Evil's City (2005)

So much average

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I was the principal cinematographer* on EVIL'S CITY ( credit omitted from the film at my insistence for countless reasons although it still shows up on IMDb.com ). My comments herein are based on my own observations and understanding, and of course, opinion, all of which some might consider incorrect.The filmmaker, a very nice guy and noted industry attorney ( hence my above disclaimer ), had sincere intentions of a quality project and a hip, entertaining moralistic tale; like so many first-timers stifled by lack of time, money, and other factors, the result was clearly otherwise (in my humble opinion).Originally budgeted at $20,000 ( I was told ), I refused the project repeatedly but finally agreed to lens the film ( my last favor for anyone, ever ) after meeting the cast and hearing the filmmakers detailed cinematic vision. The budget swelled to over $65,000 ( raised by a lead actor and another individual who "purchased" a small role ) ; most of the dollars were spent solely on "panic" last minute location expenses associated with complete lack of any discernible pre-production accomplishments. I know it wasn't spent on catering.Ironically, the main "City" street in the film, thankfully a ghost town in the story, was a movie-ranch set used in countless films and TV shows; it was almost impossible to shoot, as there was no provision for requested lights or power ( the filmmaker insisted that there was power on the street; he did not realize the 3/4 scale power poles were strung up with rope, not electrical wire... they were props, like everything else, miles from civilization). A mere few thousand watts of tungsten light on hand and a construction generator were provided ( hence the completely dubbed or inaudible portions of the soundtrack and the mostly black portions of the film ).In an attempt at complete auteur-ship, the film was edited, remixed, and color-altered by the filmmaker.Numerous people involved brought talent, experience, heart, energy and hope to the project, most without benefit of paycheck, but ultimately if a pilot flies a plane straight into a cliff, everyone still dies.This film and SNITCH'D prove anyone really can make a movie, and even get it on the shelf at your local video store. I'm not sure if that is a good thing.Of confounding interest to other filmmakers may be the fact that EVIL CITY sold to distribution with almost no effort a few short weeks after availability of screeners; DVD's hit the chain store shelves in the U.S. so fast that a star of the film found out when hewent in to rent a movie and saw his name on a film box he didn't recognize ( the working title of EVIL'S CITY was THE LAZARUS SPORE, and then CROSSING ACHERON by wrap of photography ).* Film contains numerous inserts and other material shot by the director or purchased stock. As for the color grading...

Although I gave this movie a 1 because the director put in the horror Genre I couldn't help but laugh at the awful acting the saddest most hilarious part about this movie is that the best actors were the crazy Hillbillies that beat the hell out of Harding speaking harding the other characters had some sort of hatred for this man because if you pay attention the three phrases you hear most in the movie are "Harding your an a**hole" "Hey Harding F*ck you" "Harding acts like a 5 year old" The movie also has randomly disappearing characters,Name Changes,obvious picture cropping,misleading plot,awful sounds,windows that break but actually are just copy and pasted triangles flying through the air well anyway if you watch this you will be sure to laugh its a riot trust me!

I like to mix up my horror movies between good and bad. Usually I will buy a couple of each and spend the day switching between trash and legit movies. I will admit finding Evil's City new for $6 made me think it was going to be horrible, but I was quite surprised with it.It's basically about a group of kids that travel to an abandoned town called Acheron. The town itself is supposed to be pure evil, and soon all the dead come back to life at night. Then they have to try to figure out if and how they can escape.Obviously low budget horror, but done very well, obviously by someone with a passion for the genre. The actors are above average for this type of flick as well. The sets and locations are actually creepy and well thought out too. My only complaint is the sound is sorta all over the place at times, but it's easily forgiven and doesn't take away from the movie.If you can enjoy modern tripe like Demon Child 666, Blood Gnome, or Satan's Little Helper, then give this one a shot.

not only does this film manages to have no plot, it also has some of the most awful dialogs i've seen.certainly, the story may offer some potential, but i can't help the idea that someone threw a few clichés into a pot and tried to obtain a film (?) out of it.from the start one can tell it's going to be a very amateur film, but as the film develops, we realize even the production is amateur - the scenes that should be happening at approximately the same time are filmed in what seems different time spaces (i can't tell how many days have passed, as time passed differently for the different characters) and the effects can't even be called "special"...i'd like to say that the actors tried to save this production, but it never happened, they just got lost within the absence of plot.save your time and watch something else instead.