Evidence (2013)

A detective hunts down a killer using video footage shot by the victims of a massacre at an abandoned gas station.

Review

We'll just say that the synopsis up there is a little...inaccurate. Also, the stars of the film are not Stephen Moyer (True Blood) and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill) as much of the promotional material will have you believe. The truth? Well, yes, the synopsis is accurate, in that these things happen, however, the 'in actual fact' is that the detectives (Moyer and Mitchell) stand as nothing more than placeholders while we, the audience, watch a found footage slasher movie. Neither Moyer or Mitchell can have more than, say, ten minutes screentime.

So after the introduction of the 'investigation' we cut to watching the footage found at the scene of a brutal massacre, as if we are the police. Clever, huh? Well it would have been if the found footage was good, and the short intercutting to the police was intriguing. Instead, within the found footage it's hard to tell who is who, or what is going on, why half of them are there, or who's arm has just been cut off. The police flail around and have no idea what's going on, and occassionally pull an idea out of their ass.

Apart from that, it's great.

In fairness, the film does have some good ideas. The idea of the film - even on paper - was a good one. The acting isn't bad from the real stars of the film. The effects are okay. The killer is pretty memorable. It's just executed badly.

The real stars of the film are the cast of victims found within the footage - those massacred before the start. Torrey DeVitto (Pretty Little Liars), Caitlin Stasey (I, Frankenstein), and Harry Lennix (The Blacklist) are all good in their respective roles. Writer John Swetnam (Into the Storm) puts down a solid idea.

I'm going to have to lay the blame for the most part onto director Olatunde Osunsanmi for making the footage parts almost unwatchable - by far my biggest gripe for the film. Which is weird in itself, because Osunsanmi is responsible for The Cavern, The Fourth Kind, and multiple episodes of Bates Motel, Star Trek Discovery, and many others. Having a bad day, I guess.

Also, without spoiling it, the big reveal, third act twist is just terrible.

Is it worth seeing? It's sort of 'of extremes'. The footage is terrible, but the idea is good. Does that answer your question? No? I don't know.