WWE superstar Kane makes his film debut as a menacing killer in this very brutal horror film from one-time adult film director Gregory Dark.
A group of delinquents are sent to the abandoned Blackwell Hotel as part of their punishment. They must clean up the deserted hotel so that the building can be eventually used as a shelter for the homeless. Under the watchful eye of guard Frank Williams, the delinquents attempt to do their job but between some of them, past demons tend to get the best of them. However, that will soon become the least of their problems.
As two of the delinquents decide to find a vault in hopes to find some money, they find something worse when they see the corpse of an elderly man with his eyes missing. They soon learn that they are not alone. Jacob Goodnight, a maniacal killer, has been hiding in the hotel and begins a killing spree. For Frank, it is having to deal with the past as four years ago, he had shot Goodnight in the head but lost his arm in the melee. As for delinquent Kira, the religious tattoos on her body entices Goodnight, who sees the delinquents as people with sins who can only repent in one way: death. Who will survive when this night is over?
While WWE Studios have been known for action films starring some of their top superstars, this is their first foray into the horror genre and it is actually done well. Writer Dan Madigan takes the slasher genre with introducing a new monster and combines it with religious fanaticism. The film also marks the mainstream debut of Gregory Dark, a director more known for his adult films in the 1990’s. Finally breaking through, Dark really makes the film a (no pun intended) dark and brutal tale that may start out as a slasher film, but it’s a darn good one.
In the role of our killer Jacob Goodnight is Glenn Jacobs, known to the WWE Universe as Kane. When the film was made, there was no corporate Kane, but the character was a demon who had a clean shaven head and 1 brown eye with the other supposedly having a light blue/white eye. This is exactly how one could see a monster in a horror film and Jacobs channels the character of Goodnight perfectly. The religious piece doesn’t really come in until he sees Samantha Noble’s Kira in the shower with her tattoos. Aside from his brute strength, Goodnight has two weapons, which are an axe and a chain with a hook that he can throw like a martial arts weapon.
While in this day of age, one would expect computer generated imagery for most of the kills, Dark decided to minimize the CGI and rely on practical effects for the kills. One victim gets a hook through their mouth and it looks quite convincing through the use of these good ol’ classic style of SFX. In what has to be an inventive death, one gets a cell phone shoved down their throat and you can actually see the cell phone engulfed in the victim’s throat. Again, this was done using practical old school effects. Some understandably had to result in using computer imagery to make it look convincing. Thankfully, the VFX team knows their stuff and it looks quite convincing when needed.
See No Evil is definitely a worthy entry in the horror genre. WWE superstar Kane really gives it his all as the menacing Jacob Goodnight and it would take eight years, but this is one killer we would see again.
WFG RATING: B
Lionsgate presents a WWE Studios production. Director: Gregory Dark. Producer: Joel Simon. Writer: Dan Madigan. Cinematography: Ben Nott. Editing: Scott Richter.
Cast: Glenn “Kane” Jacobs, Christina Vidal, Michael J. Pagan, Samantha Noble, Steven Vidler, Cecily Polson, Luke Pegler, Rachael Taylor, Penny McNamee, Craig Horner, Mikhael Wilder, Tiffany Lamb.
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