Evil Eye

Director’s Statement

I made EVIL EYE during a period of creative upheaval. I had just graduated from college with a degree in film, and I was facing dire prospects regarding a career in that field. I had enjoyed making my thesis film FINE TIME and was eager to make another one — on my own if I had to. The decision to shoot on an iPhone may have been out of necessity, but I had shot videos on my phone for fun and had also seen similar films from Sean Baker, David Lynch, and Hong Sang-soo. I was excited by the possibility of working under restricted conditions, using the realm of digital video to depict an evil, murky world where danger lurks at every corner.

EVIL EYE came from a strange hybrid of influences. I wanted to create a chaotic thriller inspired by the Safdie brothers, set on a night out inspired by Martin Scorsese’s After Hours and infused with Lynch's surrealist tone. I found the premise of searching for a king cake baby to be especially interesting, as it opened up a realm of possibilities relating to luck and superstition. At the same time I wanted to depict the breakdown of a relationship, in essence making an evil twin to FINE TIME. In that vein I also took inspiration from Ingmar Bergman’s Shame and the TV show The Curse.