Welcome to Chillerpop’s inaugural Halloween 2021 Trick or Treat! For this project I asked friends far and…well, far…to pick a movie for me to cover in a blog post.

My friend Allan was the second person to reply to my prompt, but he’s going first! “Chef Al,” as he’s known on the excellent podcast Kiss The Goat, is armed with exceptional culinary skills and a vicious wit aimed straight at the throat of nasty-ass consumerist chain restaurant food.

Chef Al would like you to listen to the podcast Decoding the Gurus, for anyone needing to navigate or vet any “guru” they’re considering following or trusting – which is a fit for the film he chose, the 2016 horror comedy Another Evil.

“If you’re not averse to going low key,” he added.

Another Evil (2016)
Writer: Carson Mell
Director: Carson Mell
Notable Cast: Steve Zissis, Mark Proksch, Jennifer Irwin, Dax Flame, Dan Bakkedahl, Steve Little
Plot: After encountering a ghost in his family’s vacation home, Dan a modern artist and his wife Mary hire an “industrial-grade exorcist” named Os to get rid of the beings. But Dan soon realizes that ridding the home of evil won’t be as simple as it seems. (Source: imdb by Carson Mell)

And aside from mention of a ghost with a squid penis, the style of this movie was indeed the low-key dry humor Chef Al said it was. The story here involved ordinary people in ordinary lives, no one larger than life. And consider the characters of Os and Joey (Dan Bakkedal), the latter whom refers the former to Dan and Mary. A psychic-exorcist-occult investigator is, by the standards of this subgenre, someone unreal, exotic, heroic and dramatic. But in Another Evil, they are your plumber, HVAC repair guy or electrician. This story is set in a world where the keys to navigating occult mysteries are in the hands of working class men. And as many in real life do, the family in this story just hired a bad contractor.

I’ve had enough home repair nightmares. They’re awful, anxiety-inducing and lead to all sorts of domestic horror. I know that I value the good honorable contractors that keep my home safe and functioning.

As Os, Mark Prosch summons the awfulness of cinematic weird creeps with bad social skills – think The Cable Guy – that overstay their welcome. Watch for his insane monologue involving Satan and a disease riddled, post divorce one night stand. He was great, and the rest of the cast served their roles very well.

I liked the look of the film too. Though a horror comedy, it took itself seriously enough to set a creepy, shadowy vibe within the confines of the vacation home.

Ultimately, it’s easy to lose the plot and your patience with this one. But it is far out of the box and for that, it must be treasured.

If you’d like to watch Another Evil, or if you’d like to support this blog, please click on the image below to do your shopping on Amazon.