| Little Evil | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Eli Craig |
| Written by | Eli Craig |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Matthew Clark |
| Edited by | Tia Nolan |
| Music by | Marco Beltrami Brandon Roberts Marcus Trumpp |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7.5 million |
Little Evil is a 2017 Americansupernaturalhorror comedy film written and directed byEli Craig. It starsAdam Scott,Evangeline Lilly, Owen Atlas,Bridget Everett,Kyle Bornheimer,Chris D'Elia,Donald Faison,Carla Gallo,Tyler Labine,Brad Williams,Clancy Brown, andSally Field. It was released byNetflix on September 1, 2017.
In the film, a man suspects that his newstepson is "a little evil", after realizing that the boy may have caused two mysterioussuicides. While investigating the boy's past, he is informed that his stepson is theAntichrist and that he may have to kill the boy to prevent the end of the world.
Gary Bloom marries Samantha, who has a 5-year-old son, Lucas. Gary struggles to connect with the quiet Lucas, who ignores him. Gary receives a telephone call from his wedding videographer Karl, warning that something very unusual is in the footage, but Gary is uninterested. Gary stops by one of his properties for sale, an old nunnery, where Father J.D. Gospel, the leader of aDoomsday cult, buys it on the spot. Gary is summoned to Lucas’ school where theprincipal informs him that Lucas spoke out of turn in class and told his science teacher to “go to hell”, after which she killed herself by jumping out the window and got impaled on a fence. Apsychiatrist stresses that Lucas see a counselor and Gary, apparently the main source of Lucas’ erratic behavior, should do the same.
Samantha is upset by the news and feels that everyone, including Gary, is unfairly blaming Lucas, but Gary assures her that he loves them both. At therapy, Gary confides to the otherstepfathers, including his friend Al, that he thinks his stepson might be a little evil, and they all sympathize. At Lucas’ birthday party, a clown lights himself on fire, and Gary is led to believe Lucas is responsible. Karl shows Gary the wedding video, revealing apossessed-looking Lucas untouched by atornado. Karl tells Gary that all Samantha's previous boyfriends are dead except Gabriel, giving Gary Gabriel's address.
When Gary inquires about Lucas' biological father, Samantha reluctantly admits that years earlier, she was part of acult and Lucas was conceived during a ritual. Gary convinces Al to help him, and they find Gabriel in the basement of a church where he isself-flagellating. Gabriel reveals that Lucas is theAntichrist and tells them to travel toBethlehem to find Gozamel the demon hunter. Gary and Al view a television news report on rioting due to theApocalypse inBethlehem, Pennsylvania, realizing that is where they need to go. They find Gozamel, who informs them they must kill the child with the Knife of Destiny to prevent the end of the world. Gozamel is killed in a car accident, but not before he gives Gary the Knife of Destiny to kill Lucas onhallowed ground.
Gary arrives home to find Samantha with Miss Shaylock, a woman fromChild Protective Services. They encourage Gary to put Lucas to bed, but this goes horribly wrong, ending in Lucas burying Gary in a sandbox. Samantha digs him up, taking Lucas’ side for being a confused kid, and Gary screams that Lucas is the Antichrist. Samantha is devastated, and Gary apologizes. Convinced Lucas is the Antichrist, Gary takes him on a trip to Waterland, an amusement park blessed by thePope, intending to drown Lucas in what would appear to be an accident, but Lucas and Gary actually start to bond as father and son. Gary reluctantly equips Lucas with sand-filled floaties and sends him down a water slide to his death, but sees the word "Love" in the sky and takes it as a sign. Gary saves Lucas, taking him for ice cream, and they both apologize for trying to kill each other.
Anamber alert for Lucas appears on Gary's phone, and police arrive to arrest Gary as Miss Shaylock, revealed to be a disciple of Father Gospel, takes Lucas. Father Gospel also kidnaps Samantha. Gary escapes to save her and Lucas, with help from the other stepdads. They travel to the old nunnery where Father Gospel and his disciples prepare to kill Lucas and bring about the end of the world. When Lucas opens a tunnel toHell and starts to fall into it, Gary saves him. Once freed, Samantha knocks Father Gospel into the tunnel. Weeks later, Gary and Lucas race the OkatokSoap Box Derby, finally happy as father and son.
In May 2013,Universal Pictures acquired the film's script, withEli Craig directing the film, based upon the screenplay he wrote, whileScott Stuber, Nicholas Nesbitt, would serve as producers under theirMandalay Pictures andBluegrass Films banners respectively.[1] In September 2016, it was announcedEvangeline Lilly,Adam Scott,Clancy Brown,Donald Faison,Chris D'Elia,Bridget Everett, Owen Atlas,Brad Williams, and Marcus Terrell Smith had joined the cast of the film, Dylan Clark andJason Michael Berman would serve as producers, andNetflix would produce and distribute the film.[2][3] That same month,Kyle Bornheimer joined the cast of the film.[4]
Principal photography began in September 2016, inCleveland, Ohio.[5] The film was shot in 25 days with no reshoots.[citation needed]
Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts & Marcus Trumpp compose the score for the film.[6]
It began streaming on Netflix on September 1, 2017.[7]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[8]