This probably sounds somewhat tiresome, and it definitely could have been, but Evil gets great mileage out of its sheer vigor, ramping up the constant chase scenes with rapid editing and very clever use of 24-esque split-screens. These split-screens may, in fact, be Evil's best element, as they are entirely unique to the genre, and therefore give the film a distinctive feeling, something far too few zombie films even try for.
Also to Evil's advantage are its actors, who bring a lot of charisma and likeability to characters that are, truthfully, somewhat one-note. The film does allow them a few quiet, relaxed moments where they are able to hide-out for a time, and we get to know them a little better. It's a testament to the actors that we actually begin to kind of care for these people, and actually want to see them make it out of the city alive. Of course, we know they all won't, and when they do start dropping, we're actually sad to see them meet their fate. I've watched numerous zombie films where I couldn't care less who lived and who died, so whenever a movie actually makes me say, "damn, I was really hoping he would live," I know it's doing something right.
On a side-note, the film's most intriguing character is Argyris, a horn-dog taxi driver who seems more annoyed than terrified by the whole zombie invasion thing, and refuses to let it get in the way of constantly putting the moves on the beautiful Dimitra. He's a blast, although he's played by an actor who, at least in my opinion, looks almost distractingly too much like former Daily Show correspondent Rob Cordry (on a side-side note, a zombie movie starring the actual Rob Cordry is totally something I would pay to see – can we get somebody on this?).
Anyway, I'm sure most of you are probably more concerned with whether or not the film delivers on the bloodshed scale than the "do any of its cast members look like former Comedy Central stars" scale, so let me just assure you that Evil definitely hits a home run in the blood and guts department. This is yet another zombie flick that clearly looks up to Peter Jackson's Dead Alive as inspiration, and therefore goes all-out when it comes to constantly showering the screen – and its cast – with crimson. Unfortunately, the Dead Alive aspiration is also a weakness, as the scene that most clearly imitates Jackson's style – an extended café battle between our heroes and the undead – goes on a bit too long and gets a little too goofy for its own good. Still, though, gore-hounds will be very appreciative of the near-constant decapitations, blown-away heads, flesh-munching, and all other sorts of gooey havoc. As I said, Evil is supposedly Greece's first gore film, and Noussias goes for it almost as if he were afraid there would never be another one.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I finished the review without at least briefly giving a shout-out to the film's closing seconds, which consist of one of the coolest final shots I've ever seen in a zombie film, period – although those who like their endings nice and happy will probably disagree with me on that one.
Overall, Evil is not exactly groundbreaking, nor does it deliver anything all that new to the story department of the zombie genre. Still, it goes to great lengths to breathe some fresh and innovative life into an otherwise tired formula, with a cool visual style and a healthy amount of onscreen carnage. Yorgos Noussias' passion for the genre, and his desire to give its fans one hell of a ride, is evident in every exciting frame. Here, finally, is a zombie film that wants nothing more than to go balls-out and entertain you for 80 minutes. Every once and awhile, you want something deeper and more thoughtful in your zombie films. But, then, every once and awhile you just want something like Evil, which has no qualms about what it is. Amen to that.
