All About Evil

When Walter Tennis passes away, he leaves a single screen theatre named the Victoria to both his daughter Deborah (Natasha Lyonne) and estranged evil mother Tammy (Julie Caitlin Brown). Deborah and the elderly projectionist Mr. Twigs (Jack Donner) want to carry on their father's tradition of showing horror films, while mother Tammy wants to sell the property for a quick profit.

When both family members collide in conversation to discuss the future of the Victoria in the theatre lobby, Tammy loses control and kills her mother with the very pen the mother offered to sign over ownership.

What Tammy doesn't know is that the security cameras caught the murder on tape and thanks to her inexperience in operating the projection equipment, she inadvertently projects the homicide on the screen much to the delight of the paying audience that believes they are viewing a horror short film.

Most admiring of her work is horror film fan Steven (Thomas Dekker), a regular at the Victoria and dotting fan of elder Deborah. Steven will continue to visit the Victoria as Deborah builds on her fame established with grisly shorts. And as fans begin to line up and sell out the theatre, Deborah begins her murdering rampage while creating such great film titles as A Tale of Two Severed Titties, Gore and Peace and Slasher in the Rye.

All About Evil is the directorial debut of Joshua Grannell who works the camera and moves his actors and story along like a seasoned veteran. From the opening credits (which we just loved!) through the bloody meta ending.

Contributing in supporting roles are Cassandra Peterson (don't make me tell you) as Steven's mom and Noah Segan who seems to be in just about every other obscure film I have watched in the past month. Noah's character Adrian will work as part of Deborah's filming rampage crew alongside homicidal and pale twins Veda and Vera (Jade and Nikita Ramsey).

With films like The Maiming of the Shrew and The Scarlet Leper titillating packed houses, we as a viewing audience get treated to the making of films inside the film with all the fun and camp exploited without excuses.

The film may go down occasional paths of expectedness – in particular when it comes to the investigating detective who is looking for missing schoolgirl Claire last seen at the Victoria, but there is little stereotypical in All About Evil.

It is at times horror, at times spoof, at times meta and it is very much a throwback to some of the campy horror films that paved the way to today's standards. As the body count increased, I could only imagine a packed house of theatre patrons engulfed in the horror premise – cheering and laughing with each new development.

All About Evil is headed to Canada in August 2010 as part of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. I will be attending the Festival and I look forward to revisiting the experience with a couple of hundred strangers. For not only is All About Evil a fun and ultimately rewarding film, but it is also a definite must to enjoy in the company of others.

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I was fortunate enough to catch the 4-D All About Evil Experience in Milwaukee.

Not only was the pre-show with Peaches Christ and Mink Stole a blast, but the film couldn't have been more enjoyable!

There is a fine balance that Horror films of this genre run where the comedy and heightened acting can either be extremely entertaining and clever or completely immature and ridiculous. All About Evil definitely fell into the first camp and all of the performances were top notch for this style of film! I couldn't help but laughing constantly throughout the film even though parts of it got rather morbid.

Secondly, clearly this film has its inspirations and in some respects it becomes a homage to many great filmmakers and genres. I have seen many homage genre films fall apart and become a complete waste of time due to the lack of ingenuity and a lack of understanding of the genre. Clearly Joshua has done his homework and delivered a skilled and well-crafted film that not only does the genre-filmmaking justice but brought much fun to the style. His film even has enough of his personal touch that All About Evil supersedes being just another homage film and stands well enough on it's own freakish legs as a new, great installment to horror films!

Go check it out! It's a blast!

All about Evil tries so hard to be a culty camp classic and at first I really enjoyed it. All the references to other cult classics, including my favorite awful film of all time, "Blood Feast" . John Waters drag stars, and a lot of blood, Elvira, all these elements show in a not so subtle way that the filmmaker was trying so hard to make a cult classic. On some levels they succeeded

I am not a huge Natasha Lyonne fan to start. Maybe that was part of the problem. I loved a lot of things about the film for sure. The sisters from "The Shining" was a terrific touch, but about halfway through I had had enough. Campy over the top acting becomes, well, campy over the top acting after 45 minutes or so. It is no longer funny or clever. It is just grating. The Grand Guignol blood scenes go from funny to gross. That is likely how this movie is probably going to affect you. You will love its' style from frame one to the very end, or somewhere along the line, and hopefully that is not from frame one. You will have had enough and start wondering when is this going to end.

Totally C-grade acting, plot and special effects (maybe intended).You will need take a few drinks to really get into it.. However the overall effect is not without its charms. Definitely a late night flick with your mates.Not very PC.

Two things attracted me to this film: Natasha Lyonne and a mix of horror and comedy. You can't go wrong with that combination, right? The film starts out as a comedy and even though it remains funny until the end, the second half is very dark and bloody. There are quite graphic killings and the ending is nothing short of a massacre. Yet, it still remains entertaining and keeps you guessing how it will all end.

The performances from all the leads are great. Natasha Lyonne totally disappears in her character as a somewhat demented auteur who gets consumed by her newly found fame. Cassandra Peterson puts on a very solid performance as a worried mother and there's even a nice little nod to her Elvira character.

If you can enjoy a mix of horror and comedy with a touch of the bizarre and macabre, definitely watch this film. You'll be pleasantly surprised.