PLOT SUMMARY: A cult known as the locusts are given a chance to do whatever they want to a family of their choosing for three hours.
There is evil at the door, Evil in your garden, Evil standing in plain sight, yet no one looks out the window even though the whole house is made out of glass.
That's the one thing that is going to irk you as you watch the movie.
Four men, in skeleton masks and black hoodies, stand in a well-lit garden. There are lights in every room of the house to further illuminate the garden. Yet, no one inside the house notices these four obvious figures just loitering in the garden.
The movie at first resembles the Purge franchise and you find yourself expecting a twist especially when the characters are introduced.
EVIL AT THE DOOR Movie Plot
Daniel returns from an exhausting day at work to find Liz in his living room. She quietly asks how was work and he passes a derogatory remark while boasting about his title. His wife Jessica isn't too pleased that her husband is cold towards her sister. Daniel maintains Liz is a liar and only comes to them for money. He doesn't buy that she has an abusive boyfriend whom she escaped from and that she wants a fresh start. He is certain that Liz has come to steal from them again.
Jessica doesn't want to listen anymore especially when Daniel comments about her spending all of his money. He is then called into a video meeting and his boss can see his snarling face and smashed face. He has been drinking after all.
Jessica puts on some music, takes a bottle of wine and goes to take a bubble bath while Liz tries to secretly message her boyfriend even though she was advised not to.
Daniel was interviewed at work for some shady dealings and he maintains to his boss that he didn't reveal any secrets. His boss is about to tell him what he thinks when the chat is disconnected.
It is the four men standing right outside who are the culprits. They keep looking at a watch and are waiting for their "three-hour purge" to begin.
Daniel goes to find out why he was disconnected and Liz looks guilty as she almost texted her boyfriend. Jessica doesn't give a damn about anything and is busy getting drunk and listening to records.
Daniel realizes he needs to unwind and goes to play pool. The four men stand behind him and wait for Daniel to notice them. Of course, it takes a very long time before he finally realizes that he should have invested in a good security system because right inside his house is four intruders in the mood to play pool.
There are some pointless flashbacks about these four, who are members of the locusts, receiving orders from the leader. They are then given boxes. The newbie gets an empty box for some reason. Another gets the watch that will tell them when it's time to attack people. Wristwatches have no place in the cult.
Daniel is tied up on the pool table and the men play pool around him. A sack is put over his head so no one can see his perpetual snarly face. As he starts to complain he is beaten up. A single punch apparently kills him.
Upstairs, Liz sees a man walk outside, pull up his mask and take drugs. She freaks out and starts to go downstairs when she notices two more intruders. She freaks out and takes shelter under the bed. That's where she stays throughout the movie.
Jessica is unbothered by anything else and enjoying her bath. The quartet meet up and decide who is going to get to kill Jessica. They tear off a page from a book and write "Come out and be killed". It's supposed to be really funny and makes them all laugh.
The four have given themselves nicknames based on presidents. Nixon is the new recruit while Kennedy is the most experienced.
Eisenhower is the one who waits outside the bathroom while the rest scatter and go about discussing their "reveals" which is another word for kills.
The more kills they have, the more they tattoo their arm. Kennedy is sure that he and Eisenhower have worked before on a kill but the former maintains that he remembers his victims but not a brooding man who likes to lay in hammocks.
Truman tells Kennedy he saw Nixon taking drugs and is afraid the whole mission might go downhill.
Sure enough, Nixon goes in the garden to do some sniffing from a bottle. When he runs out he needs to contact his drug dealer exactly then and removes the network blocker device.
Liz's phone beeps and she is able to send a message to her sister to not come out of the bathroom. That is it. Not that there are intruders. Or not that Liz wants to place an emergency call. Nope. Just: don't come out of the bathroom. This her sister eventually sees and disregards it.
Kennedy notices Nixon's phone in his back pocket and gets annoyed. He confronts him and he denies. He goes upstairs to join the others who are playing around. Kennedy sends the others away and then attacks Nixon for being so dumb as to switch on the network. Nixon falls on the floor and that's when he sees Liz.
When the intruders entered the house, they didn't do their research but they were standing in the garden looking in and had definitely seen Liz. When they entered the house, did they not wonder where Liz was?
Nixon tries to inform Kennedy but he has him in an arm hold and Nixon loses consciousness.
Jessica is finally done with her bath when she hears the voices. She looks out the window and sees Kennedy in a hammock. She freaks out and screams. Luckily she has her wine bottle to use as a weapon.
EVIL AT THE DOOR Ending Explained with Spoilers!
The others pretend to leave the room while Liz silently begs that her sister not come out. Jessica does come out, uses her bottle and misses. She's then strangled by Eisenhower while Liz comes out of her hiding spot and stands to watch. Eisenhower is torn between strangling Jessica and wanting to go after Liz who doesn't even try to save her sister.
She tries to leave the room but by now Nixon has gained consciousness and tells them about the girl under the bed.
Around this time Isaac, some IT tech guy Daniel had called for work comes and is murdered after he suspects Daniel is home even though his cousin ( Truman lying) told him he was not. He is stabbed and killed.
Liz hides in the closet while the others look for her. They find her but oh no, the three hours are up. The locusts have to stop their killing spree.
Liz goes to mourn over her sister while the four head outside to report to the Cleaner that their mission didn't go as planned.
He sighs and tells them all to get lost so that he can clean up their mess. He has gasoline in his hand.
He goes in, Liz threatens him but the Cleaner tells her he's with the gas company and came when the neighbors complained. Liz just wants a hug after her ordeal and accepts the hug from a total stranger. He of course uses his brutal strength to suffocate her in "deaths embrace". Liz dies.
Fire is set to the house.
The End.
The movie had a decent concept but the plot holes ruin everything. The movie is less about evil being at the door and more about Liz being under the bed.
Scare Scale: 2/5
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