The French sci-fi/horror film Évolution feels like someone crossbred Under the Skin with Womb, with a dash of Spring. Experienced through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy, one of several being experimented on in seaside colony of oddly similar women, the film doesn't yield clear answers to the mysteries it sets up. Who are these women? What do they want? Where do the boys come from? What happens to them? What are the motivations at play? Where and when are we, even? That's not to say there ARE no answers, only that the spare and quiet script doesn't include any kind of exposition scene. It's all there to be understood, but you shouldn't look away at any point or you'll miss it. It helps that the cinematography, though bleak, is quite effective. The ocean is a mysterious living place. The beach, a charred apocalyptic place. The resort and hospital, Fincheresque. There are multiple viewpoints at play too. Taken from the point of view of the women, this is about the malaise of child bearing (to say more would be a spoiler). From that of the boys, the push and pull of the world, its wonders and its terrors. Narratively, I might have wanted a bit more from it, but the more I think about it, the less I feel that need.
Up there with The Witch for the best horror films I've seen in a long time. Atmospheric horror is my favorite kind of horror and this oozes a creepy atmosphere. But there's some body horror for those fans that crazy the weird and gross, but only in fleeting touches. The cinematography and camera direction are incredible.
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traistboar
kanopy.Siskoid
The French sci-fi/horror film Évolution feels like someone crossbred Under the Skin with Womb, with a dash of Spring. Experienced through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy, one of several being experimented on in seaside colony of oddly similar women, the film doesn't yield clear answers to the mysteries it sets up. Who are these women? What do they want? Where do the boys come from? What happens to them? What are the motivations at play? Where and when are we, even? That's not to say there ARE no answers, only that the spare and quiet script doesn't include any kind of exposition scene. It's all there to be understood, but you shouldn't look away at any point or you'll miss it. It helps that the cinematography, though bleak, is quite effective. The ocean is a mysterious living place. The beach, a charred apocalyptic place. The resort and hospital, Fincheresque. There are multiple viewpoints at play too. Taken from the point of view of the women, this is about the malaise of child bearing (to say more would be a spoiler). From that of the boys, the push and pull of the world, its wonders and its terrors. Narratively, I might have wanted a bit more from it, but the more I think about it, the less I feel that need.CSSCHNEIDER
Up there with The Witch for the best horror films I've seen in a long time. Atmospheric horror is my favorite kind of horror and this oozes a creepy atmosphere. But there's some body horror for those fans that crazy the weird and gross, but only in fleeting touches. The cinematography and camera direction are incredible.