Evil Things
Evil Things is a 2009 American horror film written and directed by Dominic Perez, his first feature. It uses a found-footage style to tell the story of five college friends who go to a country house in the Catskills for a weekend and suddenly disappear 48 hours later.
The group consists of Miriam, Cassy, Mark, Tanya, and Leo, an aspiring filmmaker who brings his new video camera to capture the trip. As they drive from New York City, a dark red van keeps honking and tailing them. They pick up a phone left at a gas station, but the van continues to follow them. They reach Aunt Gail’s house, celebrate Miriam’s birthday, and spend the night with Leo filming.
The next day they wander into snowy woods, get briefly lost, and hear disturbing noises. They return to the house, only to receive silent phone calls. A brown-paper-wrapped video tape appears on the doorstep, revealing that someone has been secretly filming them since they left the city and has been watching them in the house through the windows. The lights go out, phones fail, and the car is missing. A van arrives, escalating the sense that they are being stalked.
As they try to escape, danger closes in. Mark investigates a crackling two-way radio and is heard crying out as he’s attacked. The others hide, the camera is damaged, and some of the group fall victim to the stalker in the house. The footage then shifts to the stalker’s point of view, with the killer continuing to film Miriam, Cassy, and the others. The closing scenes show the stalker watching more groups of friends in various locations, implying that the pattern will continue beyond this weekend.
Production and style notes: Evil Things was shot as a mockumentary-style, handheld horror film with the actors also serving as cameramen. It was written in three months, filmed in seven days, and edited in one month, using the rural areas around New York City as its backdrop.
Release and reception: The movie appeared at several film festivals in 2009 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Critics gave mixed reviews: some praised its atmosphere and low-budget execution, while others found it slow or derivative of other found-footage movies. It’s often compared to Blair Witch Project, Jeepers Creepers, and Paranormal Activity, and is regarded as a solid, if not groundbreaking, example of a low-budget horror thriller that builds tension through realism and a personal, frightening payoff.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:33 (CET).