EVIL NEVER DIES is an odd movie indeed, a Norfolk-set ghost story that occasionally recalls the classic stories of M. R. James but at other times turns into a cheap gangster movie. The budget is low as is the scope, leaving this an intriguing oddity more than anything else.
As with many low budget British films these days (and they tend to be gangster films), special attention has been paid to getting as many familiar faces shoehorned into the story as possible. The leads, Tony Scannell and his antagonist Graham Cole, are both from THE BILL, while Katy Manning will be well known to sci-fi fans as a Dr Who assistant back in the day. Finally, we get tough guy actor P. H. Moriarty (THE LONG GOOD Friday) as a scenery-chewing crime boss.
The film's plot involves a former gangster just released from prison. He's now an old man, haunted both psychologically and physically by ghosts from the past. His new life is interrupted by a spate of mildly gory murders, and it all makes sense come a twist ending. EVIL NEVER DIES isn't badly made, but it is all over the place tonally and it's not as satisfying as I'd hoped. Fans of low budget British films might find it more of interest.
