Saturday, 18 January 2014

FILM: Devil's Due (dirs: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, 2014)

"This will be quick and painless."

Although it has barely an original idea in its 89 minutes, Devil's Due is by far one of the best of the recent crop of cheap found-footage horror movies, even if that is damning it with faint praise.  For older viewers, it is a mash-up of Rosemary's Baby, It's Alive and a dash of The Omen; for recent converts, it is a karaoke version of Paranormal Activity, The Last Exorcism and a bit of Blair Witch.  The saving graces, however, are stronger-than-expected turns from Allison Miller and Zach Gilford (an amiable and attractive couple who bear the endless camcorder close-ups well) as the unfortunate expectant parents of the Devil's offspring; three very well-staged (brief but powerful) set pieces; and a lively finale.  Whilst the imagery and narrative trajectory hold no surprises whatsoever, there is sufficient consistent drip-feeding of ideas and an engaging journey conveyed by the lead pair to make Devil's Due a reasonably effective entry into the genre.

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