Evidence Review

9th Mar 2012

The concept of “found footage” was once an original and cutting edge idea brought to mainstream cinema by worldwide smash The Blair Witch Project. This, of course, led to a whole host of films employing the same “found footage” method, but with varying degrees of success, some were great (Paranormal Activity, REC) some not so great (8213: Gacy House anyone?). Sadly for this reviewer Evidence falls firmly into the latter category.

Four friends, Ryan (Ryan McCoy), Brett (Brett Rosenberg), Abi (Abigail Richie) and Ashley (Ashley Bracken) pack up a van and head to the secluded mountains for a camping trip, a trip amateur filmmaker Ryan is keen to document. The four friends set up camp but on the first night they hear strange noises coming from the woods. Although slightly spooked they dismiss the noises and settle down for the night. However, the next day while trekking they spot a creature that is not of this world and most of the friends are keen to get the hell out of there, but Ryan is excited about the creature and the implications it holds for his film and insists they stay to investigate. Although angry, Brett et al have no choice but to stay because Ryan owns the van they came in. That evening things get weirder with more creepy noises and a strange old man happening across their camp site. Soon the friends find themselves under attack from the mysterious creatures and attempt to escape, all of which is captured on Ryan’s camera. It’s not long before the girls find themselves alone, desperately trying to escape from whatever is chasing them…unfortunately for Abi and Ashley what they are running from might be an improvement on what they are running towards.

The premise of Evidence follows the “found footage” genre blueprint to the letter: people with bad decision-making abilities head for the wilderness and are accompanied by at least one person keen to film events, which always turn out to be far more dramatic than anyone anticipated. The problem with this genre is that there is always the necessity to explain why there is footage to be found and there’s only so many ways of working this into the plot, so many of these films tend to feel like they’re built upon the same premise. Throughout the course of the film Evidence barely strays from the well-trodden “found footage” path and whilst the conclusion makes a good stab at originality it’s badly executed and the “twist” seems nonsensical, idiotic and rather annoying.

However, unoriginality is not this films only problem, not by a long shot.

The characters are so generic and one dimensional that it’s very hard to care about what happens to them. It’s also hard to judge the quality of acting as the camera rarely focuses on the actors for any significant period of time, apart from towards the end when the audience are treated to about 30 minutes of screen time showing nothing but Ashley’s denim-clad arse, frantically running away. Why she’s so scared is anyone’s guess because the “ creatures” look like a less threatening, low-budget version of the aliens in Attack The Block, but while ATB had its tongue firmly in its cheek, Evidence is taking itself rather seriously and this is a mistake when the “threat” is little more than a man in gorilla costume. That’s not to say there aren’t a few tense moments, one of the advantages of filming in the first person is that it accommodates the element of surprise very well.

The plot had some serious holes and question marks and by the time the plot “twists” surface it’s hard to care what happens, especially when it’s not particularly clear. The extra footage at the end of the credits threatens to bring the film to some sort of conclusion, but it doesn’t.

Evidence has a relatively short running time of 76 minutes, but it felt much, much longer. It takes the story a while to get going and once it does take off a disproportionate amount of the screen time is taken up by footage of Ashley and Abi running through the woods. Fascinating stuff.

Essentially this film feels lazy: the plot and dialogue seem lacking and there’s nothing that really marks this out from the slew of sub-standard “found footage” films on release. The characters are neither interesting nor endearing and you hope they get knocked off quickly, if only so the film can end! The conclusion shows some promise but it’s too little, too late and it’s not enough to save Evidence from the bargain bin it will inevitably end up in.