EIFF: Necessary Evil an existential comedy with horns
Fans of The Good Place might be interested in another existential comedy, Necessary Evil – making its premiere at the Edmonton International Film Festival on Friday night.
The web series (aiming for TV) is a bit darker in its hour-long pilot episode Soul Purpose. It’s set in a hell that actually looks like hell – and where it turns out there’s a corporate headquarters, of course there is: “Hell LLP,” in which office life is likened to eternal damnation. To close to the bone?
In a funny, clever yet surprisingly deep show that explores the nature of sin, the action revolves around a low level accountant named Azmodeus (series creator and writer Randy Brososky). A meek demon cursed with tiny horns, he is bullied by his co-workers, laden with pointless work, and terrified of the many larger-horned bosses above him – until one day, in a Hudsucker Proxy twist, he is suddenly promoted to CEO, and given the title of “Satan.” Seems the old boss Lucifer has had enough of hell.
All hell, so to speak, breaks loose as the incompetent new boss tries to navigate the corporate underworld. Along the way Azmodeus meets Lucifer’s frosty old secretary, the monstrous head of security, and perhaps one of the most fearsome executives of all, the evil HR director. Fans of the Dilbert comic strip might also find some resonance here.
Satan’s first job is interviewing people for the position of Devil’s Advocate, which is good for a few jokes.
He tells a candidate, “You know, I don’t think I’m looking for someone who just contradicts everything I say.”
“Yes you are.”
Later on, we meet Mephistopheles (Mark Meer, right), who’s in charge of the soul collecting department, and who provides some of the story’s most thought-provoking moments.
“The amount of effort required to enable humans to be terrible to each other is remarkably small,” the dapper demon observes.
Strip away the hell motif and what we have here is a standard workplace comedy – complete with the cracked characters, petty politics, ridiculous rules, forbidden romance, amusing rivalries, and general cruelty, along with the ever-present fear one might be “fired,” and cast out into the cold world outside – or, in this case, hot.
All six episodes of Necessary Evil will be available to watch starting Saturday, Sept. 29.
