Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Face of Evil’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

When one thinks of the horror genre, the most popular elements of the genre come to mind. You instantly think about zombies, or vampires or invincible slashers or serial killers because those tried and true terrors tend to dominate the market, and that’s by no means a bad thing. For right now, horror is king and having it become such a powerhouse part of pop culture has allowed for us to enjoy some quality scares in prime time on television or by way of box office juggernauts at the theater.
 
But, sometimes, seeing the iconic monsters dominate the genre makes one wistful for those days when the genre wasn’t so popular, when directors and writers tried out new things with the genre and in doing so, utterly messed with the audience’s minds when it came to their finished product. Thankfully though, there’s the independent horror market out there, and it always has a motion picture that meets our respective needs and recently, I had the opportunity to watch a scary flick that just so happened to go old school with its story and design, since Face of Evil managed to mess with my brain in magnificent fashion.  
 
Now in this particular film we are introduced to a soldier named Jay and Jay, has finally returned home after years of service in the U.S. Army and he’s looking forward to enjoying a little quite time in his life for a change. Thankfully, he also has wonderful, if not quirky friends, and a loving sister to welcome him home and just when it seems as though life is going to be relaxed from here on out, a strange epidemic breaks out, infecting his friends and people at random and now Jay will have to rely upon his training, and an old friend from the field in order to find a doctor that might be able to cure this rampant infection…

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​So, I made mention of the fact that this motion picture did a number on my brain and well, how it accomplished that, it what matters most when it comes to this film. Because this story, does a fine job of playing out like a waking nightmare since more or less, the things we fear the most in this genre and beyond play out before our eyes in this film. For example, there’s zombies to be found here, which are creatures that outright unsettle me, and it doesn’t end there since it toys with other primal fears that float about in the back of our minds, like getting sick or losing one’s mind and with all of those elements coming together in this movie, you often find yourself in an uncomfortable place.
 
Plus, that nightmarish vibe is only further enhanced by the fact that the film’s direction more or less creates the feeling of a dream like state while you watch. The camera angles are awkward, some scenes are incredibly over the top and intense and some moments are outright skewed just as they are during a bad dream and well, that does lead the viewer to wonder as to whether or not you’re inside Jay’s head during some kind of nightmare or if this epidemic is in fact reality and is shattering Jay’s psyche as it unfolds and thankfully, the movie does give you an answer when it comes to that, but it is best we don’t discuss said answer here because it’s better if you experience it.
 
Either way, this was actually quite the enjoyable horror film. Simply because it works to be something that is outside of the norm and that attempt to shatter the status quo is quite successful here and while this movie may not have been filmed on a massive budget, it didn’t need to be. It’s about Jay, and his quest for discovery and the unsettling moments we endure alongside him are effective and impactful and as I mentioned before, said moments really do keep you guessing when it comes to what exactly is happening to Jay and his buddy the Sarge and well, this is just a fun ride. So, if you’re looking for a horror flick that doesn’t feature the usual gory suspects, give this one a look, because it will definitely entertain you. 

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