Indie filmmakers making low-budget horror movies follow the classic saying. “The desire for fiction is cunning,” so horror makers at least try to come up with some original title that can attract the viewer. If you consider the title of “Demons”, it becomes clear that this is not just a low-budget horror film. This is a cheap B-horror with a title so obscure and, oddly enough, simultaneously specific that the desire to watch the film disappears immediately. The 1985 Demons by Lamberto Bava comes to mind and hopes that something similar can be seen here. But “Demons” 2017 is far from a horror classic. This is another thrash representative, standing in a row with hundreds of their brethren (just type the word “demons” in search of movies).
The story follows a former priest played by Miles Doleak. A former minister of the Lord became a bestselling author on exorcism, happily married to Kaylie, whose sister was possessed by a demon. The girl once died during an exorcism and after a while Kaylie begins to see her dead sister. Slowly come to light long-buried family secrets.
Definitely, this is not the most banal plot installation. But its implementation in script format is incredibly bad. The trailer, poster and opening scenes are really tuned to the theme of horror. But, apparently, either the director did not care about it, or he had the notorious “his vision”. By and large, Demons is a family drama in mystical processing. There are a couple of atmospheric scenes, especially at the beginning, but they look superfluous in the context of further melodramatic action. In addition, an hour and a half of timekeeping does not allow you to fit either an introspective, leisurely psychological study of the characters, or the disclosure of the mystical background. Even after the third act and a plot twist filling in the script gaps, the Demons script spends too much time on a side storyline.
Many interesting ideas get lost in the intricate mess of the shooting process. For example, former priest Colin is probably the most unbelieving member of the clergy. It is not known whether it was designed this way, or the fault of the inexpressive acting.
The implementation, of course, jumped. Although the plot is rarely clichéd, the characters here are unscripted, the camera work is simply terrible, and the plot loses its thread at some point. In other words, “Demons” are recommended only to fans of indie horror, not casual viewers.
I think the whole context of Demons is a personal story. Apparently, Doleak wanted to tell the audience something of his own, but this idea was buried under the instructions of the producers and the requirements of the studio. The film was definitely meant to be a drama, however, the budget horror is obviously much easier to sell to the public. Films of any genre and any quality can be successful if made with passion, but Doleak chose the path of cynicism and speculation on the genre of horror. Maybe someday he will shoot exactly what he planned.
2 out of 10