Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017
Images from the Internet
The Evil Within [aka The Storyteller]
Written and directed by Andrew
Getty
Supernova, LLC / The Writers Studio Inc. /
Vision Films
98
minutes, 2002 / 2017
What would you do if you had large funds and wanted to direct a horror
film? Add to that, you’ve written a script that has a mix of some old ideas
infused with some unusual visions thanks to a mind riddled by years of a methamphetamine
addition? Andrew Getty was in this fairly rare situation and started this
project in 2002, which didn’t see an outlet until this year, two years after
Getty’s death in 2015 from a mixture of an ulcer-related gastrointestinal
hemorrhage, and a toxic level of meth (thanks to Producer Michael Luceri, who
saw the project to completion).
Literature, especially during the 19th Century, often had characters
whose inner voice was way more sophisticated than the person speaking them. A
perfect example is 7-year-old Pip in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, where the youth speaks in grammatically perfect
English while everyone else speaks colloquially. I am guessing / assuming /
presuming that Getty may have felt a bit like that while under the influence: the
ranting of a drug fueled brain while probably feeling like he was making sense,
yet not understanding why others could not see what he saw. This story and film
would have been a way to express that, and as from what I’ve read from various
sources, Getty had a history of bad dreams, the tripwire on which this film
lies.
Michael Berryman (L.) and Frederick Koehler (R.) |
Dennis (Frederick Koehler) is a man whose inner voice is one of
intelligence, keen observation, and fury, while outwardly he is mentally
challenged. He is being cared for by his older brother John (Sean Patrick
Flannery), who is well-meaning, but lacks patience and sensitivity for Dennis
beyond his own needs after caring for him so many years, and not realizing the
weight of the PTSD of guilt. Yet he is truly concerned about Dennis and is
adamant to take care of him rather than have him go to a facility run by the
State. Though his intentions are essentially good, this brings him on the
negative side of some people, such as Mildy (Kim Darby!), an overzealous social
case worker who wants to yank Dennis out of John’s fraternal grip.
Sean Patrick Flannery |
We are introduced to Dennis through his inner voice, as he relates bad
dreams he’s had since he was a mere wisp of a boy, mostly involving a demon
named Cadaver (Michael Berryman) and a more newly introduced mirror that may
reflect evil. Mirrors as a trope for a window for malevolence certainly isn’t
new, and was even used as recently as in the 2013 Oculus. Psychologically, it is also a “window” to one’s deep self,
and that is what a large part of this film plays on, specifically how much is external and to what level internal.
Often, the viewer sees Dennis having conversations with his image in the
glass, his “true” self a mental and physically slow man, and his “reflection” a
balanced, intelligent and violent personification of Cadaver, who we also see
in the background, or somewhere in a reflection of a reflection as Mirror
Dennis has Body Dennis point the new mirror to face one on the wall, giving
unlimited and not always duplicated images. This is a theme that runs through
the whole film.
As much as this is a horror film, with a demonic creature influencing
the living and infirmed, there is also a strong thriller level. Since we see
Dennis slipping in and out of the Body and Mirror versions of himself in single
camera shots, the audience is left to wonder if Mirror Dennis is all in Body
Dennis’ physically damaged mind. Even with some of the weirder, supernatural
things that happen, you’re bound to wonder if it’s a dream of Body Dennis, all
in his cranium, or is there really something sinister going on in a
supernatural plane.
Dina Meyer |
Adding to the family tension is John’s girlfriend, Lydia (Dina Meyer),
who is left in the dark on John’s refusal to let Dennis go, rather than
settling down with her to a life of wedded bliss. And Dennis has a crush on
Susan, the cutie at the ice cream store (Brianna Brown, who really knows how to
facially go from stunning to creepy in a nice turn), who of course is
incredibly out of his league). The three key women in the film have almost no
contact with each other, and this would certainly fail the Bechdel Test, but at
least the women – even Mildy – come across as caring rather than shrill, albeit
heteronormatively stereotypical.
Other than the cast, many of whom have had decent careers both before
and/or after the shooting (e.g., Meyer was just off of Starship Troopers, Darby has a long track record, and Brown would
go on to be a key player in General
Hospital and Devious Minds; even Koehler
started out as the kid in the sit-com Kate
and Allie), it’s easy to see that a majority of the $X millions that went
into this film was used for the SFX. Don’t get me wrong, it looks good enough
to be a theatrical release, rather than a direct-to-digital one.
Brianna Brown |
The post-Getty’s demise editing alone, by Luceri and Michael Palmerio, is
eye-catching, such as when we are introduced to Mildy talking to John; the
angle keeps changing as the camera zooms around them. Beyond that, the SFX are
pretty creepy, and when there is some gore, it looks sharp.
Speaking of the cast, everyone does really well, beyond what you would expect
for a b-film, but that’s not surprising considering the pedigree of actors,
right down the line. Pluto… I mean Berryman, who is completely covered in green
body paint, looks menacing, but I felt that he was underused, mostly in the
background to – err – reflect what the Mirror Dennis actually looks like, or
possibly the evil side of Body Dennis’ soul, anyway.
The story of Dennis’ past, which I won’t divulge in a spoiler, kind of
gives credence to the anger he would feel and the deep level behind Mirror
Dennis’ bitterness. This is a nice touch; again I believe reflecting on the
director’s own dabbling experiences. However, there definitely are some holes
in the story and certain things left me scratching my head.
Even so, it’s an enjoyable film to watch. It’s a shame Getty never got
the chance to do more, and we’ll never see what he could have accomplished. Stay
off drugs kids, or this could happen to you!!
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