REVIEW: Butterfly Effect

As a writer creating stories in alternate worlds, I have occasionally wondered "What would the world be like if I had a chance to write its story - to be the author of history?" Inevitably, when I make a choice and imagine its consequences down the line, I wind up in a world far worse than the one we have recieved from God - ultimate Author of Life. Similar thoughts must have been going through the author, director, and actors for the move BUTTERFLY EFFECT which came out on DVD this week.



BUTTERFLY EFFECT follows the life story of Evan, a boy with a scarred past who suffers periodic blackouts at important moments in his life and whose father is in a mental institution. He grows up to become a student of pscyhology, and one day in his dorm room - while reading a journal from his childhood - he finds himself transported back into one of his blackouts to witness events as they actually happened. He learns that he is actually travelling back through time when he does this, and learns to control both the method of travel and his own actions in the past. Filled with the feeling of power, he decides to use this power to right the wrongs in his own life and that of his friends and loved ones. But each time he goes back and makes one small change, life winds up far worse for either himself or those he cares about. Remaking the world in his own image always leads to disaster.



This film is NOT one that should be viewed by the feint of heart. The situations that Evan and his friends find themselves in are often horrific and likely to lead to nightmares. And the horror is not the "creepy guy in ski mask" kind, but rather thr horror of real life gone horribly wrong. This is not an uplifting film, despite a note of hope at the end. However, viewers should be aware that this film teaches important moral lessons that our society today forgets - "Greater love has no man than this - to give up his life for a friend," and the lesson that your life, however flawed, is a gift to be treasured, not a mistake to be regretted over.