Home Reviews Review: Evil Eye

Review: Evil Eye

Image from Amazon Prime's EVIL EYE

After watching Black Box, I assumed that Evil Eye wouldn’t be a horror film either. This helped prepare me for what I was going to see to some degree and allowed me to head into it with an open mind. What’s here is similar to Black Box to an extent, but it takes a slightly different approach and tells a tale that includes significant parts of Indian culture at its core.

After being pushed by her mother (Sarita Choudhury) to find a husband, a 29-year-old woman (Sunita Mani) finally believes she’s found the right man. And as she moves forward in her new romance with him, things appear to be perfect. However, her mother eventually comes to believe that things aren’t exactly as they seem as visions of the past begin to push their way to the forefront.

The fact that they found a way to intertwine some of the real-life practices and beliefs of Indian culture with some of the more mythical elements is impressive. Meshing these things together like they’re able to do allow for them to build an effective story around romance and a mother’s determination to see that her 29-year-old daughter gets married. In a way, much of this is developed like a typical love story, but of course, it eventually takes a turn into some murkier territory.

Much like Black Box, there’s a bit of a slow build here. Unlike Black Box, it was easier to get engaged with what’s here in the early going. That’s mostly because of how it’s laid out. We’re introduced to the characters who have all of their facilities to work with and everything is pretty linear in terms of what’s taking place. We still spend a lot of time with the characters, but it feels more connected with what’s to come.

I think making this feel conventional for a while does help in getting this to flow somewhat smoothly. Plus, there aren’t as many layers to go through as far as the story and the twists are concerned. At some point, you’ll just be questioning if the mother’s beliefs are right or not. Actually, when thinking about it, that’s just about the only question you’ll ever find yourself asking.

Based on everything that I just said, the even-pace in Evil Eye should be expected. There’s a gradual increase in tension but the transition from a movie focused on romance to one focused on mystery and what could be perceived as paranoia is pretty fluid. While there’s a part of me that acknowledges that the film benefits from this, I also need to point out that the highs experienced here aren’t on the level of what we see in Black Box.

That’s mostly because there aren’t as many layers or twists here and you won’t find yourself being challenged as much. For this reason, I would suggest watching Evil Eye first if you’re here for the more thrilling aspects. Then again, I think the chances of enjoying both movies are high. And because of the element of romance, some may prefer Evil Eye. I guess it just depends on what you’re looking for really.

Either way, Evil Eye is certainly worth checking out. As it moves along, you’ll grow more connected to what’s going on. The only real negative here for me was the ending. The way the story concludes is predictable, but that’s not the issue.

Granted, what they went with does fit overall, but it’s a bit less believable than it needed to be. That’s not to say that it’s horrible or that it ruins the movie. I just would have gone with something somewhat more plausible within the context of the film. Maybe you won’t have a problem with how this concludes, but I would have handled it in a slightly different way.

Regardless of what I would have altered, Evil Eye does just about all that it needs to do. And if we base everything on this and Black Box, I think the possibility of Welcome to The Blumhouse providing value to its viewers is high. I’m interested to see what else these guys have coming out over time. I’m certainly going to be paying attention and I think you should too.

Directors:
Elan Dassani
Rajeev Dassani

Writer: Madhuri Shekar

Cast:
Sarita Choudhury
Sunita Mani
Omar Maskati
Bernard White

Film Length: 90 minutes

Release Date: October 13, 2020

Distributor: Amazon Studios

  • 7/10
    Score - 7/10
7/10
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