Relative Evil

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When JJ (Jonathan Tucker) returns home from rehab, he is greeted by a conniving family who are plotting to cash in on a life insurance policy before his 18th birthday. Caught in a web of self-destruction, JJ struggles to stay clean in an environment overflowing with temptations and deceit. With a winning performance by Jonathan Tucker and a beguiling turn from Jennifer Tilly, this dark, pulp thriller shows Home Sweet Home really can be murder


















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Movie Info

Studies say that the majority of homicides are committed by someone the victim knows, and 17-year-old J.J. White (Jonathan Tucker) is about to find that out the hard way. Upon returning to his working-class home from a court-ordered stay at rehab, J.J.'s struggle to remain sober is complicated by both the stress of dealing with his dysfunctional family and a series of late night snowstorms that makes venturing into the outside world impossible. As cabin fever takes hold and J.J. begins to suspect that his own family is plotting to kill him for the insurance money, he must discover if his paranoia is truly justified or psychosomatic if he is to survive and maintain his sanity

Horror-movie Review

Relative Evil (2001) Review

 
Written by: skfan    

    Don't let the title or even the DVD cover for that matter mislead you. Relative Evil is more of a dark family drama then a thriller and as a drama its one of the best I've watched in a long time. What separates this film from the numerous other films of it's type is how well written and acted it is. The films' cast is almost entirely made up of genre actors that most people will recognize.

    Jonathan Tucker stars as JJ, a seventeen year old that is coming back home after being inrehab for the last six months. JJ was arrested after he totaled his stepfather's car while drunk. Meantime JJ's aunt Dot (Jeniffer Tilly) pays a visit to her brother in-laws' and convinces him to take out a life insurance on his son JJ for $70,000. Dot has already burned through a few husbands and wants this one to pay off. All that stands in the way of her split of 70k is her nephew and she hopes with a little help he may have a relapse and hopefully take his own life.

    Whats really nice about the film is how the characters develop through the film. Within the first twenty minutes or so you probably think you have the film figured out but there are some really nice little plot twists. A great choice was humanizing JJ's stepfather Bull (Dan Moran). He could have easily been a one dimensional villain that can't wait to get rid of his stepson but there is a great scene in the film were he changes his stance towards his son and you actually end up caring about him. There is also numerous other side characters including JJ's old girlfriend and best friend that all give more depth and emotion to issues that happen through the film. There is also a really surprising twist near the end that I not only didn't see coming but added to the film. Not to mention a really satisfying ending to a great film overall.

    I can't say enough about the screen writing of Matthew Swan who has only done one other project to date. His structure and development of the story is near perfect and just when it seems like the film could fall into the old cliches it goes in a new direction which keeps the film refreshing and original. The direction by another new filmmaker Tanya Wexler is also wonderful. She gives the film a very off beat feel to it which suits the subject matter very well. Production wise everything looked good and Wexler nailed the dead small town feel of the film perfectly.

    Jennifer Tilly has made a name for herself in low budget genre films and I get the feeling that she has fun on the projects she works on. I also highly doubt many people don't like her but in this film she isn't just good, she's excellent. Every scene Tilly is in she steals which isn't an easy task with the other talented actors in the film. She nails the sleazy older women that will do anything to get ahead in life perfectly. She even tries to seduce her own nephew and resorts to murder to get ahead. Jonathan Tucker is also great as the troubled young man that is clearly trying to do the right thing but is surrounded by people that are wanting him to fall back into his old ways. David Strathairn is also great as JJ's Doctor that seems to be the only normal person in his life that is trying to keep him on the right track. I'm not going to go into the rest of the cast but they all gave strong and different performances that gave the emotional power of the film.

    The bottom line is if you want an emotionally powerful dark drama this is a great choice. Everyone involved in the film seemed to put everything they had into it and it shows on the screen. I enjoyed every minute of this film and I highly recommend it.

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