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To Kako "EVIL"
A Review by Geoff Bough
Upon first hearing of this film what instantly grabbed my attention was
the notion of Greek zombies. For a region not at all known for it's output
of horror films, I had to delve deeper and give it a look. Boy was I surprised
by what I saw. Director Yorgos Nousias along with collaborators Petros
Noussias and Claudio Bolivar took the bold leap of crafting what is being
called Greece's first serious attempt at a horror genre film. The action-packed,energetic,
gore-filled film has been making the rounds at various festivals and has
been well received. The biggest highlight of the film's festival circuit
being it's inclusion into the "Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe
Now!" section of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
The film opens with a small construction crew who breaks through the ground and uncovers an entrance to what appears to be a vast cave. The three men plunge into the cave and each feel an eerie presence. Later that night, the three men turn into flesh crazed ghouls. One of the men turns while in the middle of a nightclub dance floor, biting and infecting the rest of the club. His girlfriend, Dimitra who abruptly left the club after a small tiff earlier gets into a cab driven by the quirky pervert Argyris. Dimitra directs the cabbie to take her to her home near the soccer stadium.
One of the other men is at a soccer game with his friend when he turns. Rampage ensues as he rips the throat out of his friend and the entire arena becomes a sea of crazed zombies. The third man, a father is at home watching the soccer game on television when he turns at the dinner table and savagely attacks his wife. His daughter Jenny flees to a neighbor's residence while he pursues them down the stairs. 'EVIL' features the faster, more agile and crazed zombies who instantly turn. There is no gestation period of the infection, it is nearly instantaneous.
The film follows the story of two separate groups of survivor's, Jenny and her neighbor friend Marina as they flee their apartment building and witness a token gut-ripping scene as an unsuspecting man out for a stroll is mauled by a pack of zombies. Jenny and Marina later meet up with the strong minded and rifle toting Meletis. The other group being Argyris the cab driver and the often annoying Dimitra who rescue the lone male Andreas as they flee the now flesh hungry mob of zombies near the stadium.
The two parties eventually meet up and one of the best moments in the film quickly follows the meet and greet after they sit down for a meal at a nearby restaurant. While they eat and make light conversation, a horde of zombies closes in on them. What ensues next can nearly be likened to Peter Jackson's 'Dead Alive'. The band of survivor's are shown to be quite the defensive group as they lop off heads, punch through guts, cut ghouls in half, poke out eyeballs, choke zombies with their own intestines and kill ghouls with dinnerware. The effects are truly marvelous as there is plenty of flowing, spurting blood and squishy innards. Truly a tip of the hat to the classics of the genre and very well done.
The story is a little diluted with no real direction but I think that plays to one of the film's strengths. In that situation you might become utterly lost and not have any direction at all. I never found a boring moment in the film. It's constantly carried by intense action, an energetic soundtrack and hard hitting gore and splat.
It is easily apparent that the filmmakers have a strong love of the genre and it really comes through in this film. With 'EVIL' being considered as the first major horror film from Greece and seeing some success, I think it is safe to say that we should all be keeping our eyes on what could be coming next. 'Evil' is being released on DVD by TLA Releasing in early 2007. For more information on the film, check the Official website at www.tokako.com and for more info on the DVD release, check www.tlareleasing.com.