An interesting look into the world of the BBFC? A study of James Ferman's daily life? No such luck. However, EVIL ED remains strangely topical, especially for UK viewers who will no doubt find themselves intrigued by the story of a censor who is driven insane by the films he views.
Films like this make me wonder about the future of horror. I mean, where is it going? Jaded audiences are so used to seeing gore effects in mainstream movies today that another pint of blood won't hurt, or another, or another. It seems to me that nothing is ever going to be remotely scary anymore.
EVIL ED is a perfect example of this. Whereas 10 years earlier we laughed at an eyeball flying into an open mouth, we're now supposed to laugh at someone getting repeatedly punched in the face and bleeding heavily from the beating. There is a violence overload in this film. To distinguish it from all of the other horror films coming out these days, this one is actually foreign, a Swedish movie.
It's got a simple plot, which is little more than an excuse for lots of bad overacting, nudity, and gore. The acting ranges from atrocious to pretty average, at least everyone realises they're in a comedy film here. The actor playing Sam Campbell (get it?) is fairly efficient, while the EVIL ED character isn't bad, especially as he slowly becomes insane (shown by his hair getting wilder, and getting covered in more and more blood). The horror takes a back seat to the comedy, and it's what you would expect from a foreign film of this type (i.e. pretty spaced out humour, ranging from extremely dark to extremely childish in form). There's a lot of gore in the film to enjoy, and which keeps you watching, but it's very rubbery, much like the gore in BRAINDEAD (no doubt an inspiration). It's mildly entertaining, if not exactly intellectual.
Apart from that, watch out for plot discrepancies and lots of general silliness which may or may not be to your liking. The makers of this film were obviously big horror fans, as loads of references to the EVIL DEAD series have been included, as well as 'homages' to stuff like GREMLINS which gets annoying after a while (where's the originality these days?). Yep, I just knew they would have a camera rushing through murky corridors, a la Mr Raimi. EVIL ED is nothing special but it does pass the time if you're VERY desperate or if you want to take a look at foreign cinema.
Films like this make me wonder about the future of horror. I mean, where is it going? Jaded audiences are so used to seeing gore effects in mainstream movies today that another pint of blood won't hurt, or another, or another. It seems to me that nothing is ever going to be remotely scary anymore.
EVIL ED is a perfect example of this. Whereas 10 years earlier we laughed at an eyeball flying into an open mouth, we're now supposed to laugh at someone getting repeatedly punched in the face and bleeding heavily from the beating. There is a violence overload in this film. To distinguish it from all of the other horror films coming out these days, this one is actually foreign, a Swedish movie.
It's got a simple plot, which is little more than an excuse for lots of bad overacting, nudity, and gore. The acting ranges from atrocious to pretty average, at least everyone realises they're in a comedy film here. The actor playing Sam Campbell (get it?) is fairly efficient, while the EVIL ED character isn't bad, especially as he slowly becomes insane (shown by his hair getting wilder, and getting covered in more and more blood). The horror takes a back seat to the comedy, and it's what you would expect from a foreign film of this type (i.e. pretty spaced out humour, ranging from extremely dark to extremely childish in form). There's a lot of gore in the film to enjoy, and which keeps you watching, but it's very rubbery, much like the gore in BRAINDEAD (no doubt an inspiration). It's mildly entertaining, if not exactly intellectual.
Apart from that, watch out for plot discrepancies and lots of general silliness which may or may not be to your liking. The makers of this film were obviously big horror fans, as loads of references to the EVIL DEAD series have been included, as well as 'homages' to stuff like GREMLINS which gets annoying after a while (where's the originality these days?). Yep, I just knew they would have a camera rushing through murky corridors, a la Mr Raimi. EVIL ED is nothing special but it does pass the time if you're VERY desperate or if you want to take a look at foreign cinema.