Horror-comedies are a tricky thing. If you can’t find the right tone, the comedy
can overpower the horror. Luckily, the
writer and director of Little Evil, Eli Craig does a fine job juggling
genres. Having already directed the cult
classic Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, he’s quickly become a pro at marrying the two
genres and having fun with the usual horror clichés.
Adam Scott just got married to the beautiful Evangeline
Lilly and they seem like they’re going to have a perfect life together. However, her son just so happens to be the
Antichrist, which puts a damper on things.
She shrugs off his odd behavior (like using a goat puppet to talk), but
it’s hard to ignore the fact that people have a habit of dying around him. Teachers throw themselves out of windows and
birthday clowns set themselves on fire.
Adam finds it increasingly difficult to get along with the kid,
especially when he buries him alive in the backyard.
The movie takes an unexpected turn about halfway through
when Scott finds himself caring about the spawn of Satan, despite the death and
destruction he causes. I mean, he didn’t
CHOOSE to be the Antichrist. Maybe with
a little love and guidance he’ll turn out okay.
Adam Scott can do this sort of meek character in his sleep. The film plays upon fears of stepfathers who
are afraid of not measuring up to their stepchild's biological father. I mean how can you measure up to Satan
himself? Scott is the perfect type of
nice-guy underachiever that the role requires.
Lilly is also a lot of fun as the mom who turns a blind eye
to her son’s behavior. We’ve all seen
mothers who are in denial of their child’s actions. Because of that, it’s funny seeing her have
that same kind of detachment when she learns her son just buried his stepdad
alive. Lilly’s nonchalant revelation
about the morbid circumstances around her son’s conception is one of the
funniest bits in the movie. (“I told you
not to judge me!”) Clancy Brown and
Sally Field also do a fine job in their supporting roles.
Craig takes a lot of visual cues from other movies. There is a lot of stuff taken from The Omen,
with a little Poltergeist thrown in there for good measure. The general premise is slight and a bit
predictable, but thanks to the clever writing and fun performances, it manages
to very funny and completely charming.
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