Review of Little Evil (2017) by Michael M — 03 Nov 2018

Oddly enough, the greatest strength in this horror-comedy really isn't the horror or the comedy, it's the heart of the thing. It's ultimately a story about a step-parents acceptance into a new family, both him accepting of the child and the child accepting him.

It just so happens that the child in this instance in the antichrist. That relationship as it develops is actually pretty heartwarming, not one you see a lot, and I'll be damned if they don't handle it in a wildly original way.

I liked Adam Scott as the stepdad, and I liked his crew of stepdad support group. However, the rest of the movie just doesn't work as well as it should. As built up as the jokes are, none of them quite land.

There's a lot of chuckles, but no big laughs. It also has some weird pacing issues, especially near the third act. I actually though the movie was prepping to end on a cliffhanger only to realize that it was actually just getting started for a surprise twist and there was actually about 20 minutes left.

I still give it a marginally positive rating because it is still an overall surprisingly charming movie. It's surprisingly likable, and wildly original, and it's got a good heart. It just comes way short of it's ultimate potential.