Evilenko (2004) Review – Horror Ripped From The Headlines

Evilenko is a 2004 English-language Italian true crime horror/drama written and directed by David Grieco in his first feature-length film. Malcolm McDowell plays the Soviet Union’s most notorious serial killer in this Italian crime horror thriller from 2004, hitting 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on February 25 from Unearthed Films.

In the film, McDowell is Andrej Romanovich Evilenko, a schoolteacher from Kiev in 1984. A pedophile who exploits his position and sexually abuses his students, he gets sacked from his job when one of his students reports him to the school administration. Unable to find a job, he gets recruited and becomes a bureaucrat at the service of the regime. However, as the Soviet Union collapsed, so did his personality, which was based on his loyalty to communism. So he ends up being overtaken by his psychopathic urges, killing children and women. He starts killing one every three months, raping them, slicing them to pieces, and eating them. But as he gets away with each murder, the rate begins to increase, causing fear among the people and the media, giving him the nickname “The Wood Strip Monster.” In light of his killing spree, young magistrate and family man Vadim Timurouvic (Marton Csokas) is called in to lead the investigation and the hunt for Evilenko.

Penned and directed by David Grieco based on his own novel entitled The Communist Who Ate Children, the film is a fictionalization of the life and crimes of serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer who sexually assaulted, killed, and mutilated around fifty-two women and children between 1978 and 1990 (he confessed to fifty-six murders). In the film, he is renamed Andrei Evilenko, along with some minor changes to some events in his life.

Telling the story from Evilenko’s point of view is an interesting choice, as most films in the serial killer subgenre would usually unravel from the authorities’ perspective. But this decision gives the film a more chilling and disturbing atmosphere, as we get to see Evilenko choose his victims, who are mostly young kids, luring them to isolated places before raping, killing, and eating them. Thankfully, Grieco decides not to show the graphic brutality of his crimes onscreen; instead, we only see the aftermath of each murder, albeit with some occasional blood. It tries to avoid becoming too exploitative and focuses on how Evilenko’s mind works.

Set against the backdrop of the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union, the film depicts how it also affects Evilenko’s mind. He grew up believing the values of communism and becoming an ardent supporter of the movement; at one point, he even called himself a “good communist” and exclaimed, “I’m a communist, and I will die as a communist!” He basically built his entire personality and life on the values of communism. He considers anyone who doesn’t believe his ideals as a traitor and an enemy of the state. And so when everything he believes in starts falling apart right before his eyes, it takes a toll on his sanity, and the film becomes a striking commentary on how political beliefs can divide a nation and drive one to great lengths, just to protect his or her ideals.

The film, admittedly, feels a little bit too long and could benefit from some trimming to improve its glacial pace. Despite that, this slow-burn crime horror thriller manages to surprise, rewarding patient viewers with a twisted and unhinged third-act confrontation filled with homoerotic overtones between its two leads.

Acting-wise, the film is propelled by the brilliantly haunting performance of Malcolm McDowell as the titular Evilenko. He is pretty effective in bringing to life a character so sick and perverted, and this is perfectly complemented by a compelling turn from his co-star, Marton Csokas, playing Lesiev. Frances Barber also steals the show as Evilenko’s wife, Fenya. Propelled by wickedly effective turns from McDowell, this Italian crime horror ripped from the headlines is undeniably an uncomfortable watch.