The Evil in Us

Director - Jason William Lee (Arrow, Doomsday)
Starring - Debs Howard (The X-Files. iZombie), Danny Zaporozan (The Killing, Roommates), and Behtash Fazlali (Lucifer, iZombie)
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Side effects may include: insomnia, rage, and cannibalism"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Halloween , the day most horror fans can feel like themselves without being ridiculed or looked upon as outcasts.  They get to indulge in the things they love but in a more grander scale.  Kids dressed as monsters, every channel playing horror films, most stores selling horror movies and collectibles, and all the fucking candy.  I'm obsessed with horror.  Most of you see this from my reviews but there is something special about watching horror movies in or around Halloween.  I decided to check out something bloody, gory, and graphic so I went with The Evil in Us.  This 2016 film was recently released on DVD.  I had received a press release for this sometime back and thought it looked interesting.  I reached out and was able to secure a review copy.  It wasn't anything original but it was fun.

     The film follows a group of former friends who go to a cabin on a small island to party for July 4th.  They haven't seen each other for sometime and want to reconnect while drinking and doing a little drugs.  One of them provides a batch of coke for everyone which turns out to be laced with a virus that turns those that snort it into a bloodthirsty creature who wants to feast on human flesh.
   

     The Evil in Us looked like a generic horror flicks or what I like to call "Wal-Mart horror."  These tend to have awesome looking posters or DVD artwork that makes the viewer think they are getting quality entertainment at a fair price but when you get home you get an unimaginative flick that is more boring than anything else.  It has some moments but this film is the true definition of what I mean by when I saw Wal-Mart horror.  The acting in this one is fun.  The cast does a great job at making their characters stand out.  They have a lot of fun with their roles which makes it fun for the viewer to watch.  The story for this one would have been fun and slightly original a decade ago but drug zombies are nothing new or fresh to come to the sub-genre.  Over the years we have seen several infected/zombie movies that revolved around a bad batch of drugs that turns the users into the undead.  This film is no different except it adds the secret government agency/bid business to the mix for those that love conspiracy theories.  The film is rather fast paced but that doesn't displace it from boredom.  Finally, the film does have several on screen kills.  The kills are brutal, violent, and some are surprisingly gory.  The effects look great which really sells the kills.  Overall, The Evil In Us is an easily forgettable film that had a lot going for it but lacked heart.  The film had a solid cast and some solid gore but lacked a story the viewer could get behind.