Evil: 2 Fathers (S1E8)
“2 Fathers” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil: David and Kristen investigate an ancient demonic sigil and Andy comes home.
Evil is a supernatural drama created by Michelle King and Robert King; this review covers “2 Fathers.” The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, and Christine Lahti. It originally aired under CBS before moving to Paramount+. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.
David (Mike Colter) and Kristen (Katja Herbers) investigate David’s father (Vondie Curtis-Hall as Leon) after learning of his ties to an ancient demonic sigil. Kristen’s husband–Andy (Patrick Brammall)–returns from his mountain climbing expedition. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) gets closure.
What I Like about Evil: “2 Fathers”
Of all the episodes to date, David steps into the lead role most in “2 Fathers,” which certainly fits as his father plays an important role in unraveling the first sigil’s mystery. This strained relationship gives Mike Colter a lot to work with.
Evil continuously builds its supernatural element, not yet showing its hand, while simultaneously unafraid to bring out the strange. “2 Fathers” might act as the best example yet of this balance, diving into rituals and monstrous abominations to a horror fan’s delight.
Ben shows where and how he’s willing to compromise his analytical absolutism. This episode dives further into his interesting ability to attract (or become attracted to) spiritual partners. Because of this attraction, Ben consistently encounters supernatural phenomena to haunt the lone rationalist.
Without going into too much detail, the demonic sigil relates to a particularly human evil, which aligns with the overall conceit of the show. While this does fall into that trap of relating real evil to supernatural forces, Evil still enacts a world where these two forces aren’t mutually dependent on one another.
A scene in the crop haunts, creating a terrible creature for the viewer. While not the most realistic creature, it’s hardly the point of the ghoulish beast. Instead, the surreal beast drives home the surreal experience.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
A polyamorous relationship holds some elements that might read as trope material. Most specifically, the relationship includes two women and one older man. I will add that the relationship establishes a commune/hippie vibe while suggesting that the man acts more like the third wheel in the relationship.
There are some conversations about the slave trade, and by extension, racism. “2 Fathers” doesn’t lean too heavily on the details, but a victim of the trade becomes central to the plot of the episode.
As Kristen often acts as the lead, she takes a step back for “2 Fathers.” I don’t inherently see this as an issue as she acts as a key player in the main story; however, it’s a point worth considering in this section. As one of the titular fathers includes the father of her children, one might assume an equal focus.
The romantic tension between two characters might irk those sensitive to infidelity, though nothing comes of this tension.
What I Dislike about Evil: “2 Fathers”
Andy’s return shows the strained relationship between himself and his mother-in-law (Christine Lahti as Sheryl). Their relationship makes his decision all the stranger as he agrees to keep a secret from his wife for her. As Evil progresses, this doesn’t make sense for their relationship.
The demonic houses still seem like an inconsistent concept. One house belonged to some random serial killer, and now the other belonged to a representation of the slave trade. This variety builds an inconsistency that further episodes expand on.
Final Thoughts
“2 Fathers” expands on David’s past while bringing the long-awaited Andy into Evil. This episode dives further into the supernatural, allowing the central plot to take precedence over the procedural story. If you like growing mysteries that tie into the real-world horrors in your supernatural dramas, “2 Fathers” certainly add these elements for Evil.
(3.5 / 5)
Episode four of Goosebumps The Vanishing is named after one of my least favorite of the original Goosebumps book series. I’m clearly in the minority since there are four Monster Blood books. And I’m sad to say that this episode very much lived down to the expectations the book set.
The story
We begin this episode with a flashback. Cece is excited to go to her debate group that Summer. She even brags to her fellow Type A teenage girlfriends. Then, she doesn’t get in.
That’s right, she’s been lying to everyone about going to debate class every day.
However, she still managed to get an interview for a college application. Too bad she gets sick at the meeting. She finds herself back at her mother’s apartment, throwing up in the sink. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the thing she throws up pulls itself out of the sink and tries to attack her.
What worked
I’m not going to lie, this was not a boring episode. Even scenes that were conversations among teen girls in a coffee shop were full of action. At no point did it struggle to keep my attention.
I was also pleased by how the Monster Blood creature looked. Or, whatever this thing is. The way it moved was eerie. The way the characters interacted with it was seamless. This effect was quite well done.
What didn’t work
Unfortunately, that’s where my praise for this episode ends. To start with, the monster still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’ve complained about this in the last few episodes, so I won’t spend a lot of time on this. But it still does not make sense that this sentient spore went from possessing a person to a car to a cup, to then being puked up into its own body. A body made of blood, puke and kombucha.
I also complained last episode about Cece’s character. She was too perfect. And, as though this episode heard me, we now know that she was never as perfect as she was trying to seem.
However, as far as dark secrets for perfect Type A teens go, this one was weak and cliche. She’s lying to everyone about getting into some fancy debate team. And who hasn’t seen this? Who hasn’t seen this sort of thing before?
While there is nothing new under the sun, there are good ways to redo a cliche. And then, there’s this. It brought nothing new to the table.
This same complaint can be applied to the big conflict of this episode. As of now, we have three groups fighting the same monster from different levels. Frankie, Cece and Devin are being chased by the Monster Blood. Alex and CJ are aware something is wrong, but so far they only think it involves the car. And Anthony is chasing after the plants in the sewer. Like the proverbial blind people with the elephant, they all have a piece of the puzzle but need to put it together to get the whole picture. But everyone’s too busy running around to take five minutes to explain things to somebody else.
- Item #:NTS503520
- ISBN13:9780545035200
- Format:Paperback Book
Last update on 2025-01-31 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
What a boring motif. People refusing to talk to each other and explain things is the storyline for every single romantic comedy ever. And it’s never, ever, clever.
Overall, this season is struggling. The characters don’t feel genuine, the story is cliche, and the rules of the world don’t make sense. While it’s not boring, it is hard to care about anything that’s happening aside from it being fast-paced and fun to watch. So while it might be fairly entertaining, it’s not a show I’m likely to remember fondly or revisit. And we’re already halfway through the season. So if Goosebumps is going to prove me wrong, it had better act fast.
(2.5 / 5)
Movies n TV
When Your Mother Dates Creature Features, or What Lies Below
What Lies Below (2020) is a horror film written and directed by Braden R. Duemmler, starring Ema Horvath, Trey Tucker, and Mena Suvari.
What Lies Below (2020) is a horror film written and directed by Braden R. Duemmler. This TV-MA film stars Ema Horvath, Trey Tucker, and Mena Suvari. The film is available on Hoopla, Tubi TV, Peacock Premium Plus, the Roku Channel, History Vault, and Amazon Prime Video.
Libby (Ema Horvath) returns to her family’s lake house before leaving for college. Her mother (Mena Suvari as Michelle Wells) uses this opportunity to have Libby meet her boyfriend (Trey Tucker as John Smith). Despite the draw of a handsome scientist, the more Libby learns about the man, the stranger he seems.
What I Like about What Lies Below
The film balances the line between sci-fi and supernatural horror. One of those options seems to fit slightly better, but What Lies Below doesn’t feel the need to tell its audience some objective truth. Instead, it respects the viewer to come to their own conclusion.
Ema Horvath has the most to work with and provides an interesting character in Libby. Libby remains a reserved and shy character, displaying an unhealthy dose of longing that requires subtle habits and glances to communicate her thoughts. Yet, the viewer often knows what she’s thinking.
- What Lies Below
- What Lies Below
- Audience Rating: Unrated (Not Rated)
Last update on 2025-01-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
That said, there’s a level of camp across all the performances. It’s hard to say if this is an intentional choice but viewing it as an intentional choice adds to these performances. However, it’s worth mentioning this as a hard selling point.
Without diving into spoilers, the ending did surprise me to some degree. I was wrong about how hard What Lies Below would end. In short, this film gets surprisingly dark. It doesn’t linger in that darkness, but What Lies Below doesn’t compromise its plot for a comforting conclusion.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
Body horror seems to be the most obvious trigger to mention. It’s less the body mutating kind of horror and more the parasite growing inside the body kind. Most of this remains implied, or we see only the aftermath, but the points seem clear.
A sexual assault leads to a general shift in the film. Part of this assault is handled with uncomfortable realism as the survivor doubts the severity of the assault and receives pushback when she reveals the truth. While this realism certainly has its place, it also deserves a warning.
What I Dislike about What Lies Below
This film might have been better served diving into its campier side instead of loosely adding those moments. Ultimately, the performances suffer from a lack of commitment, teetering between a serious approach or a campier execution.
What Lies Below is far from a high-budget film. While it can hide its lower budget, there are clear moments that visibly show the strain. If it committed to the camp or creativity of many B-films, it might better haunt its viewers.
What Lies Below only loosely attempts to channel the creature feature. It occasionally introduces something more bestial and inhuman but doesn’t give more than a glimpse. With the revelry given to lampreys and the title, I wrongly suspected something within the watery depths to show.
While the film remains dark, I won’t particularly call it haunting. While the seductive creature isn’t as common as its female counterpart, it’s far from an untested concept. The major problem with What Lies Below is that it doesn’t do enough to stand out or linger in the mind. Instead, it hints at something brewing, smacks you with a dark end, and calls it a day.
Final Thoughts
What Lies Below implements elements of a memorable creature feature but fails to haunt its viewers. While its restraint in explaining its plot deserves respect, it doesn’t supplement that with something terrifying enough to break the surface. It’s hard to recommend this film to eager viewers looking for a creature in its feature. Instead, it might better suit an audience who craves a subtle mystery by the lakeside. (2.5 / 5)
Oh, the 90s, the renaissance of the slasher genre after it crashed and burned in the mid-80s. Halloween H20 is the seventh installment in the Halloween franchise. It hits a reset button on the canon, which utilizes the strong points of the decade. Without any further ado, let’s dive in!
Plot
We start with seemingly random characters as they die at the hands of Michael Myers, who is back for vengeance. He wants to find Laurie and is not willing to let anyone else stand in his way. Here is where the franchise diverges into a different canon that ignores all the movies after the second one.
After a wonderful tribute to the late Donald Pleasance we see Laurie. She is now a headmistress at a boarding school in California, with a new name and a son. Laurie appears functioning on the outside, but she is still traumatized by the past events, medicating both with prescription meds and alcohol. Not even her love interest (a fellow teacher) knows anything about her past.
Her son John doesn’t understand the severity of what his mother has been through. He repeatedly tells her to get over it (not the brightest moment despite him being a teenage boy). More teenage characters are introduced in the form of his girlfriend played by Michelle Williams in her Dawson’s Creek prime, and two friends.
John and the group want to stay at the empty boarding school while everyone else goes on a camping trip. What they think will be a romantic couples’ weekend turns into anything but. Michael catches up to Laurie and finds his way into the premises. What ensues is a blood-shed with some creative kills and full-on suspense.
Laurie takes a stand against Michael as she chases him down axe in hand, ready to finish this once and for all. This leads to a showdown with a glorious finale as Laurie decapitates Michael, seemingly ending his reign for good (or so we think).
Overall thoughts
Halloween H20 is a great overhaul of a franchise that was running out of steam. It encapsulates everything about the 90s, from the camera work to the soundtrack to the cheesy one-liners. It has a star-studded cast of the sweethearts of the decade and who could be mad at Jamie Lee Curtis’s comeback?
This movie takes an interesting approach to Laurie’s character. She spends the second movie kind of helpless waiting for someone to save her, however this time she takes the lead and faces her trauma head-on. Other characters have just enough development to make you care for their survival. The atmosphere is very reminiscent of the first one as well, with a bit of a slow burn before the big finish.
Ultimately, this is the most entertaining instalment of the franchise and has a lot of rewatchability for those movie nights. Slasher 2.0 at its best.
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett, Adam Arkin (Actors)
- Steve Miner (Director) – Debra Hill (Writer) – Bob Weinstein (Producer)
- English (Subtitle)
Last update on 2025-01-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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