The Devil's Light

This film underpromised and overdelivered.

I read the scathing reviews and almost gave this movie a miss.

Until I got some free cinema tickets and decided to go and see this with my partner one night for the hell of it (no pun intended).

Let it be said, I'm both a cinephile and a huge horror fan - but almost to a fault.

I hate corny overuse of jump scares, I hate films that lack substance and just rely on tacky cheap thrills to get by.

You know, the kind of films like this year's box office smash hit Smile - which serve as a staple halloween flick for the average layman to get their yearly dose of scares.

I don't see how cr*p like Smile received such raving reviews for being utterly devoid of any originality, whilst this film actually dared to develop character and weave a solid story only to get review bombed as a result.

Prey For The Devil not only shook up the genre, establishing a unique story with a likeable protagonist, but it did well to space out it's scares and develop a story laden with spine tingling creep.

Honestly I do not say this much with horror cinema trips, but I came out of this experience feeling so respected by the writers.

I can see how the average layman would automatically give this a thumbs down even though I don't understand why people HAVE to make horror mutually exclusive from a well paced, patient script that goes for the long pay off.

A good horror film needs depth, it needs stakes, it needs a solid foundation of a story and a strong setting. Prey For The Devil has all of this, and paces itself evenly, making for fantastic pay off when the utterly disturbing scenes get underway (and under your skin).

I'm feeling restored after the absolute time waster that was Smile last month, and I have Prey For The Devil to thank for that.

If you're a true horror fan and love the sub-genre of possession films, you will be pleasantly satisfied by this film.

I would agree with someone else I was expecting more but it has a few great parts the rest is just ok. Jaqualine Byers and the supernatural are defiantly the best aspects! I'm lucky I have the regal subscription cause I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. I'm nice about my reviews I think Pray for the Devil was solid for what it is, has a great story and awesome horror moments! Nice that Virgina Madsen is still going strong in horror she was best in Candyman and Ben Cross passed away in the last couple years I don't know why there wasn't a rest in piece for him. Solid for horror fans that's for sure.

First, I have to say that I am not the best review writer. What I can say about this movie is that it kept me entertained and engaged from start to finish. It by no means had the best back story but it was enough to let you know a little more about the person you are watching. I've also never been one to delve into artist expression sides. If I am entertained and am not thinking about other things while I watch a movie then keeping my attention is a solid feat in itself. All I can say if you like these sort of movies and aren't expecting epic blockbuster results, then you will find this one entertaining.

Just finished watching a screener as I'm interviewing some the cast and thought this was a solid, well-directed and performed movie. When I watch horror films at home, the scares rarely get me but this one still managed to. Possession/exorcism films are nothing new, they've been around for decades but Prey For The Devil had some great surprises and twists to keep the story moving. Jacqueline Byers gives an incredibly vulnerable performance, with Posy Taylor also giving a great performance, sweet at times and disturbing at others.

Christian Navarro was a very sympathetic leading man and it was cool to see him in a role like and moving on from teen roles. Colin Salmon and Virginia Madsen both gave solid performances as well. Wish they had a bit more to do in this one besides giving exposition or being opposing voices of reason, but happy to see them in another horror project.

Overall I thought it was pretty scary, well executed and enjoyable.

While I didn't find anything about the movie to be particularly poor, I can't really point to an area where it really excelled either. In many ways this is the absolute definition of just a stock horror film. It's almost like having been on a ride that you have been on multiple times in a row. While it's still enjoyable you've kind of already been there and done that. This quality of movie is fine for once and a while, but you wouldn't want to follow it up with a similar level film. The acting is average, but there's nothing that really draws you in to the story that makes you care deeply about any of the characters. To me that is what defines a horror flick.

The ending suggests the possibility of a sequel, but I'm not sure it's earned that.