Forever Evil

Forever Evil, while not a classic by any means, is a Direct to Video movie notable for the fact that the man who wrote it has since put up his own account of the movie's creation. It's actually a fairly interesting read.

The story concerns Unlikely Hero Marc Denning, who, as we open, is not only expecting a child by his girlfriend, but also expecting to make a killing in the hiking market, thanks to a device called the Emergency Grappling System. To that end, he has planned a celebratory gathering in the woodland retreat he has just sold. The invites have gone out to his girlfriend Holly, brother Jason, Jason's girlfriend Julie, and their friends Robert and Jeanne. Everyone except Marc is slaughtered, both by these weird Glowing Eyes of Doom and a weird-looking Zombie.

Some time later, Marc awakens in hospital, where he meets a fellow survivor, Reggie, and Lt. Leo Ball, who is investigating the massacre. Together, the three, with clues left by a man named Ben Magnus (played by writer Freeman Williams) discover that the killings have something to do with a Cosmic Horror named Yog Kothag.

While the movie is a failure, it is an interesting take on the typical 1980s slasher flick, as the story picks up where most such movies end. And, despite the obvious FX, some scenes manage to be fairly unnerving.


 * Death by Cameo: Anyone who's seen the film (and, in the original cut, the first five minutes) will know all about the guy who gets zapped by the giant mutant Jawa. That's writer Freeman Williams, who only appears due to the fact that it's a Demo Reel.
 * Enforced Method Acting: An unintentional example, where Brother Magnus' (see Death by Cameo above) pained looks were actually caused by a failure to sufficiently insulate him against the lightbulb on his chest.
 * Developing Doomed Characters: Inverted: the opening twenty minutes has people dying, the remaining ninety has a bunch of guys dicking around before throwing a rock and stabbing a guy.
 * Executive Meddling: The movie is available in two cuts, and Freeman Williams mentions having seen a third on TV. Has the weird effect of letting us quickly make the painful realization that the movie is not going to live up to its first five minutes (the Directors Cut moves this sequence to the 40-minute point).
 * Final Girl: Marc and Reggie both qualify.
 * Grappling Hook Gun: The Emergency Grappling System is a shoulder-mounted variant.
 * Let's Split Up, Gang!: Averted. The gang pretty much stays together. Not that it matters.
 * Pre-Mortem One-Liner: "Right here, asshole!"
 * Spoiler Opening: The Directors Cut opens showing
 * Throw-Away Guns: Averted. Magnus' gun does leave his hands and fly through the air, but it's due to the fact that the giant mutant Jawa pulls it out with telekinesis.
 * Traumatic C-Section: "I've decided to keep the baby!"