Customer Reviews

Evil Remains

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although set in the usually eerie swamplands of Louisiana, EVIL REMAINS doesn't go too far in advancing the tired cursed land story. A group of students venture off to a supposedly cursed plantation to disprove the myth of it being cursed. Seems twenty years earlier, an abused boy murdered his sadistic father and passive mother, but his body was never recovered. (Hint, hint). The movie tries to achieve some atmospheric chills and its cast is more than capable, but it's too talky and under-directed to provide true chills.

Evil Remains references, pays homage to, or just blatantly rips off every classic as well as recently released horror movie. In the first two scenes, there are snippets of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Blair Witch Project, Jeepers Creepers, The Hills Have Eyes, The Evil Dead, Halloween, and fill in the blank, because when the credits roll you will be hard pressed to name at least one slasher film that hasn't been scavenged.

Nonetheless, this is a solid if not very memorable movie. Director James Merendino forgot it takes a lot of humor to glue together so many disparate pieces but that doesn't stop him from referencing two similar films that were quite funny, House of 1,000 Corpses and Cabin Fever. As a result a movie that could have been good is just a cut above the average slasher flick, no pun intended. Merendino also left out another essential ingredient for this genre: T&A. This will not start a trend.

The story is otherwise boilerplate slasher. Five students prowl around an abandoned plantation that is the subject of a vague legend. Four will die and one will live, and with this movie that isn't a spoiler. Two of the three male students are brothers, bonded by what apparently was a bad childhood (guess what happens before we know).

Yeoman acting is bolstered by standout performances from an uncredited Kurtwood Smith as the sagacious shrink and Estella Warren and Ashley Scott as lesbians who tag along to help on the ill-defined graduate work. The on-location New Orleans scenes also lend a creepy atmosphere to this otherwise ordinary film.

i just rented this movie the other day from blockbuster. to be honest after watching the movie the cover art on the dvd package sucks! it makes it look like a total b movie with the evil little face and estella warren with her boobs almost hanging out and why is the girl behine her in the cover blond in the movie shes brown haired and has dreds! oook lol. BUT i was wrong the movie itself is great. it has very creepy camera work as in shots of scenes and how they were taken by angles and such. the movies color is great! a little dark at times but for a low budget movies its looks like one of those bigger budgeted studio financed "in theatre" cameras used.

the music was very creepy it was like light errie ghostly whispers! and was put out more on the scenes when needed.
the original sound on the dvd is in dolby digital stereo wich is only the two front speakers
but I RECOMMED if you got a dolby digital 5:1 or 6:1 surround sound to set it at
dolby prologic 2 decoding.
set it on that when watching it the sounds ALL come out thru all front and back speakers brings the movie more to life! trust me just set ur surround reciever to prologic 2 sourround sound format on your reciever
and wow better then what they use on the disc LOL.

as for the story its was nothing new really boy is nuts.
kills parents and then is there really a
"haunting"
at the plantation or a curse?. and then these young look like college kids to me go investigate and then chaos begins sorry im not gona say what cuz i dont wana ruin it for you haha.

but the acting is VERY good all are above b actors. kinda almost seems like they should be doing bigger movies then this but hey you gota go where the money is i guess.
but the actors bring this movie to life more BESIDES THE MUSIC and the creepy cinamatography.

the thing that made me laugh was that old man RED from that 70's show is in this movie for like a cameo but i was like oook why is he in a horror movie?.

BUT ANYHOW go watch this movie turn off the lights raise up the dolby prologic 2 surround sound "recommended" and get ready for the heebie jeebies!.

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...

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.

If you want to see the girls on the cover of this DVD in sexy situations then forget it. Forget about having a few laughs watching a reasonably engaging slasher flick as well. This is one of the most boring horror movies that I have seen in a while. Skip this dreck, watch something else.

I love slasher movies but I admit that the hokey cover box of this movie scared me off a little bit. Then I found out the film was directed by James Merendino and picked it up right away. Merendino is the stylish director behind SLC Punk, a heartfelt indie film about the Salt Lake City punk scene in the mid-80's and one of my favourite movies of all time. Sadly, none of the director's trademark originality or unique style are present here. Evil Remains, sadly, is a derivative and mediocre slasher.

The first scene takes place on a New Orleans plantation in 1982 where a young boy inexplicably murders both of his parents, Michael Myers-style. Flash forward to 20 years later where a graduate student decides to write his thesis on this very same plantation that has been abandoned for so many years and rumored to be haunted. So he brings a notebook, a camera and 4 of his friends to spend a couple of days on the plantation grounds in the hopes of writing a killer thesis. Surprise surprise the plantation grounds are not deserted and the boy who many believed died 20 years ago is there to slice and dice anyone who dares venture into his home.

One thing I'd like to mention is that you should not let the horrible cover scare you away, as it seems to imply that this would be a slasher film for the pre-teen set. This is actually a very dark, scary and sometimes gory film that does have a few things working for it. The plantation grounds and its surrounding woods make for a creepy setting and the film maintains a high level of intensity throughout. But whatever "Evil remains" has going for it soon gets eclipsed by the fact that the cast are annoying characters who yell all the time and get killed off way too quickly. Only the Estella Warren character has a backbone to her.

I also would have liked the villain to be developed in more detail. In the prologue of twenty years back he was introduced in an intriguing way but as the film progresses we never actually uncover any secrets about him nor do we catch a glimpse of him as he just keeps running around with that stupid goat's mask on his face. What had the potential to be a great new villain in horror lore ends up being nothing more than a bland shape in a goofy suit. Another disappointment was the absence of any nudity in the film, especially considering that the two lead characters are lesbians. Such wasted potential. I kept expecting Merendino to inject his film with a twist or surprise but it never happened and this ended up being predictable and derivative. I still think he's a great director however "Evil Remains" has convinced me that horror movies just aren't his specialty.

I caught this on late night TV a while back, and at first I thought that I was in for just yet another bad generic slasher/horror film, 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.

About the females being lesbian, I thought they made a great couple, I think it saved them from having to have a 'forced' romance between one of the guys (now THAT'S generic!). And it just seemed like EVERY review I read before I wrote mine had that stated in there as if it was something of utter importance, or utter stupidity.

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 definitely be buying a copy for myself VERY soon. Don't let the hokey DVD cover fool you (why they choose a cover like that baffles me!), 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 rehashed, it's VERY original once it gets going!).

I thought the movie was great, but still had its flaws. Despite the good acting, the movie does little to establish its characters, in particular the two brothers with a troubled past that's brought up but dropped just as quickly in favor of some bloody slasher action. As for the brothers, that was a last minute thing that I almost didn't catch because it was so fast.

I do think a few of the characters could also show a little more common sense. One guy sees a freaky-looking image on a photo he just took, but neglects to show it to anyone else as incentive to leave. Another guy leaps off the roof of the house to escape but actually ends up backing himself towards the front door. And there's one lengthy scene that'll have you shouting "close the damn door!" And there was an exciting chase scene through the woods that makes an abrupt segue that temporarily kills the momentum. But, the chase scene, I think, gave way because the filmmaker wanted viewers to think that the guy the female heroine ran to for help was the killer.

And, after seeing this, you may wanna re-think just how careful you have to be in the woods, what with the dangerous animal traps that could so easily kill someone, or at least keep someone trapped long enough for someone to kill them.

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 great psychological slasher horror is supposed to be.

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 film! Thank you. :>)

Creepy, bloody, unexpected, a horror movie film for people who loves dark movies. An unexpected final and a photography that makes you feel inside the nightmare.

A Louisiana plantation was once the location for an incident involving a slave that had enough of the owner's bizarre and torturous treatment of her workers, resulting in a deadly fire. The acreage of said incident has been considered cursed ever since, with the belief of those who walk onto the property becoming possessed, violent and insane. Was this the reasoning for a son who killed his parents in grisly fashion 20 years ago on the supposed sour ground? A small group of young documentary filmmakers set out to decide just that; to see if facts can be discovered to validate the myth of the curse. An amiable low-budgeter that starts out sporting slightly above average character dialogue and interaction, a creepy and isolated setting, and fleeting moments of spooky, subtle unsettledness. The midsection sags a bit, though, which is unfortunate considering that is when the expected horror confrontations start happening. Yes, the climax picks up the pace a bit, but you're likely left with the feeling something was lacking. And how nine minutes of credits were accrued is beyond me, but you do find out the film's original title at the end of them, Trespassing, which is more fitting. And yes, that is Kurtwood Smith ("Red" from "That 70s Show") as a doctor being interviewed. 5.25/10