The Evil Down the Street (2019) Movie Review
Written By: FR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: David J. Espinosa
Writers: Craig Ahrens, David J. Espinosa
Producer: Carol Behar, Shoshana Chagall, Todd Chase, Buzz Cuccia, et. al.
Date Released: May 8, 2019
Cast:
Kelton Jones as Michael Ryan
Alena Gerard as Katie Ryan
Tara Milante as Kristen Ryan
Sophia Sparks as Maddy Ryan
David J. Espinosa as Father Bob
Craig Ahrens as Bill Lawford
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The Ryan family moves into their new dream home having no idea their new home is possessed by a demon. Katie Ryan becomes tormented by the demon and begins to terrorize her own family. The movie claimed that this is a paranormal horror thriller inspired by true events.
Gore Factor
The Evil Down the Street provides nothing unique or shocking. Not many scares, no gore and absolutely no paranormal special effects. That actually scores points when the storyline can be pulled off without relying on cheap tricks that often dumb down the plot for the viewer.
The Grave Review
Of course, like any possession film, in walks the priest coming to cleanse the house and perform an impromptu exorcism. It does accentuates a good job as the matter-of-fact clergyman, pinpointing the malevolent spirit within Katie and testing its influence.
The Evil Down the Street (2019) is “inspired by true events”. That’s always a dicey proposition in Hollywood; you can’t be sure what the distance between what you’re seeing, and the real story is. In this case, the family affected wanted the story faithfully told and stayed away from any notoriety. That shows from the get-go in an almost remarkable level of restraint.
The real horror of the situation is what happened to the family and how they had to fight to keep it all together. The Evil Down the Street is more of a family drama with the trappings of horror. There are some effective shots and moments that are well set up and work well. Alena Gerard is the centerpiece as Katie, changing faces at the drop of a hat and putting in serious work.
Despite the uneasy look and mediocre cinematography, there are some glaring issues as well. A stronger score would have benefited the film, and the chemistry isn’t always there between Dad and the kids.
There are some atmospheric moments and jump scares in The Evil Down the Street. Quite a few of them in fact, it does what it does well. It has some good performances too, especially from Michael Jones. But the familiar material and handling keep dragging it back down. Although it doesn’t completely deliver on the typical sinister tone of a possession movie, this is at least worth the watch to see a bit of comic relief thrown in by writer Craig Aherns as he desperately tries to reel in his chatterbox of a wife.
Because of the above reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Evil Down the Street (2019) two graves out of five graves.
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