Directors: Elan Dassani, Rajeev Dassani
Writer: Madhuri Shekar
Stars: Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Bernard White
To wrap up my coverage of the 4 film ‘Welcome to Blumhouse’ movie-a-thon on Prime Video we have ‘Evil Eye’ where a superstitious Indian mother Usha (played by Sarita Choudhury) is trying to arrange a husband for her daughter Pallavi (played by Sunita Mani). After one of the arranged meetings set up for Pallavi falls through, she meets what seems to be the perfect guy, a rich ahndsome man named Sandeep (played by Omar Maskati). Little does she know, that this person may be a remnant from Usha’s past, and Usha is worried that her insistence in finding her daughter a husband has lead to evil itself returning to hurt her and her family.
Indian culture and arranged marriages are not the norm in the United States. We got a taste of that type of tradition with ‘The Big Sick’ (specifically Pakistani arranged marriages there) and Netflix has also brought it into the spotlight with their recent original series ‘Indian Matchmaking’. I love that ‘Evil Eye’ continues to expand on this tradition and that we as Americans are exposed to different cultures and representation of them. Where ‘Evil Eye’ lost me was in it’s supernatural aspects that weren’t so much scary or entertaining, but more formulaic in the horror genre.
The leads in the film all are good in their roles. Sarita Choudhury does a really good job of the cautious mother who just cannot shake the feel of familiarity with Sandeep, and her caution of Pallavi pursuing a relationship felt very authentic and engaging throughout the film. Sunita Mani and Omar Maskati are also good in their roles and interactions with each other. It isn’t until the third act when we are shown the true intentions of Sandeep where I kind of tuned out, maybe because it felt somewhat unearned, or the concept was too absurd even for a supernatural horror film, it just didn’t land right for me.
If i were to rank it among the other Blumhouse releases that are now available on Prime Video, I would likely say it is in the middle of the road for recommendations. Still, It has good acting, and a unique story that while not totally immersive is still not bad at all.
I’m giving ‘Evil Eye’ a 6/10