Two young couples wake up from taxi rides to find themselves being held prisoner in some type of old building. The women are free to walk around the room but their significant others are handcuffed to hospital beds and have these wires attached to their ears and heads. We quickly find out that they are being exposed to a new strain of meningitis, which a group of stereotypical terrorists (with the worst Middle-Eastern accents) want to unleash upon the city. But they need their prisoner doctor to come up with an antidote so they won't die. They keep on threatening to kill his young son if he does not comply. A side effect of the bacteria, though, is that it affects the men's brains so they can see into the next dimension, where demons prowl around and clearly affect the behavior of the people around them. So, when someone dies they see their spirit leave their body, then these nasty-looking demons pull them, screaming, down into the ground, presumably to hell. But it's stated several times that if they truly believe in Jesus they can't be harmed by these awful demons.
The weakest part of the movie is the script. There are just too many plot-holes and unrealistic dialogue. As far as the acting, the best performer is Manuel Valasquez as David. He truly seems as if he's the character, as compared to the wooden acting by the rest of the ensemble. I can see him going on to other movies. The set is also odd, as it's supposed to be in some dingy warehouse but when there's a close up shot of someone leaning against a wall you see that it's simply that faux brick paneling, which makes the sets look even cheaper. The best part of the film are the special effects with the demons and they give a good ten minutes of creepiness in this ninety-minute movie.
EVIL BEHIND YOU is clearly identified as a "Christian Thriller" (can those two words be used together?) on the cover and its function is to put the fear of the devil in you so that you have to have a certain set of beliefs or you're going to hell in a handbasket. Oh, and it seems that it's those demons that make people do bad things in the world, not the people themselves. The film also heavy handedly has the stereotypical Middle Eastern Muslim Terrorists (who are made up to look like those cavemen on the Geiko commercials) being dragged down to the pitt. And in the production notes, the filmmakers make it a point to say that there's no cussing in the entire movie. There's not even use of the the "S" word and there are plenty of opportunities for the characters to shout that small invective. If you're a die-hard Christian you'll probably enjoy this movie as it will reaffirm all of your beliefs. If you're not a believer, though, at the end of the movie you may nevertheless be saying "Jesus!"
*update 12/13/06: This is one of those times when the Producers of the movie are upset with the review--but believe you me, this is a KIND review of the picture. Also,(and this happened with the movie THE JANITOR) these novice filmmakers should realize that if there movie gets a not-so-good review they shouldn't demand it get taken down. It's unfortunate that people's egos get so easily bruised but hey, I took the time to sit down and watch this for an hour and a half--and it's my job to give my opinion as a reviewer.
Two young couples wake up from taxi rides to find themselves being held prisoner in some type of old building. The women are free to walk around the room but their significant others are handcuffed to hospital beds and have these wires attached to their ears and heads. We quickly find out that they are being exposed to a new strain of meningitis, which a group of stereotypical terrorists (with the worst Middle-Eastern accents) want to unleash upon the city. But they need their prisoner doctor to come up with an antidote so they won't die. They keep on threatening to kill his young son if he does not comply. A side effect of the bacteria, though, is that it affects the men's brains so they can see into the next dimension, where demons prowl around and clearly affect the behavior of the people around them. So, when someone dies they see their spirit leave their body, then these nasty-looking demons pull them, screaming, down into the ground, presumably to hell. But it's stated several times that if they truly believe in Jesus they can't be harmed by these awful demons.
