‘Everyone Will Burn’ Review: An Infernal Soap Opera [Fantastic Fest]
Fantastic Fest is ready to bring a lot of incredible fantasy and science fiction films to its audience. The festival has become one of the best places to find those hidden gems when it comes to genre filmmaking. On this occasion, we are ready to review one of the films that are going to be at the Festival. Everyone Will Burn, a pastiche of different genres and styles that maybe tries to be too many things at the same time and fails to give a story that feels coherent in any way. Nevertheless, the film does manage to deliver some astounding sequences that might let you forgive the slips of the plot.
Everyone Will Burn is directed by David Hebrero, and it is written by Hebrero himself along with Javier Kiran. The film stars Macarena Gómez, Sofia García, Rodolfo Sancho and Ana Milan. The film tells the story of Maria José, a woman who has been ostracized by the small town she lives in. When she is about to commit suicide, a small girl appears in front of her and their relationship stars to become closer by the minute. However, while the little girl brings some sense of happiness to Maria José’s life, the nature of the girl hides some very dark origins.
A couple of years ago, HBO released 30 Coins internationally. The series, developed by Alex de la Iglesia delivered a story that jumped back and forth between the scary and the campy. There was a lot of Sam Raimi’s influence in the show, and while it didn’t make a big splash, it was popular enough to gather a following. Everyone Will Burn feels exactly in the same camp as 30 Coins, for better or worse. The movie ends up being quite entertaining, although, it might be one of those movies that you will not see ever again if given the chance.
The weird tone might be the weakest element in the film. The movie is basically telling the story of the beginning of the end of the world. A subject such as that should be taken seriously, and Everyone Will Burn does take it serious to a certain extent, but it falls into the temptation of given away to the comedy and campiness of it all. By doing it so, the characters start to become cartoons, and the stakes are reduced significantly as everything is so absurd that nothing really matter in the end.
Everyone Will Burn is also unnecessary long. Like 30 Coins before it, the movie stretches its story as much as it can, and you can definitely see and feel a lot of scenes that could have been cut. The movie could have just go smoothly, if not better, without some of those scenes. There are a lot of empty moments in the movie. A cut with at least 30 minutes less than the one we are seeing now would have been so much better. More potent, more scary, and less absurd. The movie will find its audience, there is absolutely no doubt about it. It makes you wonder if that audience could have been bigger with a more serious tone.
The story might be a bit dumb, the pacing too slow, and the runtime too long, but Macarena Gómez is just perfect. The actress takes the role of Maria José very seriously, and we wouldn’t want it in any other way. The film lets her have the time of her life, and Gómez just takes every single opportunity to be just a tour de force. It is rare to see an actress commit so much to a role like this. Her energy is raw, and the way she moves around is just hypnotic. It is very early on when you understand that she is the best part of the film, and she keeps being so right until the end.
Gómez and her performance will keep you on your toes, even when the movie loses itself in creating its own mythology. There is a lot of talk about prophecies and legends, and they matter very little in the overall picture that the film is trying to present. It all feels like filler. Thankfully, every time the movie starts to lose you, Gómez comes back and brings you back to the fold. It might not be elegant or interesting, but at least this movie has a huge reason to watch it.
Everyone Will Burn takes a lot from Sam Raimi, Giallo cinema, and also a lot from the classic horror films of the 70s. If you’re a fan of those types of films, then Everyone Will Burn is for you. If James Wan can deliver something like Malignant, there is nothing that can stop Hebrero from deliver a film like Everyone Will Burn. There are tons of films out there that are afraid of having a personality and saying and doing stuff that the majority of people won’t like. Everyone Will Burn is a film that dares, and credit should be given for that.
In the end, the film does what it does and does it with confidence. It is one of those films that might not bring anything new to the table, but it is at least entertaining to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon watching it. It is flawed, but entertaining.
