Salutations my screechers, screamers, and scary dreamers,
Tonight’s tale of terror entitled “Here Comes the Devil” concerns kids disappearing during a family furlough and randomly reappearing displaying demonic designs.
As a reviewer I find it very smart when a film tells me what I am in for right from the start, but while the opening may not have told me the plot it telegraphed what was contained in nearly every shot. Now I do not want my readers to think my turn of phrase is providing this picture any sort of praise as I felt there was an unnecessary excess of women shown in various stages of undress. If the nudity had been integral to the plot I would not have given it a second thought, but it ended up being an aggravation since it was never given any explanation. Sadly this will probably affect the whole review as the more that I think it through the constant disrobing seriously began to intrude upon the storyline and any sense of mood.
Setting my opening complaint aside allow me to elaborate on the tale they supplied as if they had cut out the unnecessary filler it had all the makings of a great supernatural thriller. Stories of demon possession have been around for some time and right now creepy kid films are in their prime so merging the two makes plenty of sense as they have both proven to make viewers tense. This film very liberally preys upon many horror movie clichés which is not as amusing as one might think since they never give the audience a wink. but occasionally it does rise above its inspiration most notably when it reaches its culmination. For those who slog through all the rest the finale finds this picture at its best as it really does manage to deliver and may even give some viewers a shiver.
The scares that the filmmakers are serving are best classified as being unnerving as they put the emphasis firmly upon pace insuring that the frights are rarely in one’s face. The score perfectly complements the scares as it often catches one unawares and even during scenes without suspense it is liable to make some viewers tense. To add to the audience’s strain the cinematography contains sudden zoom-ins to make viewers feel unsteady which will easily fluster those whom are unready.
Story/Concept: 1
Direction/Style: 2
Scares: 1
Atmosphere: 1
Rewatchability: 0
TOTAL: 5/10
In summation, if I had to give this a classification I would tend to call it modern day exploitation so while I do not consider this to be that great it is not a film that I outright hate.
Stick to the shadows my fine friends.
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- Movie Review: BONE TOMAHAWK (2015) - February 23, 2016
