Eli stars Charlie Shotwell as the titular character, a young boy with a rare disease that causes severe allergic reactions to the outside world and force him to live while constantly wearing protective gear. His parents, played by Kelly Reilly and Max Martini, bring him to a secluded medical facility where Dr. Horn, played by Lili Taylor, begins performing a series of painful treatments in an attempt to cure him. Though, when he receives warnings about the facility from a young girl named Haley, played by Sadie Sink, and begins to encounter supernatural forces, Eli begins to wonder how helpful Dr. Horn’s treatments truly are.
Part of what drives Eli is the use of a particular horror trope, that being Eli sensing something is wrong, and no one, outside of Haley, believes him. It’s the sort of thing that in any lesser hands, would feel lazy and would lead to aggravation. Though the way in which it’s handled here play a big part in what drives both Eli’s character as well as the psychological trauma he keeps trying to push through. His body feels like hell and he has to endure not only the physical pain, but the possibility that his mind could be playing tricks on him.
Charlie Shotwell absolutely crushes it as Eli, and his performance is part of what makes this film so enjoyable. Eli himself is not portrayed as just a typical troubled child in a horror movie, but is written as a character with legitimate needs and wants. He wants to be a normal kid, and he wants to live a healthy life with his parents, and the film shows him dreaming of that. So it becomes much more heartbreaking when his parents don’t believe him when he tells them something’s wrong and they get antagonistic towards him. Not only does the film show the parents not believing what he says, but he always gets very angry when they don’t.
The intensity of these moments is felt, though most of the film doesn’t go too over-the-top to get its point across. In fact, a lot of this film is built off going for more slow-burning suspense and creepy imagery that never feels cartoonish. There are scenes in which Eli sees a figure in the reflection of another object, but the image is distorted. And there are scenes where he sees something moving, but only part of the figure is seen for a brief second. And the film then builds towards what one thinks is going to be a jump scare, and that jump scare never comes. Instead, the film’s intensity lies with its bone-chilling soundtrack, which never gets too loud, but is constantly filled with such harsh tones that it’s unsettling every time it’s heard.
While Eli himself is the centerpiece of the film, many of the supporting players are fleshed out pretty well, with much of the drama stemming from how they counter Eli. Lili Taylor is great as the film’s main antagonist, and she has this sinister presence that is reminiscent of a character out of a monster movie. Meanwhile, Kelly Reilly and Max Martini do a really solid job crafting a lot of the family drama, both taking wildly different approaches to handling Eli’s fears. Some of these moments do tend to find the actors overdoing it just a bit, coming off as melodramatic here and there, and there are some scenes that feel a bit repetitive, but for the most part, it works.
And by far one of the most fun elements of the film is Sadie Sink, who brings with her a lot of charisma that acts as a nice balance to some of the film’s more intense moments. She’s often very funny, sharing some solid chemistry with Shotwell, and she alleviates things when the film begins to feel too heavy, without it feeling like its drastically shifting tones. And the film does a great job with her scenes subverting some typical horror stereotypes. Each time she’s seen, Eli is always by himself, and he begins to suspect whether or not she’s also a figment of his imagination, and the film manages at one point to have some fun with that trope, despite being a legitimate fear in Eli’s head.
While most of the film is often intense, but somewhat grounded, it’s in the final act where things really escalate. And this is by far some of the film’s finest moments. Without coming off as rushed, it cranks things up very quickly, with a plot development that goes into borderline insane territory, but in the best way possible. While it’s hinted at throughout the film and isn’t implausible given the circumstances, the only thing that can be said is that there’s a chance some may find it jarring. It is a slight tonal shift from the rest of the film, but it serves as a suitable grand finale to an already electrifying film.
Eli is probably one of the most underrated horror films of the year. While the film does tend to repeat itself here and there with some slightly melodramatic moments that can feel grating to some, it’s overall a really well-crafted film. It’s one part haunted house film and one part psychological thriller, as there’s this sense of feeling trapped, not just in an isolated environment, but in one’s own head. It’s really well directed, has one of the most fitting scores in a horror film this year, and is filled with some great performances, and it all leads to a wildly explosive finale. If one’s looking for a horror movie night in during Halloween season, turning on Netflix and watching Eli is a great choice.
Recommendation: Watch It
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