Evolution

Released Nov 25, 2016

1h 21m

Mystery & Thriller

Horror

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List

83%

66 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

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Critics Consensus

Creepy, provocative, and aesthetically absorbing, Evolution marks a satisfying step forward for director/co-writer Lucile Hadzihalilovic.

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Taylor L

It wouldn't matter if this movie was dubbed in Swahili, you can watch any five minute segment and immediately know that it's French. Evolution is a film that refuses to stick to what the audience might want, for better or worse. The dialogue is minimal and the storytelling is frequently visual as a result, told in small increments that deliver horror through an IV drip as you're forced to think about what each revelation might mean once it's challenged your assumptions about the plot. There are endless long, static shots that are beautifully composed and framed, but they are still long, static shots, and they are listless and low-energy given the setting - a small, isolated community where unpredictability lurks beneath a placid surface. Evolution has a creative premise and is well-composed, but I just found the narrative structure and slow pace alienating, at least with this first viewing. If I were in a "let's slow everything way down" mood, I might have called it a masterpiece. (3/5)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/13/22

Full Review

james g

Yes, when body changes start happening (to every human ever) things can get weird, especially when no one around wants to talk about it. And here it is, a "Parable About Puberty" and what may or may not be on the other side. About questions kids might have and about how some answers are just plain stupid and senseless because society doesn't allow for some words to be spoken. To make a horror film about a universal issue that every kid experiences is a great concept. But to make it sort of slow with long tracking shots (lovely, true) that don't move the story forward doesn't make a great horror movie. ART film=4 stars, Bergman worthy. Horror film=2 stars, sorta snoozy. Average, 3 stars.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

felipe o

To watch this you have to love understated, low key, slow paced horror movies that leave everything to the imagination. Otherwise don't bother. The movie is gorgeous, truly gorgeous, and sure, I'd love to see a bit more, but when you don't have the means or the budget to make more, then it's better to leave things unsaid instead of ruining everything with cheap looking FX. The atmosphere is great, the acting is nice and creepy, and the cinematography is stunning. Worth the watch, and I hope I get to see what the director does next.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Liam D

A messed up but sometimes beautiful film This Drama I would recommend for people who are interested in underrated horror movies but it's not for everyone

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/15/21

Full Review

Dale B

Other than the beautiful cinematography, there isn't much to see here. I enjoy 'different' movies but different isn't always good, and this is exhibit A.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/15/21

Full Review

Audience Member

This is one of those movies that I feel generic critics feel obligated or somehow pressured to give a glowing review due to certain artsy aspects and it being so obviously an independent type movie. I found it often dull, tedious, nauseating and more than a little twisto, as Lenny Bruce would say. All those long held shots that for me added nothing to the effect the director seemed to be going for. And it's repetitious; how many times do we see a kid being taken to a room for some twisted procedure, then see them back in bed in the room with the other boys? Too much was left with no sense of what or why. They writhe around on the beach in some snake or earthworm-like orgy then impregnate a little boy who isn't even in full puberty yet so they can possibly birth some Mongoloid-looking creature? Disturbing? Yes, but not in any productive cinematic way for me. 2 stars

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Lucile Hadzihalilovic

Director

Max Brebant

Nicolas

Roxane Duran

Stella

Julie-Marie Parmentier

The Mother

Mathieu Goldfeld

Victor

Nissim Renard

Fran

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Evolution: Trailer 1

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

The Blue Lenses

Evolution sways and bubbles like the slow-motion seaweeds and corals that permeate it. It is a film that beckons us closer, enticing us to fall into it and drown.

Rated: 9/10

Aug 25, 2018

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Hadihalilović maintains a dank, spectral mood, and she's admirably disciplined in her slow revelation of what amounts to a gynocentric nightmare.

Jan 26, 2017

Full Review

Matthew Lickona

San Diego Reader

It's easy to imagine the 85-minute runtime being trimmed to 60, given the limited action and abundance of long, static takes, but then, Hadzihalilovic probably wants to give the dread time to soak in.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 15, 2016

Full Review

Erica Peplin

Vague Visages

Like the boy at the bottom of the ocean, the enigma of Evolution will only deepen upon reflection.

Dec 5, 2023

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Anton Bitel

Projected Figures

Nicholas’ coming of age is presented as a liminal experience, with his ignorance of sexual otherness, and his fear of the feminine within, playing out as a matriarchal nightmare where the bodies of boys are seized and surrogated for procreative purposes.

Jul 9, 2023

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

This is a pleasure to watch, an uneasily gorgeous surface to skate over.

Jan 23, 2023

Full Review

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Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
Screenwriter: Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Alante Kavaite
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Noodles Production, Scope Pictures, Les Films du Worso, Left Field Ventures, Volcano Films
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Horror
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 25, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 21, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.9K
Runtime: 1h 21m

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