Eight Great Films at BAMcinemaFest’s Opening Weekend
Another Evil
Directed by Carson Mell
Dan (Steve Zissis) is a husband, father and successful painter of circles whose weekend house is haunted by spirits whom an initial ghost whisperer determines are benevolent and should just be left alone. Dan, who does much of his painting at the house and is understandably put off by the ghosts’ rude behavior and bloody-mawed visages, finds this unsatisfactory, so he consults his art agent, played by Eastbound and Down’s great Steve Little in one of the horror-comedy’s funniest scenes. The result is exorcist Os (Better Call Saul’s Mark Proksch), sporting a jaunty fedora and a spiteful desire to “annihilate” the Evil Fully Determined (EFD) ghosts. Dan and Os isolate themselves in the house for the ghostbusting session. Problem is, the recently divorced, emotionally raw Os turns out to be a needy, clingy creep, belittling Dan’s “art jibber jabber,” boozing around the clock and unwelcomely appearing nude. He does, however, vanquish some spirits, but that whole plot is something of a MacGuffin, providing an excuse for funny details (like Dan’s having named his son Jazz) reminiscent of writer-director Mell’s work on Silicon Valley, and a subtle acting duet from the slimily likable Proksch and Zissis (of Togetherness, also HBO and the fourth TV show I’ve mentioned, which says something about Another Evil’s mood and tone, which might be just as well suited to on-demand viewing). Until the frenzied and genuinely disturbing final act, the ambitions are pleasantly minor. The skewering of empty modern art was already perfected with John Malkovich’s “I was one of the first” line in Art School Confidential, but otherwise there are enough unexpected turns and inspired mini-monologues to make this an imperfect gem. Justin Stewart (June 18, 9:45pm, followed by Mell Q&A and preceded by Mariko Munro’s short Jack; currently without distribution)