DVD Review - Everly (2014)

Everly,played by Oscar nominee Salma Hayek (From Dusk Till Dawn), is the sexual property of Yakuza boss Taiko portrayed by Hiroyuki Watanabe (Chain).Craving respite from her abusive existence and to fashion a better life for herself and young daughter Maisey she want’s out.

Our protagonist has an exit plan in the shape of some hidden loot and the help of one of the only cops not on the evil crime lords payroll.What could possibly go wrong ?

This unopologeticlly bombastic action thriller opens moments after this escape plan has veered irreparably off the rails and spends the rest of it’s economically pitched run time documenting the resulting carnage.

Taiko is furious at the attempted betrayal and he declares it official hunting season on back stabbing whores.Thus a multitude of whoop ass cans are simultaneously cracked open as every assassin in the proximity lines up for a piece of retribution pie.

On it’s most basic level Everly is a relentless series of dizzily escalating set pieces as a colourful cavalcade of cut throat’s for hire try desperately to aquatint our beleaguered heroine with a mortuary slab.

Make no mistake – there is hardly a frame of this mischievous ball of nervous energy that does not feature somebody trying to kill someone with something.

Pace is not the only friend and ally of this majestic midnight movie as professionalism and class are on display right across the blood spattered board.

Director Joe Lynch(Wrong Turn 2:Dead End) is well known in the genre comunity as a true aficionado of all things B-movie related and he orchestrates the proceedings with assured enthusiasm and genuine panache.With a more than ing interest in horror Lynch’s bloody fingerprints are all over the invasive torture scenes and the inventively healthy body count.

Production design is by Ondrej Nekvasil the man behind the ostentatious and underrated Snowpiercer and as a consequence the movie rocks a truly stunning aesthetic appearance.

In essence a one location movie the apartment in which Everly makes her final stand is remarkably well realised.It seems to take on a character role of it’s own as it gradually gets more shot up in parallel to the titular character as the mayhem intensifies.

I asked Joe Lynch about this:

“The apartment completely came from my brain inspired by New York lofts and modern Japanese decor but wonderfully realized by Ondrej.”

Steve Gainer provides the gorgeously kinetic cinematography and with work under his belt such as Mysterious Skin and Super the visual flare of the film should come as no surprise.It is to Gainer’s great credit that Everly always looks more expensive than it really is.

The music comes courtesy of the effortlessly talented Bear McCready(The Walking Dead) who also worked on Digging Up the Marrow from Lynch’s long time partner in crime Adam Green(Frozen).McCready has since been entrusted with composer duties on the Omen based T.V. series Damien.

Salma Hayek is more than adequate as the lead in a full throttle action film and never phones it in nor gives the impression she feels the whole thing is beneath her.The whole movie hinges on a committed performance from the actress and that’s exactly what she gives.

That’s a fair raft of talent and shows what can be achieved when the right people are hired for the right jobs.The shoot seems like it would have been a total joy for all involved and that ethic bleeds through into the overall tone of the picture.

Who cares if the plot is so full of holes the script it’s self could well have been tied to a chair and blasted point blank with a shotgun. This eminently watchable and sumptuously violent flick manages to distill the essential ingredients of the action genre into the cinematic equivalent of necking shots.

You wont much of it afterwards but it’s brilliant fun at the time.

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