Evie (2023) Review – A Dreary And Disappointing British Horror
Evie: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A visually striking but narratively hollow entry into British folk horror that fails to capitalise on its atmospheric setup. Evie succeeds in looking the part, with moody cinematography and a stellar performance from Holli Dempsey, but the script is far too predictable and messy to leave a lasting impact. While it attempts to weave a complex tale of trauma and ancient evil, the resulting film is a slow-moving slog that lacks genuine scares and features an ending that feels both chaotic and ridiculous. It is a 1.5-star disappointment that serves as a reminder that production quality cannot save a threadbare story. One for the completionists only.
Details: Directors: Jamie Lundy, Dominic Brunt | Cast: Holli Dempsey, Jay Taylor, Michael Smiley, Liam McMahon | Runtime: 1h 24m | Release Date: 2023 (UK Release)
Best for: Fans of gritty British indie cinema who enjoy strong character acting and don’t mind a very slow pace.
Worth noting: Co-director Dominic Brunt is best known to UK audiences for his long-running role as Paddy Kirk in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale.
Where to Watch: Amazon🛒, Prime Video
Rating: 1.5/5 Stars
(Superb lead acting, moody cinematography, predictable and messy plot)
Welcome to Knockout Horror and to our review of Evie from 2023. This one is doing the rounds on Prime Video at the moment but I believe it first hit the circuit back in 2021. It follows the story of a young girl who finds a necklace washed up on a beach. Unwittingly wearing it and unleashing an evil that tears her world, and her family, apart.
Table of Contents
The trouble with British horror
Evie is directed and written by the team of Jamie Lundy and Dominic Brunt. The latter of which played the vet Paddy in the Yorkshire-based, evening staple, soap opera Emmerdale. That won’t mean a thing to readers outside of Britain but I thought it deserved a mention. I had no clue he was directing horror movies but here we are. Incidentally, all of his films appear to be very poorly received so maybe he should go back to acting.
“British horror movies can be a little difficult to review. They are rarely overtly awful, but aesthetically they often look better than they are.”
British horror movies can be a little difficult to review. Despite being Welsh myself and despite some of the highest-rated movies on this site being British, I am never overly excited when I see that trademark washed-out filming style set against a backdrop of muddy skies and dreary weather. British horror just doesn’t really do it for me.
Give me something European, Australian or Asian over the UK any day. With that being said, there is a certain degree of production quality that goes into the majority of British horror movies. They tend to feature a competent cast, an interesting, artsy, filming style and no small amount of attention to detail. This makes even the most boring and dull of British horror movies look, at least aesthetically, better than they are. They are rarely overtly awful and that is where today’s movie Evie comes in.
Evie looks nice. The cinematography draws you in immediately. An ominous soundtrack plays competent backup to the visuals and everything seems rather well put together. Sure the story is slow moving and a little over familiar. But it’s looking pretty good, so far. As we make our way to the second third of the movie, however, things start to fall apart. The story takes a massive leap into the future and things suddenly seem far less interesting.
A whole lot of nothing
The next two thirds of the movie flit back and forth between the current time, flashbacks to Evie’s childhood and flashbacks to the recent past. We see that adult Evie is a complete mess of a person and we don’t really know why. The remaining run time is devoted, almost entirely, to slowly extrapolating on what made her like this.
“The story takes the scenic route to get back around to what was completely predictable all along. This is one of those horror movies that is simply unsatisfying.”
The story takes the scenic route to get back around to what was, nothing short of, completely predictable all along. Nothing particularly interesting happens, characters are paddling pool shallow and the ending is as chaotic as it is ridiculous. This is one of those horror movies that is simply unsatisfying.
You can see where the story is going yet you are still disappointed when it goes there. It’s all the more frustrating when the movie thumbs its nose at you. Gleefully relishing in the plot “revelations” as if you hadn’t already guessed what was going to happen 40 minutes ago. Throw in a whole bunch of neglected storytelling when it comes to the main theme of the movie and you have an utterly disappointing horror.
A few good points
As mentioned above, this is a British horror so the artsy, gritty, veneer of well made indie horror is present and accounted for. The movie looks fantastic. Shots are well set up and Edward Ames‘s cinematography does a lot of heavy lifting. Sound production is decent and the soundtrack is very fitting.
“Acting is fantastic. Holli Dempsey does a brilliant job as adult Evie and turns in a very realistic and authentic performance.”
Acting is fantastic. Holli Dempsey does a brilliant job as adult Evie and turns in a very realistic and authentic performance. Jay Taylor is equally effective in a slightly more restrained role. It is just really well done by the cast, much like a lot of UK horror. Scripting is fine and feels very natural, for the most part, with only the latter stages of the movie falling foul of horror cliché.
Pacing and direction, however, is very messy with the later revelations feeling particularly ham-fisted and rushed. I would have liked to have seen more of the child Evie to learn more about her character, rather than simply presenting us with a young girl that was simply good before becoming a pain in the arse.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- Lead Performance: Holli Dempsey is excellent, portraying a broken and realistic character with genuine conviction.
- Cinematography: Edward Ames captures the dreary British landscape with an artsy, ominous flair that builds great initial atmosphere.
- Production Values: The film looks and sounds far better than your average low-budget indie horror.
The Bad
- Predictable Narrative: Most viewers will have the entire “mystery” solved within the first forty minutes.
- Messy Pacing: The jump in time and subsequent back-and-forth flashbacks feel ham-fisted and poorly managed.
- Lack of Scares: For a horror movie, it is surprisingly devoid of any genuine tension or frightening moments.
The Ugly: The “Folk Horror” implementation. The interesting premise of a cursed necklace is largely neglected in favour of a shallow character study.
Should You Watch Evie?
Probably not. While the acting is top-tier for this level of filmmaking, the story simply isn’t interesting or original enough to warrant the time investment. Unless you are a die-hard fan of everyone involved, your time is better spent elsewhere. It is a 1.5-star film that proves that looking good isn’t everything.
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