Review: AN EVIL TALE (2018)
Why do people insist on keeping creepy old dolls they find in strange places? Especially when strange things start happening within minutes of finding the doll? After everything from Annabelle to Annabellum: The Curse of Salem you would think they’d know better. But if they did writer/director Sam Siragusa (The Canaveral Chronicles) would have a very short film on his hands, as An Evil Tale would be about five minutes long.
After killing an attacker in her home, (it’s the second attack in two months), Trinity (Dina Najjar, A Brilliant Monster) and her husband Ian (Andy Hart) take a trip to Puerto Vallarta. While there Ian takes a gamble on a locked trunk which pretty much unlocks itself when Trinity touches it. She also starts seeing a ghostly robed figure. She’s afraid she’s going crazy. We know she’s not because we see even more creepy things than she does.
After they get back the couple holds a dinner party to announce they’re going to be parents. We also find out the chest held three old Scottish dolls and some rune stones. This pisses off his grandmother Mac (Karen Scheafer, Tattletale Corpse) who storms out yelling about a curse that apparently killed Ian’s parents. You know this will not end well
An Evil Tale gets off to a rough start when Trinity shoots her attacker twice at close range and there’s no blood. Which is odd because there are a fair amount of ghost and creature effects in the film. Why they couldn’t splatter some blood around is a bit of a mystery.
Unfortunately, that’s far from the worst thing about An Evil Tale. The script is a mess, full of clunky, on the nose dialogue, unrealistic actions and characters. Mac’s “Scottish” dialogue is as fake as her accent. And nobody acts like a normal person would during any of this. Even the non-horror, soap opera situations.
And it’s too bad, because the plot itself is interesting, though that might just be because I’m half Scottish. It involves a deal Bonnie Prince Charlie made with some witches during his attempt to seize the British throne. That leads to a curse on his bloodline, of which Ian is the last male heir to. It’s not often we see plots involving Scotland’s folklore outside of Lawrie Brewster’s films like The Black Gloves.
Sadly, even the final showdown is ruined by an attempt at a twist that’s more laughable than funny. And some acting that is straight-up laughable. An Evil Tale ends not with a bang or a whisper, it ends with a roar of laughter.
An Evil Tale is available to stream via Wild Eye Releasing. You can check the film’s Facebook page for more details.