Evil Awakening (2004) Reviewed by Adeno
Evil Awakening is a low budget horror movie from X Posse Productions, created by “guerilla film makers”. The story follows Sam, the very foul mouthed evil buddy of Geno, who is the complete opposite, in a place called Ludlow, which used to be haunted by the “Cochwoods Monster” (this is spelled at the credits, not Cockwoods). Is the movie worth two full teriyaki chicken bowls? We’ll find out!
1. The Story
The 2004 version of Evil Awakening is a follow up to the 1996 movie, which was done when Geno, Steve, and friends were still very young. In the original story, some evil guy in Ludlow got killed and came back for revenge as the “Cochwoods Monster” everytime somebody pleasures themselves in the woods. Even this movie is already hilariously effective, considering that the guys who did this were just kids at that time. Fortunately, this version is included in the Features section of the DVD. I suggest you watch this first before the main 2004 version so as to have connection to the main story.
Anyway, in Evil Awakening 2004, our heroes (including Sam the evil foul mouthed buddy) are already grown up, but the recent masturbatory explorations of certain people in the woods start worrying Sam, who thinks that the Cochwoods Monster would seek revenge on Geno, who helped destroy him in the first movie.
The story moves on from there in a normal pace which wouldn’t bore you, and wouldn’t make you think too much is being shown at once. There’s a lot of funny stuff going on and hilarious lines to be heard. It’s just the right progression from start to finish.
2. Acting
If there’s an “Evil Awakening” acting award to be given, I’d give it to Steve for really making the character Sam alive. I just find huge, evil, foul mouthed people adorable, and he delivers it well.
Geno plays the good guy role just fine. Actually he also plays other characters in this movie, just like Eddie Murphy! When he switches characters, he does it alright, he even gets the voice needed, so I say it’s really an effort that paid off well. Jeremy as Detective Carmichael is really perfect for his role. He looks mature and well composed, which is to be expected for roles involving men of authority.
The rest of the cast also did their parts well, although there are some parts where the actors seem a bit uneasy in the party scene. Well, there’s no music until it was added later and they’re supposed to dance, maybe that’s why. As for the Cochwoods Monster, although he did the “I Shall Stalk and Kill You” acting just fine, I was left wishing that he’d have a little something more, like maybe after killing a person, he’d masturbate on them and a white/brownish sludge would cover the victim, finally dissolving him or her into just skeletal remains. He’s called the Cochwoods Monster anyway!
3. Camera and Lighting
No rails or fancy camera work here, and that’s understandable because this is an independent film. They were able to work with what they had, and it’s pretty effective. There jut seems to be a little tad too much of back shots during Geno and Sam’s visit to the old guy. Maybe it was just hard to take different angle shots in a cramped up space.
As for the lighting, most of the filming took during the daytime so there’s really nothing too challenging when it comes to this department. The only dark night scene they had, fortunately worked, even with the absence of proper lighting equipment.
4. Make Up and Effects
Make up doesn’t really bother me much for horror movies, unless it’s a zombie one where I expect each zombie to look like a real decomposing dead body. For this film, I don’t think make up’s really that necessary for men. Of course, the girls who appeared near the end of the movie were all pretty, so whoever did their make up really gave them an aesthetic fix.
The Cochwoods Monster mask looks like a corral-sponge skull, but he still looks pretty ok for a monster.
As for the effects, it was just lacking here. Weapon fire doesn’t have a flash of violent light or smoke, but since there’s not really a lot of heavy gunfire action, it’s still all right. The blood is well done, just like what you’d expect from the more expensively produced horror movies. The guts and organs department just worked well, although I would’ve expected a more pinkish linked sausage used for those stomach scenes.
5. Sound and Music
The sound effects in this movie are alright. The monster’s scream sounds like it came from a Godzilla movie monster, namely, Rodan the pterodactyl. Although outside noise hasn’t been completely filtered out, it’s alright since filtering is another job that really needs a lot of budget.
As for the music, the heavy metal ones really catch me! Bitchslicer really rocks! I’m a fan of heavy metal music and I say Bitchslicer has what it takes to perform up there with Metallica and Megadeath if only they existed in the 80s! They’re really good!
6. Extras
Now this is really well made for an independent film! They have commentaries which just cracks me up whenever I turn it on, they also have a trailer for their Rise of The Scarecrow movie which looks interesting, a Bitchslicer video which is my second favorite feature, and of course, the 1996 version of Evil Awakening, my favorite! Really good job for giving more than the main movie!
Adeno Says:
This movie is really worth two delicious teriyaki bowls! For the same price, this movie lasts longer than 2 meals with hilarity all throughout, especially the 1996 Evil Awakening feature. The Bitchslicer band really lends its amazing sound to this movie, increasing the movie’s life even more.The whole movie reminds me of the 80s when I used to watch lots of films like this. The nostalgia factor gives me another reason to love this movie. In the end, this is an independent movie that was able to make me happy and entertained. A good movie is an effective one!
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
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