Released late 2017, "Little Evil" is a Netflix original movie directed by Eli Craig starring Evangeline Lilly and Adam Scott. It takes place in the northern United States around the age-old story of step-father trying to get along with his new step-son. I think this story is a unique take on the genre because while a lot of parents like to think their kid is the devil, this kid might literally be the Antichrist. The movie is labeled as a horror-comedy, but I think it’s more than that. I really enjoyed the movie but there were some things that did bother me.
I love Adam Scott as an actor. I loved Ben Wyatt from Parks and Rec just because he was a perfect addition to the show and a cute relationship formed between him and Leslie Knope. However, as the character Gary Bloom in "Little Evil," Adam Scott feels like he is playing the same character. He is careful about making decisions. He is shy and not confident but has a character arc of making a serious decision which changes what types of decisions he makes. He still has a quirky, sweet, and soft-spoken personality which never changes from the different shows and movies I’ve seen him in. I would like for him to step out of his zone, so I can see if he can act, but it seems he is always wrapped up in the same character. As much as I say I want him to play something like a villain, I second guess myself and think that he could never do that. He’s just too soft-spoken and quirky to do that.
In the movie, there were times where it wasn’t quite funny but actually a little annoying. I understand that it was a commentary stating that the child is never at fault in parent-child relationships, but I think at some points it took that idea too far with the mother’s reaction to everything until the last minute. The mother of the child always took the worst in Gary’s opinion and never trusted him. Because of this, there were times when it was trying to be funny when it fell short or it was more annoying than funny.
However, despite the downfalls, and there were not many of them, there were some positive aspects of the movie too. The father-son relationship felt a little lackluster to begin with, on purpose, but near the end, it was a nice, loving story. There is a nice scene where they are at the water park and all the events leading up to it culminate in a cute montage of both father and son. It may have seemed a little cliché, but I was really rooting for the father-son relationship to blossom.
All the side characters were great as well. Although most of them were one-dimensional and were there for only one joke, I thought this movie could get away with it because of the insane and silly story. Gary’s “best friend,” Al, was quite an interesting character. Al introduces Gary to the step-fathers club where he can talk about his issue with the other step-fathers. Al then helps Gary find the pieces to this figurative puzzle he is trying to solve which creates an interesting friend dynamic, one that I think made the movie better.
As far as the directing and writing goes, not much was new. There was dark humor in there and, because of Adam Scott, there were scenes where he made it feel like a "Parks and Rec" episode, Halloween edition. The directing took aspects of "Shaun of the Dead" with the fast-paced camera shots of close-up actions. For instance, showing just the hand when opening a refrigerator.
3.5/5 Overall, not very original or innovative but a nice story that was driven by Adam Scott’s personality.
