Welcome to the Blumhouse (Part 2): "Nocturne" and "Evil Eye"

Nocturne (2020)

One of the better entries in producer Jason Blum's “Welcome to the Blumhouse” special collection of hit-and-miss, modestly budgeted thrillers is writer-director Zu Quirke’s “Nocturne" (now available on Amazon Prime Video). With a young woman gifted in the arts being driven to madness, this might look like a knockoff of (or a distant cousin to) the elegantly nightmarish “Black Swan” and even the delightfully batshit-crazy “The Perfection.” Cosmetic similarities aside, it’s more of a Faustian tale about innocence being corrupted mixed with how the disciplined pianist’s world can be like a bloodsport, à la “Whiplash.” In its own right, “Nocturne” plays to a classy, more controlled tune.

Before she was to deliver the concerto solo in the music showcase of a prodigious arts academy, musical prodigy Moira Wilson (Ji Eun Hwang) took her own life by jumping off her balcony. Twin sisters Juliet (Sydney Sweeney) and Vivian (Madison Iseman), both talented pianists, attend the same academy and are bound for Juilliard. Juliet lives in the shadow of Vivian, even though they are both accomplished musicians who have practiced tirelessly. When Juliet, the introvert of the two, finds the late Moira’s journal, she unlocks something. The well-acted “Nocturne” throws plenty of macabre imagery our way, some of it creepy in standard horror-movie fashion, but its final image is the most unsettling.

Grade: B -

Evil Eye (2020)

“Always listen to your mother” seems to be the moral of the story behind “Evil Eye,” a nice try of a romantic drama turned thriller that's more intriguing in conception than execution. Directors Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani (identical twin brothers) get fine performances out of its non-white cast, particularly Sunita Mani and Sarita Choudhury as an Indian daughter and mother. Pallavi (Mani) is a New Orleans writing graduate in her twenties who casually dates around, but much to the chagrin of her busy-body mother Usha (Choudhury), nothing sticks. Tired of being set up with Indian men by her superstitious mother, Pallavi meets the rich, handsome and charming Sandeep (Omar Maskati), and things move quickly. Usha is ecstatic at first, although she still has her guard up and then begins to fear Sandeep really is her abusive, left-for-dead ex reincarnated. Based on writer Madhuri Shekar’s Audible original story, “Evil Eye” plays with its one idea for a long time and uses trauma and cultural beliefs for tension and thrills. For the most part, it comes off, but it’s not really enough once the other shoe drops. Like most of the movies under the “Welcome to the Blumhouse” banner, this might have played more effectively as a twenty-minute short.

Grade: C +

Amazon Studios released “Nocturne" (90 min.) and “Evil Eye" (90 min.) on Prime Video October 13, 2020.