The Evil Season 1 Scene That Went Too Far
It's a golden era for horror fans, as there are countless creators exploring the genre in surprising new ways across film and television. One of the creepiest shows around at the moment is "Evil," which began on CBS before making the move to streamer Paramount+ for Season 2. It follows forensic psychologist Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) who teams up with Catholic priest-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter) and technician Ben Shakir (Aasig Mandvi) as they investigate bizarre supernatural events and cases connected to Dr. Leland Townsend (Michael Emerson). Created by Robert and Michelle King, "Evil" has a heavy focus on exploring the line between religion and science. But it's also gained critical acclaim for its grim practical effects.
The show boasts a 93% critic rating against an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, so it's clearly doing something right. It's easy to compare "Evil" to other science-fiction/horror procedural shows like "The X-Files" or "Fringe" — but it has a much harder approach to its demons, devils, and villains. The writers have a keen sense for what creeps the audience out, and some of its monsters are incredibly creative. Most fans will instantly think of George (Marti Matulis), the demon who appears to Kristen in her sleep to torment her. He's particularly scary because the show taps into the idea of sleep paralysis and being unable to move while being threatened in your own bed. Creepy.
However, there's another "Evil" Season 1 scene that went too far.
Nurse Bloch suffocating Harlan was brutal to watch
In "Evil" Season 1, Episode 11 "Room 320," David is admitted to hospital after being stabbed in the chest by a mysterious bearded man. Although he makes it out of surgery, he's on heavy pain medication which gives David some wild hallucinations which are likely brought on by a fellow patient, Harlan (Marcus Callender), and his claims that their nurse is an "angel of death." David sees a group of demons dressed as orderlies stalking the corridors of the hospital. Yes, they're a grim bunch with sagging skin and bulging heads that are enough to give anyone nightmares — but the really terrifying part of the episode comes from Nurse Bloch.
Early on in the episode, she murders Harlan by suffocating him to death in his bed with a pillow. It's such a horrific moment largely because Bloch targets Harlan when he's at his most vulnerable in hospital, while David is powerless to stop her. "Evil" fans on Reddit spoke at length about the episode, and fana pointed out that it riffs on a very real issue for Black Americans. Lucylordforever wrote "I think what made it so terrifying was the fact that Black folks *do* face much higher hospital mortality rates," before adding "like most good horror, the episode's nightmare was based in a very real fear." It's a terrifying issue that The Marshall Project analyzed in great detail back in 2021.
/uBettabucks followed this up by saying it makes the show even creepier because it takes elements from society and adds a horror spin to it, "This is just taking reality to a horror tv show level but it is definitely grounded in truths...which makes it really disturbing."