Written and directed by Bo Mirhosseni, in the near future, war and corruption have plagued America and turned it into a theocratic police state. Against the oppression, ordinary citizens have formed a group called The Resistance. On the run from the militia, Alegre Dyer, her husband Ron and daughter Daria take shelter in a remote safe house, but the house’s dark past begins to eat away at Ron. Starring: Paul Wesley, Jackie Cruz, Murphee Bloom and Rhonda Johnson Dents.
The more time that passes, the more dystopian tales of oppression start to run closer to home, seeming less far reaching or unrealistic. History of Evil is one of those stories, it feels just beyond our grasp and considering that it comes from a personal place for Bo Mirhosseni, that makes a lot of sense. However, whereas the mystery and tone of Mirhosseni’s writing feel very present, the weight of its political foundation feels underused. It falls into a surprisingly typical hysteria and madness, and the war aspects seem to fade away.
You can make some very overt references with History of Evil because Ron’s (Paul Wesley) descent feels extremely familiar. The first of which would have to be The Shining, it feels as though it’s not trying to veil its nods to the horror classic at all. Wesley does a great job of portraying that lost grip on reality, the increasing of ease to anger and violence, he gives the role everything it needs.
Although it feels like a role that got too much of the runtime, the real heart of this story is Jackie Cruz’s Alegre, she embodies the morality and resistance of their journey but never really gets the time to do it justice. The story plays things too contained to give her the space to take the lead, even though the performance is emotional and captivating.
Whereas visually Mirhosseni has a better balance between the different themes to the story. There’s a solid atmosphere that’s packed with tension and risk, and while the flow of the story might not be perfect, there’s a lot of confidence in the way that it moves. The style has a good edge but it’s not trying too hard, the tone darkens as time goes on and nicely builds to its big crescendo.
History of Evil is mysterious, tense and dark but struggles to live up to its full potential. It smoothly plays with the line of reality, backed by a constant looming threat. The political themes set a good foundation but feel as though they can’t see it through to the end. The performances are solid and Rhonda Johnson Dents is a great compliment to the leading couple, but it feels as though too much time is given to Paul Wesley’s Ron. Taking too much attention away from the stronger veins to the story.
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