the audience applauded

A Masterpiece!

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Very very dark - so be prepared for that. However it is original and stunning visually and the casting for the lead, well, she was perfect. The actress playing Evangeline looks like a normal girl, almost forgettable, but there is something more to her, a sad past that brings wisdom and yet youth that wants to let lose, fall in love, live life. She happens to have the worst night ever, first getting targeted by some bad fellow students and then by an even worse person, but supernatural things occur and some redemption albeit gory comes. I appreciate that there was a wonderful Japanese actress playing the good friend, thank you for not casting all white actors. And I love that this comes from a female horror director which there is hardly any of at all! If you liked this movie you would also like HoneyBee (also a female director) and It Follows and Jughead.

How this movie got more than a single star is beyond me. The story line is weak, the villains are completely unbelievable, the Asian roommate story arc was put in there for no apparent reason, considering it went nowhere, and the movie flitted around like a fly with a broken wing with no lead ups to the flashes to her sitting in the chair. If one were to watch this through a "David Lynch a la Lost Highway" lens, one could suspend disbelief and see this movie for just a bunch of flashes of horrifying scenes of rape and gore.I saw a film project in college that went nowhere because the freshman producer got bored and wanted to get it off his plate quickly. I can't say this was much better.

This movie has some bad reviews here, but I thought it was quite good. The movie isn't so much scary as it is interesting. I found it very artful in it's delivery of the plot, leaving a lot for the viewer to interpret. Which is kind of refreshing compared to the hit you over the head style of Hollywood plot development. I also enjoyed how there wasn't a lot of talking in the movie. A lot of the character development was done subtly. The acting was decent, and the special effects are pretty much what you'd expect for a low budget movie. I found it intriguing and open to interpretation. Very well directed, and a worth while watch.

"Evangeline" is one of these new revenge / supernatural fusion horror films that blends classic vengeance gore with a paranormal element. I like this mash-up of concepts. The story isn't completely original, the themes and subject matter has been explored quite a bit in horror. What "Evangeline" does offer is a deep, atmospheric slice of human tragedy, and a test of Lam's more philosophical expressionism through visual art forms. I enjoyed that Lam chose to show us what the psyche split during intense physical suffering could look like. And by choosing that moment to have a supernatural development unfold in the character development goes a long way toward Lam's vision, and gives us our turn around in this nightmarish journey. The acting and directing is pretty tight. Obviously the budget was nice enough to bring "Evangeline" up to par with some of the recent films of this ilk. The production is quality as well. Unfortunately there is something of substance missing in a lot of the material here. The story is multilayered and for the most part the characters seem developed enough. It is just that I felt they were standard "Copy/paste" characters and there was no real emotionality to the drama or scenes that actually dealt with the crux of this story. Not to the level that the creativity and vision of more surreal scenes without dialog where everything was visual stimulation. Plus things just happen because they need to happen and that was the way they were drawn on the storyboards. No real suspense or intensity. The special effects rocked. Especially the creature effects on the "demon" or "entity" , (what little we see it). It is what we have come to expect in this genre and I recently saw another film with an almost identical story do it better, but all the FX are on point and look great on screen. The soundtrack and atmosphere is a haunting sway of despair lingering over the story. There will be as many people that like "Evangeline" as "hate it". The actual combining of the two aspects of the story are open to interpretation, in some moments are confusing. I loved the visual exploration of the victim coping during such a senseless and vicious act of violence. I only hope I have a demon watching over me and waiting for that moment to intercede.