Demonic Activity - Haus der Dämonen

Can't really jump for joy about how good it was. All I can say is that I did like what I saw. I did not waste my time watching it. It was slow but it was not dull.

Not a fan of Fiona Dourif, I just know that her dad is a horror legend (Voice of Chucky), but on her own she was interesting to watch, which is good cause she takes up a lot of screen time.

It had shocking moments that I liked but musty admit were not scary.

The overall story arch was kind of cool too. It's not going to wow you and I'm shocked something this mundane got into theatres, but if you are looking for something new for the Halloween season, check it out.

"Don't Look at the Demon" is a Malaysian film with an international cast, including Fiona Dourif, Jordan Belfi and Harris Dickinson, however they are wasted due to the film's director and how poorly their characters are written. The script is not original but the plot sounded striking and the trailer had merit, but the end result is a film that continually goes up and down until reaching an illogical and ridiculous ending. A couple of scenes are salvageable but nothing special. The cinematography is bad, the atmosphere is non-existent and the filming locations are not used by the production team. A bad production with the occasional successful scene but which fails miserably as a film.

There are horror movies, and there are horror movies, and this is just another horror movie. Been there, done that. Still, for a relatively unknown Malaysian filmmaker, it's an ambitious effort and features non-local actors in the lead roles. Writer-director Brando Lee throws in everything one might have seen in other horror movies, from ghost hunters to haunted houses, possessions and occult rituals to hidden rooms with conveniently working film projectors. The story, while entertaining, is lazily developed, indulging in too many cliches and coincidences, and allowing for too many gaps in the plot. On the plus side, however, the acting is above par with Harris Dickinson giving the best performance; the film is beautifully shot and the special effects are quite impressive. And i dig the surprise ending.

Besides a story filled with major plotholes, a weak script, and under par acting, this could've been a decent movie. However, it seemed like the writers didn't know what horror-elements they wanted to use, nor how to apply them. The editing and cgi was also quite terrible - honestly looked like a videogame from 2005. To be fair, I would've been scared if I was still 11.

If I am to mention one positive aspect of the movie, it was the location of where the movie was taking place. If used properly it could have been adding a few mystic and interesting elements - it didnt however. Missed opportunity.

So my imediate conclusion after watching the movie: I will never get that hour and a half back.

My hat's off to Brando Lee and team! Fiona Dourif is one of my new heroes! I secretly hope for at least one sequel with Fiona's character (Jules), as a troubled medium who travels around Asia helping folks with paranormal problems with the aid of local Buddhist monks!

Well, it could happen!

This movie had everything I deem necessary for its genre. I daresay even a bit on the brutal side for my taste, but it comes with the territory when you're a horror movie buff.

Covering Jules' past, present, and future, Lee took this story a lot of places, with a successful degree of unpredictability. What would otherwise have been a fairly simple plot, a number of complexities arise, which was very satisfying to watch.

As a practicing Buddhist, I enjoy watching what directors do with the storyline when injecting Buddhist elements, even if they aren't necessarily true to life. This turned out to be an important dimension to the film.

Great acting skill from the three female cast members in particular.

Really fun movie!