Ever go to a party or, in the case of Evil Things, on a trip with one “friend” who couldn’t leave well enough alone with the video camera the entire time? I hate that guy.
Screening as part of the Edge of Night series at the Edmonton International Film Festival at Empire City Centre 9, Evil Things boasts just such a character: Leo. If you can accept the conceit of four friends who would put up with ol’ Leo’s interminable filming (and camera batteries that just won’t quit), then maybe you’ll have the patience for this Blair Witch Project knockoff. Showtime is 10 p.m.
The Evil Things plot is horror by the numbers: five friends leave New York and head upstate for a winter getaway at a family cabin. Along the way, they get followed by a mysterious van, lost in the woods and generally terrorized by persons, or things, unknown.
In fairness, the premise is sound; being trapped in the middle of nowhere, out of cellphone range and stalked would be pretty freaky. But writer/director Dominic Perez never drudges up much from Evil Things other than a string of tired clichés.
For a real trip about homegrown filmmaking, a better bet would be Official Rejection, which screens at 7:15 p.m.
