Political allegory is a tricky thing.  For every 1984 or They Live (1988), there are thousands of crappy, one-dimensional morality tales.  It takes seriously talented, subtle writers to pull it off, regardless of the medium.  It takes a hack to write an annoying screed that preaches at the audience.

In modern film, the screeching moralizing typically takes the form of putting woke buzzwords into the mouths of characters in iconic franchises.  No one will ever forget (or forgive) bitter diversity characters like Rose Tico, the character perhaps most synonymous with Rian Johnson‘s obliteration of Star Wars as a profitable franchise.  Brie Larson’s turn as Captain Marvel (2019) did much to sour audiences on what was once the unstoppable juggernaut of Marvel Studios.

At least one could argue (albeit, I think, incorrectly) that those films were essentially apolitical summer blockbuster fodder, with few DIE hires tossed into the writers’ rooms to throw in “The Message” for “modern audiences,” to borrow parlance from The Critical Drinker.  I think they were intentional subversions of classic heroic archetypes, but what do I know?  I’m just a hardworking chump with alleged “privilege.”

I digress—even if one could make that argument about the aforementioned films, it is significantly harder to make about a great deal of modern, socially-conscious horror flicks.  It’s always ladled on thick (almost every horror film made in the West—and every single horror film made in Sweden—features a lesbian relationship), and it’s always very clear that White Men Are Bad, or that Orange Man Bad.

History of Evil (2024) takes that trend to its logical conclusion, and throws out any sense of allegory or metaphor.  The entire film is an extended riff on the basic premise that all white, male characters are villains (even the one that seems good) and all brown, female characters are heroes.

The film is so ham-fisted in its allegory that mainstream reviewers are panning the film.  The same people that would probably celebrate anytime a man in a sundress kisses a five-year old in a Cheerios commercial find History of Evil too on-the-nose.  It’s like Jussie Smollett directed a film (there’s even a point where a lady gets a noose wrapped around her neck).

The premise is, nevertheless, intriguing:  after decades (two, it would seem) of civil war, a fascist (groan) group has taken over what was once the United States.  That’s about where the intrigue ends.  It depicts a completely improbably scenario:  the new regime is a weird mélange of Christians and rednecks (and Christian rednecks) who take glee in eliminating minorities (except for “converts,” who apparently have accepted their white Christian overlords).  It’s very similar to A Handmaid’s Tale, which also depicted a completely ridiculous version of Christian America.

Of course, the film is telling because it demonstrates the psychological projection of the Woke Left.  They would probably round all of us reprobates and put us into camps if they could.  Based on their tweets (or eXes or whatever they’re called now), I think there’s plenty of evidence to support that claim.  Regardless, it seems like they think we would do that to them.  Remember, we’re the folks who tried peaceful separation 163 years ago, and were forced to stay in a Union that was clearly created by the States with the understanding that they could opt out at any time.

But, again, I digress.  The film blatantly portrays the good guys as “The Resistance,” the name that anti-Trumpers gave themselves following the 2016 election.  Every male in the movie is a villain—every single one.  The heroine of the story—an obnoxiously Hispanic woman with a hyphenated last name—has escaped prison and is reunited with her daughter and husband (a dreaded white guy).  The trio travel to a safe house with a very black lady.  They get stuck at the house longer than expected, and the husband visits nightly with the ghost of the home’s former owner, himself a member of the Klan.

It’s a weird, woke fever dream that attempts to blend elements of The Shining with The Hunger Games—or something.  None of it works.  At least the first season of A Handmaid’s Tale was intriguing, even if everyone watching knew the premise was garbage (that’s before the show got high on its own hype and became just another “allegory” for “Trump’s America”).  But History of Evil is too laborious—and boring.

It also suffers from its own diversity hires.  There are plenty of talented people of all races, but this insistence on casting and hiring people of a specific race is revealing a bit more than the wokesters want, I think.  It’s pretty clear that there are a lot of talentless “POCs” out there.  Just look at the airline industry.

The vision of a future America that History of Evil portrays is truly terrible—but completely unrealistic.  There’s no credible fear in it, and the makers of the film know that.  If they faced real reprisals, they’d lack the guts to make such a film in the first place.  Swap the races and genders in the film, and that flick could never be made in 2024.

Think about that for a moment, and ask yourself who the real “oppressors” are.