Review for Evolution (2015)

Introduction

For the first time in as far back as I can recall, I’ve been moved to watch a film on the strength of a critic’s word. That just isn’t something I do anymore, as the films I watch either tend to be the Hollywood mainstream, which are critic proof, or the kind of obscure stuff that doesn’t even get as far as Film 20XX with Claudia Winkleperson. Let’s face it; my broadcast television viewing these days is confined to a few select TV shows, or the background drone of depression that is News 24. But the news does brighten up once a week, when a news reader steps away from his or her desk, and joins Mark Kermode to run through the week’s best and brightest, and occasional dross. Channel hopping through the news channels, I caught the middle of a Film Review episode, and the striking imagery of a child running along a black sandy beach, before cutting to an enthusiastic recommendation from Mr Kermode for Evolution. The visuals were enough to stick in my mind so that when a check disc came up for review, I quickly requested it. And I didn’t even know what the film was about, or what genre it was.


On an isolated island, Nicolas lives with his mother, in a community of young boys, living with their mothers. There are no girls, there are no adult males, and motherly love is somewhat lacking, although care and concern certainly isn’t. The boys are fed, kept safe, and given medicine to stop them falling ill. One day when swimming, Nicolas spots the body of a boy, in the rocks underwater. Only his mother doesn’t take him seriously. In fact she goes out of her way to disprove him. And then she takes him to the local clinic...

Picture

Evolution gets a 2.35:1 anamorphic PAL transfer on this disc, although it should have been a Blu-ray and not just for the teeny-tiny text used for the credit sequences. Evolution is a stunningly beautiful film, with rich and powerful cinematography, making stellar use of the Lanzarote locations, and deftly using light and dark to convey atmosphere, mood and emotion. The colourful underwater sequences, teeming with life, contrast with an almost monochrome surface world, black sand, white buildings, and stark costumes and skin tones. It’s a wholly immersive visual treat.

Sound

The same can be said for the audio, which you have here in DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 French, with subtitles burnt into the print. It may not be an action packed film, but the audio is immersive, not least for the sounds of the ocean, but also the chilling, and sparingly used music soundtrack. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the subtitles clear and easy to read.

Extras

The disc autoplays with an anti-piracy thank you, then offering Metrodome trailers for Spring, One & Two, and Partisan, before loading up the static menu. There are no extras with this film.

Conclusion

There should be a warning about isolated islands and horror movies. Of course it may be a well-worn cliché at this point (let’s face it, what isn’t?), but it’s all in how you accomplish it, and if you like your horror to be creepy, insidious, and subtle, then you probably won’t find much better than Evolution. This isn’t a film that goes for the shock, or the visceral gut punch of an obvious scare, this is a film that gets under your skin, unsettles you, and makes you uneasy. It presents a world that isn’t quite right, but seems acceptable to a degree, and it then it tweaks it a little, but draws you along, and then it tweaks it some more, still drawing you along, until the point the penny drops, and you realise that this world is a nightmare vision, and there is in fact nothing right about it.


It manages to hold the attention for so long because it’s a master-class in visual storytelling. This isn’t a film that presents its narrative cleanly, or logically. Instead it tells its story almost exclusively through its imagery, imagery that’s not necessarily chronological, more a broken train of thought. You’re left to take in the film, interpret it yourself, and try and piece together what the film is about. It’s a film that makes sense when you watch it, but it provokes even more thought about the questions that it leaves hanging, about the boys, about their mothers, and about the events that occur on the island.


If the film has a weakness, it’s that it leaves a few too many questions unanswered. I may not be a fan of the spoon-fed narrative, and I do love working things out for myself as I watch a film, but it’s the sense of satisfaction afterward that signifies how much I enjoyed the process, and I didn’t have that with Evolution. There is this slow build through the film, as if some earth shattering revelation is imminent. It’s the kind of feeling I got with Dark City, which more than delivered on its stunning twist, but there is no such twist in Evolution. All it leaves you with are questions.


Sometimes films like that are better. You might prefer having thoughts provoked, debate incited, and with its twisted worldview on maternity, and the mother son bond, Evolution will have you talking about more than just its horror and sci-fi aspects. There’s a curious philosophy to it as well, provoked in no small part by its inventive and unsettling imagery. If you like your horror movies off the beaten track, then you must give Evolution a try.