Insight of Evil (2003)

User Rating:

3.7/10   

Director:

Nigel Hartwell

Writer:

Nigel Hartwell (writer)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Her murder was just the beginning

Plot:

Teenagers go to party at summer cottage and are killed off by vengeful soul.

Plot Keywords:

Twin Sister | Ghost | Female Nudity | Rape Scene | Possession

Cast

Anthony Cortese	...	Jordan Schrieder
Tiffany Edwardsen	...	Tiffany & Tanya Beach
Chris Simis	...	Jason Bender
Mike Bruce	...	Mark Masterson
Cheyenne Ennis	...	Kim Sills
Charles Wahl	...	Ryan Levy
Elise Cormode	...	Brenda Schrieder
Jessica Brant	...	Jessica Roberts
Annie Pantusa	...	Meagan Moore
Norman McIsaac	...	Paul Schrieder
Nigel Hartwell	...	Chris Schrieder
Susan Bailey	...	Susan Beach
Edward Bridle	...	Teacher

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language, sexuality/nudity, teen drug and alcohol use.

Runtime:

82 min | 80 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:18A | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Belleville, Ontario, Canada

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Nigel Hartwell]the brother Chris Schrieder who blows his brains out in the beginning.

Teens in peril, in beautiful suburban Ontario

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

A slasher film is like a jazz standard. Thousands of musicians have played "Body and Soul," but the Joe Schmo Quartet's version isn't nearly as good as the Coleman Hawkins one. Similarly, "Insight of Evil" isn't a work on a par with any number of other teens in the woods, like "Friday the 13th," or "Moonstalker," or "Twisted Nightmare," or- well, the list goes on and on. Maybe it's a little better than some of the very lowest slasher flicks, but it's certainly a lot worse than the statistical mean for this type of flick.

The story starts in flashback, as Chris (writer/director/editor/music composer/misc. crew) Nigel Hartwell) blows his brains out after being accused of rape by Tiffany (Tiffany Edwardsen) after a night of drunken partying. We then cut to Mr. and Mrs. Schreider, Chris's parents, heading up to the very same house of the suicide (and subsequent disappearance of the rape victim), in order to prepare it for a weekend party that their other son, Jordan (Anthony Cortese) is planning to celebrate the end of school. That's all well and good, until they get stalked and killed by a disembodied POV shot, which apparently has the power to take control of others' bodies.

Now is the point in the movie where we meet the lambs who are about to be sent to the slaughter, in the form of seven dumb high school kids. There's Jordan, his nerdy pal Ryan (Chris Wahl), their drug dealer, bad-boy buddy Jason (Chris Simis), quarreling couple Spanky and Kim (Mike Bruce and Cheyenne Ennis) area slut Megan (Annie Pantusa), and, most troubling of all, Tanya (also Tiffany Edwardsen), who is the rape victim's identical twin sister. Thing is, she doesn't know whose house it is, or the history of what went down there. The kids are, of course, oblivious to their ensuing doom. Megan is downright psyched: "All I know is that I'm ready to swim, drink, and play a little strip poker."

Well, long story short, the disembodied POV shot (whose main powers are inhabiting the bodies of others and making those it stalks sound like they've been sippin' on some sizzurp) starts to pick the kids off one by one. It gets Spanky and Kim before they even arrive at the cabin. By the time night falls, Tanya is getting really bummed about the whole experience, and insists to Jason that she take him home. Jordan consents to give Jason the keys and take her home, leaving the cabin to be inhabited by Ryan, Megan, and Jordan. By the time Tanya and Jason find Spanky and Kim's deserted car, it's too late back at the cabin. Ryan is the next to go, killed by confusing editing. Then it's Megan, before Jordan discovers the remains of his parents. By this time, Tonya and Jason get back, in time to be attacked by Jordan.

In a long, expository flashback we find out the truth of what really happened with Tanya's twin sister Tiffany, the rape victim. Turns out that Jordan roofied her, and with the accomplices Ryan and Spanky, killed her as revenge for her making his brother kill himself. So now, her ghost (whose true form resembles a mash up of the Pig Woman from Twilight Zone and a pre-exorcism Regan) stalks the house, seeking revenge of her own. Although Jason's not entirely innocent here (he sold the roofies to Jordan) he's the nice guy, so he gets off, but Jordan gets it in the end, from a rock to the dome by Tanya (or is it Tiffany?) And that's pretty much it.

Nothing really new or original to say here, but mildly short and brainlessly entertaining, even if the sound did sound like it was recorded in a sting operation. Bonus points for the ridiculous pop stylings of the Ben Thompson Band, whose song "I Need a Little Time From Time to Time" would surely have sold a million copies if it had been put out by Matchbox 20 or some other such band.