Screener Review: Everlasting (2016)

(aka Hollywood is Evil)
Release Date: Early 2016.
Country: USA
Rating: NA
Written by: Anthony Stabley.
Directed by: Anthony Stabley.
Starring: Valentina de Angelis, Adam David, Michael Massee, Pat Healy, Robert LaSardo, Cortney Palm, and Elisabeth Rohm.

When the creative forces behind Everlasting approached us and asked if we'd be interested in watching their movie, we jumped at the chance, mainly because of that cast list. If nothing else, the movie boasts some fantastic character actors, and so we figured that the movie itself might end up being above average, at the very least. 

Then again, we really had no clue who Valentina de Angelis and Adam David were, and since the movie was obviously going to center around the two of them, we were a bit apprehensive about how it was going to turn out, even with such a solid supporting cast.

Well, we're happy to report that those fears were nullified after watching 10 minutes of Everlasting, as its two young leads carried the movie (and its intensely personal story) on their backs like champs.

Jessie is a beautiful, smart, damaged girl who is tired of her shitty life; her dad is gone, her mom has issues, and the only semblance of normalcy that she knows comes from her loving boyfriend, Matt. What they have together is sweet and pure. They're in love. Sure, she may like to be slapped in the face or choked-out during sex, but it all comes from a place of love. Or dysfunction. Probably both.

AND WE LOVE THAT MIRROR.

Wanting a new life, Jessie has Matt drive her to LA so that she can pursue her dream of becoming a model. Along the way they see the sights, play around, argue, have sex, and just try to enjoy the hell out of the trip, because they both know that once they get to LA, everything is pretty much over. Life is going to change for both of them, you see: for her, it's going to get wild and crazy, and a whole lot sexier; and as for him, well, he's just going to go back home and miss her a lot while she's off living her dream. The fact that neither of them know that Jessie is going to be murdered by a Serial Killer makes the finality of the whole thing even more tragic. At least for us, because we know what's coming.

IF THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICED IN THIS PICTURE WAS A GUY SITTING ON A ROCK, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

When the Police turn up no leads in Jessie's murder, Matt decides to take matters into his own hands, and track down her killer himself. He sets up a blog, asking for anyone who has information on Jessie's murder to contact him; he interviews her friends and co-workers in LA, hoping that someone will know something, anything; and he edits together footage of he and Jessie for a school project that he's doing, which serves to do nothing but depress the hell out of us.

When a mysterious tape arrives in the mail, everything changes.

Depression and heartbreak ensue. 

YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER WATCHED THAT TAPE, DUDE.

To simply call Everlasting a Horror movie would be doing it a disservice. Yes, it is a rather gritty Thriller involving the brutal rape and murder of a young girl at the hands of a Serial Killer, but at its heart, Everlasting is more of a tragic love story gone wrong than anything else. It's every bit as somber and emotional as it is disturbing and intense, and in all honestly, it's that extra emotional dimension that made it such a great movie.

We read another review for Everlasting (read it HERE) that likened its story to the old Poison song, Fallen Angel. Great song, apt comparison, but we have another one that seemed just as fitting, if in a completely different way:

Gone, the voice that used to fill the room is all but gone
An echo of a perfect love that ended wrong
Girl, we tried so hard when love was on our side
And yesterday will always be the reason why
You keep comin', you keep comin' back, you keep comin' back for more.

The song is called I'll See You in my Dreams, and it's one that's always on our iPod playlist, and I'll be damned if it also doesn't fit the movie perfectly. Especially those first two lines. Maybe writer/director Anthony Stabley is a big fan of 80's Rock. Seems likely to us. Watch the video HERE.

Whether it's more about the pitfalls of young love or the dangers of Hollywood, Everlasting is an earnest, honest look at the lives of two average kids, and how their world falls apart and everything ends in tragedy, despite their best intentions and efforts. It's a tragic love story that seems all too plausible in this day and age, and therein lies the Horror. 

As strong as the script was, the real strength of this movie comes from its two lead actors. I don't know where they found these two, but Valentina de Angelis and Adam David did one hell of a job playing the doomed couple. Usually in these types of movies that involve young actors, there's a lot of overacting and too much forcing of emotion... but not with these two. We'll gladly check out either of them in whatever they've got coming up next.

And as we mentioned above, the supporting cast in this one is pretty phenomenal. The Crow is one of our favorite movies of all-time, and so seeing Michael Massee play the bad guy here was a big treat for us. Pat Healy was downright skeevy in his small role, and Robert LaSardo shined for his minute and a half of on-screen time. And of course the hotness of Elisabeth Rohm and Cortney Palm never goes amiss. A great job was done by all.

I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS, FALLEN ANGEL.

As much as we loved Everlasting, it could have used a bit more blood and gore. I guess the reason why we're complaining about this is because the movie gave us some truly creepy backstories on various Serial Killers, and it did so really well, so we wanted more. We were honestly expecting for Matt to show "us" what was on that mysterious tape in its entirety, but all we got was a brief snippet or two.

With this movie, less is definitely more, but a little bit more of the visceral stuff would have been alright by us.

MAYBE WHAT'S ON THE TAPE COULD BE A BONUS FEATURE ON THE BLU-RAY?

The ending could have been a bit stronger. As excellent as most of the movie was, and as solid as the build-up towards the final "confrontation" between Matt and Jessie's nefarious killer was, the way that it played out (and we're not going to spoil it) felt a bit underwhelming. It was good, and it was fitting, but we expected it to have more of a punch.

YEAH, THAT KIND OF A PUNCH.

Everlasting is a movie that relies more on subtlety and dread than it does blood and gore to get its point across, but there were some bloody bits to be had throughout. We got some flashes of grisly and disturbing imagery, and a bit of violence, but it was definitely more of a psychologically motivated movie than it was a gory one.

THIS SKEEVY BASTARD RIGHT HERE...

The entire movie revolved around Valentina de Angelis looking and acting sexy, and there was a bit of nudity here and there, but like the gore it was sparing, and came mostly in quick flashes. This is definitely a sexy movie that keeps things more classy than trashy.

HERE'S PROOF THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO BE FULLY NUDE TO BE SEXY.

Pretty, troubled young girls with stars in their eyes should probably just avoid Hollywood altogether. Also, loving pretty, troubled young girls with stars in their eyes can really only lead to heartbreak.

SO TRAGIC.

What a beautiful, gorgeous, tragic, poignant, depressing, and disturbing movie Everlasting is. It's a credit to the movie's screenplay, as well as the talent of its two leads, that we got so wrapped up in their story; we felt their pain, and it genuinely affected us. It was an honest portrayal of a perfectly imperfect love that ended wrong, and we enjoyed just about every morose minute of it. 

For us, Everlasting played a bit like Megan is Missing, with the emotional weight of Maggie or These Final Hours behind it. It's a very solid Indie Mystery/Thriller, and if you like emotionally weighty movies, then you should definitely give this one a look when you get the chance.

B+

Everlasting will be seeing a multi-platform release sometime in early 2016. Make a note on your calendars.

I'm pretty sure that Valentina de Angelis' last name means "Sexy Angel" or something, and if not, then it damn well should.

Be sure to check out her full Hottie Post HERE.