Directed by Derek Diorio and written by Daniel Weissenberger, a young woman is held hostage in an EV self-driving car on an isolated northern highway. The car is controlled by a malevolent force that wipes out her digital footprint and her very existence, then delivers her to a Billionaire predator. Starring: Athena Park, Chris Farquhar, Josh Bainbridge, Amy Jean Cross, Morgan Bedard and Danica Lyn Lafrance.
Films like Evel may find themselves easily dismissed because of their directly, pin-pointedly on the nose title and synopsis, but that doesn’t mean that the film beneath the puns and attempts to make entertainment out of today’s trending topics, isn’t worth watching, and this one is. If you go into Evel with the right attitude, one simply looking for an easy bit of entertainment, you can have a good time with it. If you go in wanting to completely trash it for those points mentioned earlier, you’d probably also have a good time with it, because Derek Diorio and Daniel Weissenberger understood the assignment of not taking themselves too seriously, having fun with the concept and not getting lost in convoluted details.
An even bigger part of what makes Evel work is the performance from Athena Park. She hits the level of attitude and sarcasm, and exasperation for the situation, right on the head. She never gives in, she knows how to fight back against a giant ego, she stands up for herself, she’s confident, capable and smart, it’s an excellent combination. It’s also well done how she becomes frenemies of sorts with the AI voice, David (Chris Farquhar), which can’t really be unpacked without spoilers, but they have great banter and it adds a nice chess game style to the progression with each decision and obstacle.
The filmmakers also make a lot of purposeful choices with the visual, some good examples being the design of the car, which is familiar in a good way, the way it becomes almost a Home Alone parody at one point and the choices for Morgan Bedard’s wealthy villain with his classic evil goatee. It can lean on the drone footage a touch too much, trying to up the tech angle, which wasn’t really needed. However, outside of that, Derek Diorio’s direction is solid, it moves well, and it doesn’t try to stretch itself beyond what is accomplishable within their budget.
An oldie but a goodie of idioms, which absolutely applies to film, don’t knock it till you try it, give Evel a chance and you can find a solid piece of entertainment. It’s not especially flashy or complex but it gets the job done, and that is absolutely where the bar should be for a film like this. Athena Park does a fantastic job with this character, creating a highly enjoyable lead who’s easy to follow and root for. The visual style and writing keep things simple enough without feeling basic, they have a good understanding of what can be achieved. Headstrong woman versus classic ego-centric male villain, is a classic formula for good reason and it definitely works here.
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