Dreadfully Boring

An action-packed slog

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I don't get why so many here are accusing this film of 'ripping off' Kill List. It's obviously and occult version of Harold Pinter's play The Dumbwaiter... given an occult twist. One of the characters is even named 'Pinner' as a nod to its inspiration. In truth, the earlier parts of the movie, that more closely resemble that play, are a lot creepier than the later, bloodier, bits. Still, it's a good show and kept me entertained all the way through. It is very minimal... just a few (good) actors and a couple of filming locations... but what need would it have for more? As it is it makes perfect sense without a bunch of unnecessary bloat to dilute its story. I'd be quite interested to see what it's creators make next.

A clear rip-off of Ben Wheatley's KILL LIST, THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS is a hopeless travesty of a film. Shot almost entirely in the dark with mainly just two actors on the screen, it sees a couple of hit-man - a seasoned professional and his rookie apprentice - visiting a house to carry out a hit. Once there they find the place deserted so they sit round for about an hour of screen time, waiting for him to show up.The story is extraordinarily low budget so this needed a fantastic script to make up for it. Sadly there isn't one. The acting is hopeless, particularly on the part of the inexperienced younger guy, but it's the dialogue that crushes the life from this one. There's a ten minute monologue which is one of the dullest ever and has no real connection to the central story, as tenuous as that is. It appears somebody researched the life of Aleister Crowley and decided to do a modern-day version of the tale but the effort is entirely unsuccessful. Indeed THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS is the worst horror film I've seen in a long time, and that comes from somebody frequently exposed to the worst late-night excesses of The Horror Channel.

I can't think of another instance where I've felt the need to comment on a film that wasn't especially good, or especially bad. I think it might be because this film is nearly brilliant.--- THE SPOILER ---It's the end that lets it down. I don't mean the homunculus. I do like a homunculus. I mean how it was done. I can't say there was anything wrong with any of the elements, and I think the bit where the dead bloke leads the homunculus away like a child could have and should have worked really well. Maybe just poor execution of a good idea.--- END SPOILER --- A lot of the film was really nicely acted and it did a great job of building tension. Billy Clark's monologue about the dancer at the club was excellent. He really stole the show for me. I suppose a bloke from Belfast his age working as a hit man for a mainland gangster is nicely plausible now that the local hooding industry has dried up. Even so I thought he really carried some real menace, and it's just nice to see a fellow Belfastard in a central role once in a while.It's also nice to see another film about the occult. It was all the rage back in the 80s but it's really fallen out of favour in the last decade or two. The very mighty House of the Devil seems to have revived it a little, and I'm very much in favour. The Devil's Rock, The Devil's Business – Bring back films with 'The Devil' in the title! Overall I think this film deserves a six for a brilliant first fifty minutes.

I had read several very positive reviews of this movie so I was excited to watch it...I was very disappointed. The ending was incredibly cheesy and silly, the sound effects were way overdone (there is a part with a baby where they play a crying baby sound as if you couldn't tell it was a baby...come on) and the music was this ever-present "typical horror movie" soundtrack. I was a bit put off at first because the plot summary sounded so much like the (far superior) Kill List, and it really is pretty similar...if you took the great cinematography, the unflinching brutality and the budget away from Kill List and then put the music from an 80s episode of Unsolved Mysteries over the entire thing, you might get something resembling this movie. It's only 69 minutes but it felt way too long and was very predictable and obvious. The lead actor did a really good job and the actor playing Kist was effectively creepy and without them this would be firmly in Syfy Channel B-movie territory. I still wouldn't recommend it; this is one that is not worth the hype. Just go watch Kill List again and save yourself the trouble.