Now out on DVD Evidence gives home viewers a chance to experience this compelling crime film from the producers of Legion, Drive and The Hole. The razor sharp movie should be attractive to the horror crowd due to its cutting torch terror. The thriller has some excellent camera work that pushes the envelope with most sequences shot with hand held cameras. If you like your crime films that are explicit with panic, than Evidence is a must see.
The movie opens with a freeze frame slowly showing a mass murder crime scene somewhere in the desert at an abandoned garage. Victims are lying all around with the police collecting evidence. Switch to the exterior of police headquarters where Detective Alex Burquez (Radha Mitchell) is giving a press conference announcing that they have no suspects, but will be going over video evidence to solve the crime.
Breaking away we find Detective Daniel Reece (Stephen Moyer) meeting with Burquez wanting to be on the team of forensic investigators for the case. After an emotional chat involving a past case she agrees and the two set out to find out who the killer. They dive into the film strips found at the scene of the crime that included video cards from the cameras and phones. When the crack evidence team starts to get closer to the answer, Reece starts to question motive.
The movie gets played out showing footage from a found video cartridge that was partly damaged due to an explosion at the scene of the crime. As we watch we see on the burnt and scratched film a documentary being shot by Rachel (Caitlin Stasey) a professional filmmaker. The subject of her film is Leann Hoodplat (Nolan Gerard) an aspiring actress. The footage moves on showing Leann getting on a bus that’s going to Las Vegas where she hopes to make some contacts. As Rachel shoots the people getting onto the bus we are introduced to all the characters that will eventually be at the scene of the murders. When the bus crashes on a desert road the group walks to a nearby deserted garage where we get a forensic view of what takes place.
Director Olatunde Osunsanmi treats us to some very good plot twists and fine acting by Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Radha Mitchell (Olympus Has Fallen), Torrey DeVitto (Army Wives– TV) and Nolan Gerard Funk (House at the End of the Street) who control their characters within the frantic situations at both the forensic lab and the abandoned garage. While Moyer takes on most of the dialogue at the police station’s lab trying to piece together the mass murder through damaged video, Mitchell puts on a show for the press trying to keep them off balance while she investigates the crime. Both keep their parts captivating as they struggle with the gruesome task.
By using personal video to show the crime the cinematography provides a closer look at the incident pulling off a voyeuristic feast for horror fans. The project is filmed with special cameras that look sometimes professional other scenes amateurish to give it the look of frenzied horror. Much like the movie Cloverfield where the shaky personal cam was used to perfection, here we find a similar type of movie using the same technique to draw the audience into the chaos and terror of a crime in progress. While I’m not a huge fan of this kind of filming, I did like this movie as it makes it more realistic than using professional cams with flashbacks to the crime.
The sound quality with the Dolbly Digital 5.1 on the DVD is actually very good. The dialogue is very clear and the special sound effects are eerie and provide a lot of chills. My speakers on the Television worked well, but when using my upgraded sound bar it enhanced the terror quality of the film.
Although I am spoiled when it comes to a movie filling my whole 16×9 HD television, the letterbox here actually lends to the presentation of a voyeurs view of all the action. The close-ups are well done and most all of the dark scenes that are filmed within the garage are viewable. Although I did see some grain now and then, it didn’t distract from the gripping film.
Evidence has not been rated by the MPAA, but does contain extreme violence, language and gore. The scenes of body parts and burned cadavers aren’t too pleasant either. Be cautious when deciding to allow children see the film as it does have some scenes that inappropriate for the immature.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Stephen Moyer, Radha Mitchell, Torrey DeVitto, Nolan Gerard Funk, Dale Dickey, Caitlin Stasey, Albert Kuo, Harry Lennix
Directed by: Olatunde Osunsanmi
MPAA Rating: Unrated, but contains violence, language, gore
Genre: Crime, Horror, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr 34 min
Video Release Date: August 20, 2013
Original Film Release Date: July 19, 2013
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RLJ/Image Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
