🎬 Movie Overview
-
Title: See No Evil
-
Release Date: May 19, 2006 (USA)
-
Genre: Slasher Horror
-
Director: Gregory Dark
-
Cast: Kane (Jacob Goodnight), Christina Vidal (Christine), Samantha Noble (Kira), Luke Pegler (Michael), Michael J. Pagan (Tyson), Rachael Taylor (Zoe)
-
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Fandango at Home
1. Plot Summary
A violent psychopath, Jacob Goodnight (Kane), escapes death and hides in an abandoned Blackwell Hotel. A group of juvenile delinquents is sent there on a work-release clean-up. What starts as a routine job quickly turns deadly when Jacob systematically stalks them through filthy corridors, dispatching the teens one by one in gruesome ways. As the body count rises, the survivors must band together… or become his next victims.
2. Notable Elements
-
Kane’s terrifying presence: Pro wrestler Kane’s towering physique and weapon-wielding menace make Jacob a physically imposing slasher icon. His axe and hook kills—chopping off a cop’s arm or skewering victims—are visceral and intense.
-
Committed ensemble cast: Christina Vidal, Samantha Noble, and the others add likeable energy and chemistry, giving the film survivors you root for amidst the carnage.
-
Setting as a character: The decrepit hotel—with dark stairwells, locked elevators, and hidden rooms—injects claustrophobia and dread throughout the 85‑minute runtime.
-
Brutal, inventive kills: From a jailer being rolled into a door, to a cell-phone shoved down a throat, the death scenes are painfully creative—delighting gore fans. The hook-and-eye torture scenes are particularly harrowing.
-
Overused slasher tropes: Critics called it predictable, cliché, and lacking suspense, with an 9% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
3. Themes and Messages
-
Unstoppable nature of evil: Jacob embodies inevitable violence, a relentless force roaming dark corridors and claiming victims no matter surroundings.
Advertisement -
Redemption vs. punishment: Teen troublemakers motivated by redemption are brutally tested, raising the question—can flawed youths find salvation through survival?
-
Parental betrayal: The twist revealing Margaret as Jacob’s mother, complicit in his killings, adds a chilling layer of maternal loyalty and legacy of evil.
4. Personal Impressions
What works:
-
Kane’s performance is uniquely intimidating—he is the monster.
-
The gritty, rotting hotel and visceral kills deliver a strong slasher atmosphere.
What falls flat:
-
Predictable plot and cliché dialogue undercut tension. Many critics cited the thin story as turning away potential scares.
-
Suspense is sacrificed for gore—a lot happens, but few jump scares land.
5. Audience Recommendations
✔ Slasher enthusiasts who enjoy relentless killers, practical gore, and gristle-heavy kills.
✔ WWE or Kane fans curious to see him play a brutal horror lead.
🚫 Avoid if: You prefer psychological depth, clever storytelling, or original horror—it’s straight-to-format slasher fare.
6. Conclusion & Rating
See No Evil is a gore-filled B-movie slasher lifted by Kane’s chilling physicality and inventive kills. But its overused tropes, predictable plot, and minimal suspense keep it from standing out. As a popcorn-horror throwback, it hits the mark—but don’t expect more than a bloody adrenaline rush.
Final Recommendation: Dive in if you’re a gore-loving slasher fan or curious about Kane’s horror turn—but keep expectations simple.
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5 stars)