The Horror Show
Little Evil
by Eli Craig
Although tinier than their grown counterparts, children can be terrifying. They're suspicious and secretive. They feel emotions intensely and aren't afraid to let you know when they are upset. Because of this, many horror films have delved into the world of “Evil children,” perhaps most notably the 1976 classic The Omen. Another scary concept is being a parent and that includes being a step parent. But what if these two worlds meshed? What if an innocent, unassuming person suddenly found themselves the step dad of the spawn of Satan? That's the concept working behind the new film Little Evil and it's a whole lot of fun.
Little Evil follows Gary (Adam Scott), a normal enough guy who has just married Samantha (Evangeline Lilly), the woman of his dreams. Everything seems great with the new arrangement except for one “little” piece of baggage. I'm referring to Samantha's son Lucas (Owen Atlas) who just may be the Antichrist. This is no simple expression or spoiler, right from the start we know that colossally evil things are happening with Lucas at the center of it all. Samantha won't hear any criticism of Lucas, but more and more Gary begins to realize what his step son is capable of doing to the world.
The film knows exactly how scary being a step parent can be and takes that concept to the extreme level. The major milestones and fears of getting into such a situation are all hit and the film evenly explores the pitfalls of each one. All of this is aided by the strong cast fronted by Adam Scott who I consider to be a perfect casting choice. Scott has had an array of different movie roles in the past and is often cast playing either raging asshole characters or likable everyman types. This is because he is very skilled at doing both, and in Little Evil he definitely falls into the latter. Gary is a guy that is easy to like. He genuinely wants this new marriage to work out and he does his best to figure out the situation with Lucas. Scott perfectly tows the line between man who wants his step son to accept him and man who realizes his step son may lead to the apocalypse. Even when things are more supernatural and over the top, the real emotion seeps through.
The rest of the cast is fantastic and everyone is a blast to watch. Familiar faces such as Sally Field join the fun as well as a strong performance from Atlas as Lucas. One of my favorite elements of the film is the group of fellow step dads that Gary has in his corner and I couldn't ask for a better turnout when it comes to who fills each role. The chemistry between everyone feels authentic and it's incredibly entertaining to watch everyone interact.
All in all, I loved Little Evil. It manages to be funny, thrilling and sweet all at the same time. It has exceptional performances across the board and all the humor and heart lands wonderfully. But what else could I expect from the director of Tucker & Dale vs Evil? I absolutely recommend checking it out whether you're a horror fan, a comedy fan, a comedy/horror fan, or just like awesome movies.
P.J. Griffin, HMS
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