Hello there fellow fright fans, it’s Thakgore and today I’ll be taking a look at the upcoming, “Evil Dead”-inspired film “Bornless Ones”. Is it a film that breathes new life into its familiar trappings, or does it fall victim to folly like so many imitators before? Let’s find out together as we pull back the veil and come face to face with the…..
Directed by Alexander Babaev and starring Margaret Judson, Devin Goodsell and Michael Johnston, “Bornless Ones” is obviously, at first glance at least, an Evil Dead clone. Five friends go to a remote house in the woods and unwittingly unleash a demonic force that possesses them one by one with bloody consequences.
The set up is that our heroine, Emily (Judson) and her boyfriend Jesse (Goodsell) are taking her brother Zach (Johnston), who is afflicted with severe cerebral palsy, to a house they’ve bought so they can be near a hospital she intends to commit him to. They are joined by their friends, Woodrow (Mark Furze) and Michelle (Bobby T.). Unfortunately for our doomed group of twenty somethings, the house was formerly occupied by a mother who had made a pact with demons in order to heal her ailing daughter of a heart condition, something we are shown in the at the film’s outset. This is, I’m sorry to say, where the differences between this film and “Evil Dead” stop and the litany of tropes begins.
On the way to the house they stop for gas and meet an eccentric local. Check. Within hours at the house they do something that unleashes the demons summoned by a former occupant. Check. The demonic presence begins to possess each of them in turn. Check. The demons talk in almost the exact same voices that are featured in the “Evil Dead” franchise. Check. If you’re inclined to hate this movie because of its inherent “rip-off” nature then I say stay away, because no one involved seemed to be trying to make anything other than a clone. However, if that doesn’t bother you I think you might have a good time with this one.
While it steals much of its plot, look and sound from “Evil Dead” it does so with a surprising level of competence. The acting is mostly solid, with an unfortunate exception being the lead Margaret Judson. While everyone else is doing their level best, Judson comes off rather unlikable to be honest and I found myself rooting her boyfriend much more. Particular praise goes to newcomer Bobby T. For someone who’s only previous experience in the industry was being a “case-girl” on “Deal or No Deal” she delivers a performance that deserves to get her noticed. Also I’d like to mention a spectacularly hilarious turn by David Banks as the realtor who sold them the house, Richard Alonzo Jr. III. He had me laughing for the entire time he was on screen.
The effects are also very well done. I found them to be on par with Fede Alvarez’s “Evil Dead” and for an independent production with a fraction of that budget what they managed to do was nothing short of remarkable. I know that I was uncomfortable more than once with the gore and I’m almost never put into that position.
In conclusion I’d say that I was both disappointed and surprised by “Bornless Ones”. While I had wished for it to be more than the sum of its parts, which it wasn’t, I was happy to find that it was creepy enough, gory enough and interesting enough to keep me engaged for the entire run time. If you don’t mind a rote copy of “Evil Dead” and want to see some gruesome, demonic goings on I say give it a try.
“Bornless Ones” will be released in select theaters and VOD on February 10th. For more information on where you can see it visit the official Facebook page.
