American Evil

The ‘Americanisation of Native Americans’ policy from 1790 onwards is the inspiration for this seriously flawed psychological thriller in which a woman of Native American heritage unearths a catalogue of sordid corruption and murder connected to the Minnesota boarding school her ‘Indian’ mother was forced to attend. Rain (Georgina Lightning, who also directs) believes she’s cracking up when she has reccurring nightmares featuring a bloody Native American ritual. She also suffers from flashbacks of young tribal children being tormented and beaten. What does it all mean? And who’s the strange Native American bloke in a denim jacket who appears whenever there’s a creepy sound effect? Despite some noble intent, ‘American Evil’ is littered with filmic faux pas: the script (written by Lightning) is clunky, unsuspenseful and full of loose ends (why the geologist?); the camerawork and lighting are amateurishly bland; and the performances are lousy. And that’s a pity, because the underlying subject matter is ripe for exposure.