"Evilenko" is a surprisingly bold biopic based on the crimes of Ukrainian serial killer/cannibal Andrei Chikatilo, who was said to have committed over 53 murders back in the late 70s through the 80s. Malcome McDowell portrays the aptly nicknamed "Butcher of Rostov" to a callous perfection here, bringing a highly demented, yet tragically disconcerted dynamism to the prolific child-killer...
It all started when Andrei Evilenko (alternately named, possibly for the sake of ambiguity or because of the word "evil") molested a young girl while teaching at a Russian boarding school. Following his forced resignation, he went on to work for the Communist Party following the collapse of the Soviet Union. During this time, he begins raping, murdering and cannibalizing children and young women throughout the course of a decade, while police work within their primordial bounds in order to attain the dangerous killer...
Based on what I know of Chikatilo, "Evilenko" is a pretty factual depiction of his real-life atrocities and does not shy away from some of the more "harder" details. Of course, pedophilia and child murder play heavily into the material, which definitely makes up for any out-right "graphic" violence and gore the movie may have kept off-screen at times. One of the more harrowing scenes is Evilenko's lingering interaction with a young girl whom he forces to show him her privates before exposing himself and coaxing her to touch him. That said, McDowell gives an extremely memorable performance with unbelievably jolting authenticity and pure despicableness. He's got a real Hannibal Lector "vibe" and really runs with it.
Overall, "Evilenko" is definitely some "rough" stuff and those strongly offended by kid-killing shouldn't even think about viewing this. To those who like serial killer films - I would advise you to check this out...
"Evilenko" is a surprisingly bold biopic based on the crimes of Ukrainian serial killer/cannibal Andrei Chikatilo, who was said to have committed over 53 murders back in the late 70s through the 80s. Malcome McDowell portrays the aptly nicknamed "Butcher of Rostov" to a callous perfection here, bringing a highly demented, yet tragically disconcerted dynamism to the prolific child-killer...
