Movie review - Ever After

Ever After ** (out of 5) Though the title reads like the ending of a fairy tale, this one's a horror flick with all the gore that fans of the genre could hope for. But the fairy tale connection still exists. Seven young lovelies go to the prototypical isolated house in the woods for a weekend bachelorette party. We know they're bound to be besieged by crazed locals, but instead of the usual range of Deliverance-style rubes, their assailants are dressed as characters from old children's tales – Little Red Riding Hood; the three little pigs, etc.

Despite those allusions, there's nothing amusing about the costumes and masks. Or what their occupants do. I had expected some measure of campy humor in the mix, but the script from director and co-author Laszlo Illes never heads in that direction. This is straight slasher fare from the get-go.

Subscribe

Very little time is spent on fleshing out the young womens' characters before their flesh starts getting flailed. A mixed bag of personalities unfolds to some degree during their ordeal, but no one grabs the reins as the standard protagonist most likely to survive. Ever After is a low-budget affair, with most of the funds likely spent on crafting and showcasing the yucky stuff, rather than salaries.

The two biggest names – Malcolm McDowell and Kane Hodder (Jason in the Friday the 13th series) – only lend their voices to the proceedings. The next most familiar actor, Mark Sheppard, gets a role late in the proceedings that lets him ham it up, and he does so with gusto.

No nudity; very little sexual activity. This would be R-ratable solely on the gruesomeness factor. The only novelty lies in the personae of the pursuers. But if you're in the mood for one of these flicks, you could easily do worse. I certainly have on many occasions.

(Ever After opens in theaters on 9/4/26, and will be available On Demand as of 10/27/26)