Whether or not you’re a hardcore horror fan, Karen Lam’s latest film, the revenge thriller Evangeline, is a stupefying experience. After making its debut back in November at The Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, Evangeline will be creeping its way on VOD May 8, 2015 and on DVD / Blu-Ray June 9, 2015.

Evangeline Pullman (Kat de Lieva) has been living the sheltered life with a father who is an overly committed preacher. Evangeline has been given the opportunity to start over in college as a freshman. Her new roommate Shannon (Mayumi Yoshida) is very excited to take her new shy friend Evangeline out for a good time at an “off the hook” frat party. Evangeline catches the eye of many; however, the very sought-after Michael Konner (Richard Harmon) and his two friends are very much interested in this young gem. Evangeline living a real nightmare finds herself being hunted and chased through the menacing forest by Michael and his henchmen, where she’s severely beaten and left for dead. Evangeline’s precious body is taken over by a spirit giving her the opportunity to seek revenge on those who took part in destroying her innocence.

Writer-director Karen Lam did a spectacular job creating the character Evangeline. For me, Kat de Lieva nailed it! De Lieva carried the character Evangeline to the limits. De Lieva had the daunting task of making Evangeline the “good girl” and then becoming the sexy chick that was far from innocent, and then had to reverse the entire process. Lam took a lot of time to develop the innocence of the character, and it was abruptly obliterated. The visual effects in this film were exceptional along with a fitting score. At times, Evangeline gave me that Last House on the Left feel, which I was most definitely good with. I will be the first to criticize a movie for not developing their characters, but this film did not require it. The character Evangeline was developed quickly, and I was able to vest myself into this character. At times, this film felt brutal but it challenges the question of whether a person should turn away or risk losing one’s soul to abomination. Evangeline exposes the vulnerability that young women deal with everywhere. Evangeline demonstrates that women can take control and seek a type of vengeance, and punish those that have taken advantage of those vulnerable attributes, with a twist!

Karen Lam has worked full-time in the film and television industry for the past fifteen years. As a producer and entertainment lawyer, Karen began her career. Since then Lam has produced four feature films, eight short films, and three television series. The Cabinet was her first short film, and she was the writer/director for that picture. The Cabinet won the NSI Drama Prize in 2006. Since that time she has written seven feature film screenplays, directed half a dozen short films, a music video, and two feature films, Stained (2010) and Evangeline (2013).

Lam’s extreme impressive vision and enthusiasm for the horror genre and being a woman working in film, specifically horror, has unlatched my mind about gender role in film. For so long women have been associated with particular roles, but Lam is one who stands out to set presentment to a new way of thinking. Lam took time out of her busy schedule to speak to me about her role in film and about Evangeline. Enjoy!

Karen Lam

iHorror: Can you explain your inspiration for the creation of your film Evangeline?

Karen Lam: The original idea came from my short film, “Doll Parts”, which is where Evangeline first appeared. I came up with the idea of this killer doll woman in Hong Kong when I was spending time with my grandma–who was dying. She was hallucinating through the night, and I started creating the purgatory room. (Check Out Doll Parts).

iH: How long was the shooting schedule for Evangeline? What were some of the locations filming took place?

KL: The film was shot over 18 days in February of 2013. Different Vancouver locations were used, including University of British Columbia.

iH: What are your thoughts about sequels? Any thoughts of a direct sequel to Evangeline?

KL: I have a min-series in very early stages of development, and my story editor Gavin Bennett is also a graphic novel writer–we have a universe of stories for her.

iH: How did your short films that you created prepare you for a full feature film?

KL: I love going between shorts, features, television and recently a web series. Each medium has its unique quirks and lets me do something different. The shorts give me a chance to be really experimental with technique, and the features allow for a bigger story.

iH: What challenges and rewards have you experienced because of gender role in society?

KL: The biggest challenges are in finance, but I think that’s everyone’s issue. The investors and distributors tend to read scripts in a certain way, and I don’t think they’re aware that it comes with strong stereotypes. The inequality tends to be more systemic than outright discrimination. It’s hard to tackle because it’s not obvious.

iH: On the set of Evangeline what was the biggest challenge you faced?

KL: Back to budget, but I think. We always have grander aspirations than what the budget or schedule will allow, but I did a fairly significant rewrite on the script before we even went to camera so a lot of problem solving was done on paper. It helps that I’ve had over fifteen years as a producer.

iH: Any memorable experiences on set that you would like to share?

KL: I think the funniest scene to shoot was the gym scene with my actor David Lewis. He sent me an email that he wanted to do the scene naked and I misread it as “the shower scene.” I said yes, and everyone kept asking me if I was really okay with it. When I reread the email, I realized he wanted to do the whole scene naked, but I already said yes. Anyway, the sock kept falling off so it became a really awkward day…

 iH: Any future projects you are able to discuss?

KL: I’m just in the process of finishing up rewrites on two new feature scripts, and I;m shooting my first feature length documentary. It’s about a band, but don’t worry: there will be blood.

Karen Lam on Twitter!

Evangeline on Facebook

Evangeline Official Web Site 

Check Out The Jaw-Dropping Trailer Below!

[youtube id=”SoAAEIILtrU”]