Don't Believe the Hype

Best movie of this year hands down!

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Legendary suspense director James Wan brings us yet another great scare fest. Great atmosphere. Great cast. Great premise. Bloody great scares! The found footage scenes here and there were highly effective and added significantly to the eeriness. It literally gave me goosebumps. The film captured my attention from the opening scene until that great twist ending. Loved it!

After a terrific opening involving a charismatic cop Detective Mark Lewis (Frank Grillo) investigating a houseful of apparent corpses, we flit back in time to find out how the tragedy occurred. Here, my heart momentarily sank, as it seemed we were to be treated to the dreaded 'group of friends' prevalent in films like this: fast-talking picturesque teens all bitter and moody because of some banal relationship disaster (one of the number, Michelle (Cody Horn) is secretly pregnant). But luckily, 'Demonic' only flirts with such soap-operatics to establish the characters before flitting back and forth to an interview with the only survivor, John (Dustin Milligan). Such back and forth shenanigans ensure you have to pay attention, which is of course, No Bad Thing. John, the poor sap, is being interviewed by psychologist, Dr. Elizabeth Klein (Maria Bello), who informs him he may go to jail as a result of the carnage and no other suspects.I enjoyed this for many reasons. It's dark and gritty, like a supernatural version of something like CSI and other punchy police dramas the US do so well. It is also set in Louisiana, a locale that brings happy memories of 'The Mummy's Curse (1944)' – it may be by the Kharis association, but the raw, humid, swampy location seems to work well with this kind of horror. Also, the acting is universally good, with the young cast soon shaking off the shackles of initial worries concerning precocious, bland stereotypes. The production as a whole is polished and foreboding, faced-paced and atmospheric. Will Canon does an excellent directing job; all scenes are packed with visual interest that highlights every cobweb and speck of dust in the ramshackle house.As the title suggests, demonic rituals appear to have been carried out at the remote house the five friends investigate. Unwisely, a séance is carried out which appears to unleash all kinds of spirits, none of them you would want to share an elevator with. Familiar jump-scare-tactics – upturned crucifixes, slamming doors, hideous faces in mirrors, use is even made of found-footage filming to confound what we think we know – all of these are used restrainedly and against a backdrop of convincing grit and gloom. There's even a twist ending.'Demonic' doesn't set the world on fire, but is a fine, solidly produced way of spending 83 minutes.

With October coming up I started gathering up some Horror flicks that a friend would enjoy.Learning that she is a fan of The Purge movies,I took a look at Frank Grillo's IMDb page. Initially seeing a page of Action and Drama offerings,I spotted a "new" Horror film right near the top,which led to me unleashing the demon.The plot:Arriving at a murder scene in an abandoned house, Detective Mark Lewis finds a survivor called John in among the three murdered victims. Whilst calling Dr. Elizabeth Klein to interview John,and asking for backup,Lewis finds Videotapes of recordings that the gang made.Checking the footage of their seance,as Lewis continues to search for other survivors in the house, Klein learns that John's mum was a lone survivor of a massacre that took place 20 years ago,in the same house.View on the film:Whilst the kids give good,but not that distinctive performances, Frank Grillo keeps the chill in the air of the post-murder scene bubbling away with a great tough performance as Detective Mark Lewis,who Grillo sends out to chomp anyone who stands in the way of solving the case,with Lewis's first encounter with demonic evil leading to Grillo kicking some demon arse! Looking at things from a more compassionate side,the gorgeous Maria Bello gives a terrific performance as Dr. Elizabeth Klein,whose belief in there being something "behind the walls" leads to Bello giving Klein an understanding edge,which crumbles as the horns appear.Taking inspiration from producer James Wan's adventures in peculiar homes,co-writer/(along with Max La Bella & Doug Simon) director Will Canon and cinematographer Michael "Oculas" Fimognari tape the Haunted House with the gritty Found Footage genres.Sending the gang round the house with black and white cameras,Canon drapes the house in a creepy atmosphere,as the grainy quality of their recordings raise doubts over what exactly is moving in the background.Looking up from the recordings, Canon gives the house a decayed shine,where gliding camera moves dip in and out of the low hanging shadows where the demons lurk. Looking at events from the aftermath perspective,the screenplay by Canon/Simon and Bella calls out a chilling Found Footage Haunted House mystery,where burnt slivers of film give a glimpse to the chaos that unfolded in the house. Inter-cutting the events in the house with Lewis's investigation,the writers bring the supernatural horrors into focus,as each discovery Lewis makes edges another memory out of John's scrambled mind. Balancing the supernatural demonic screams with a gritty mystery,the writers disappointingly push everything over the edge with a left-field twist from afar,which tries a last gasp effort to change sub- genres,but ends up burning down all the intriguing horror mystery that had been bubbling away for a flat final shock which takes the horns from the demonic.

When I choose new Horror films to watch, I usually rely on IMDb posters and synopsis, followed by the video trailer (and sometimes based on proximity, in the list of "users also liked" found on pages of films I've enjoyed). So it was a very pleasant surprise for me to see the name James Wan (a.k.a the Wan and only!), master artist of modern Horror-Thriller, in the opening credits. With numerous triumphs to his name (Saw, Insidious, Dead Silence, and The Possession for instance), James Wan is to me no less than a brand name, guaranteeing top quality modern Horror mixed with suspense and just the right amount of drama. However, in this case - I must sadly say that the film didn't remotely resemble the level I've learnt to expect from Wan. Probably because he was a producer here, not in charge of story or direction.The first obvious characteristic made known is that it's somewhat of a combination between narration and found footage. A detective reaches a murder scene in a house infamous for similar murders 20 years ago, relating heavily to the occult. As the sole suspect is interrogated, he recaps the occurrences of the past few hours, or at least what he remembers. Simultaneously, the police technicians manage to salvage the footage of the cameras placed in the house, and together both testimonies slowly uncover the story. As a Horror fan who really doesn't like found-footage "mockumentaries" - I must say this combination was very well done!As for the acting, those of us who've seen Eurotrip were in for a nice little Easter egg, with Scott Mechlowicz playing the role of blunt antagonist Brian. After seeing him as the comic romantic, his skills in portraying the condescending patronizing ex-boyfriend were pleasantly surprising, the proof of acting talent! Other than that, I found the entire cast to be very good, with no-one standing out in particular.Now for the lesser parts... For starters, the story followed the all too familiar pattern of "youngsters performing seance, things go wrong, enter possession?". The exposition bringing said youngsters together and the overall conclusion of events were the only things resembling originality, with the conclusion part even less so as it's been done in other films. The build up lasts most of the film and does a good job in being compelling and creating suspense, but leads to an anticlimactic and somewhat disappointing ending. It feels like preparing the audience for a major twist, which turns out to be all too obvious and predictable (whenever the adjectives "anticlimactic", "obvious" and "predictable" are used to describe the twist and ending - disappointment is eminent).It's difficult for me to remain objective when the ending is a let down, but all in all I must say Demonic is quite a fun experience. I believe James Wan had no business participating in a mediocre production, but not all things mediocre are necessarily bad. I enjoyed the film pretty much until the ending, and I guess it's worth trying if you're a fan of this particular sub-genre.