Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Evil Does Not Exist

Play trailer 1:59 Poster for Evil Does Not Exist Released May 3, 2024 1h 46m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
90% Tomatometer 157 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings
In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency's plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's follow up to his Academy Award®-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Evil Does Not Exist

Evil Does Not Exist

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Evil Does Not Exist stands on the battle lines between modern civilization and the natural world, offering a perspective that's as quietly measured as it is entrancing.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (157) Critics Reviews
Moira MacDonald Seattle Times It’s about how the indigo darkness of a forest at night becomes a blanket, and about how the arrival of strangers can change a place (or change the strangers), and about the idea of something precious being forever lost. Rated: 3.5/4 May 22, 2024 Full Review Justin Chang NPR As he's done before, Hamaguchi gives us characters who are too complicated and richly drawn to be reduced to any one type. Yet that doesn't explain how hauntingly different this movie feels from his other work. May 14, 2024 Full Review Peter Rainer FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles) It does reflect some of the struggles in modern Japan between rural and urban, but I thought it was a little bit too slow and not up to par. May 13, 2024 Full Review Mitchell Beaupre The Film Stage Evil Does Not Exist is yet another delicate, gentle picture from Hamaguchi that contains tidal waves of emotion underneath the surface waiting to crack through and overpower you. Rated: A- Dec 22, 2024 Full Review Jeff Beck The Blu Spot Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Evil Does Not Exist is a beautifully made film, with a few scenes that hint at an an intriguing & compelling story within, but unfortunately he has quite a lot of trouble keeping the focus where it needs to be. Rated: 2.5/5 Dec 16, 2024 Full Review David Bax Battleship Pretension Hamaguchi has provided us with two competing philosophies of what it means to live off the land, one symbiotic and one parasitic. Dec 11, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (8) audience reviews
Michael Marchaino this movie touched me in many ways. LOVED THE STORYLINE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE Plot LOVED THE ACTING PARTICULARLY THE YOUNG boy and his interaction with the corporate entity imposing the building lot clamping site and the environmental impact to the streams. hat ran. downhill Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/08/24 Full Review Sue Soooo slow. And yet.sooo ambiguous Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/27/24 Full Review Marsh Ryusuke did it again!! Really enjoyed this film as much as I did Drive My Car. The story, tempo, and cinematography were great! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/26/24 Full Review Pete D Though the film had some great moments other moments mDe the the film feel disjointed and were shot oddly. I think there are some cultural contexts that perhaps that I don't understand. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/24/24 Full Review Roy J Very slow start, but drama gets intriguing. Nice to see some corporate employees having empathy for the villagers and not just being greedy evil people. These characters wouldn't have existed in an American set movie. I liked it, but not sure I understood the ending. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/22/24 Full Review ALR Absolutely terrible movie Rated 1 out of 5 stars 05/19/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Evil Does Not Exist

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis In the rural alpine hamlet of Mizubiki, not far from Tokyo, Takumi and his daughter, Hana, lead a modest life gathering water, wood, and wild wasabi for the local udon restaurant. Increasingly, the townsfolk become aware of a talent agency's plan to build an opulent glamping site nearby, offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to the snowy wilderness. When two company representatives arrive and ask for local guidance, Takumi becomes conflicted in his involvement, as it becomes clear that the project will have a pernicious impact on the community. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's follow up to his Academy Award®-winning DRIVE MY CAR is a foreboding fable on humanity's mysterious, mystical relationship with nature. As sinister gunshots echo from the forest, both the locals and representatives confront their life choices and the haunting consequences they have.
Director
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Producer
Satoshi Takata
Screenwriter
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Distributor
Sideshow / Janus Films
Production Co
Fictive , NEOPA
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
May 3, 2024, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA)
$829.6K
Runtime
1h 46m
Most Popular at Home Now