Devour - Der schwarze Pfad

College student Jake Gray (Jensen Ackles) has disturbing visions. His friends Conrad Dean (Teach Grant) and Dakota (Dominique Swain) have some troubling secrets. Then they introduce him to a weird computer group called "The Pathway". It turns out that "The Pathway" is something more disturbing. When Jake's douche boss fires him, "The Pathway" helps him get revenge. As more deadly things happen, he is more concern that this is even more dangerous than a simple cult.

This movie had some good tension going. Jensen Ackles is good as the lead. The visions are a bit weak. Teach Grant is not up to the job his role needs. Dominique Swain is good as a damaged corrupted girl. Shannyn Sossamon is perfunctory as the sweet love interest. All of it was going well as an average horror movie. But the ending is really weak. It needed a lot more action to push the climax over the top.

This movie is very similar to movies such as Cry Wolf, The Ring 1 and 2, and Stay Alive. In all these movies a character does something (like visit a website, watch a video, play a video game, or start a rumor) which starts into motion a chain of events (usually unleashing something evil) that result in a blood bath. While this is probably considered a B movie, I thought it was a fairly good B movie. It sure wasn't the best horror movie I've ever saw, but it did entertain me. I thought Jensen Ackles (Jake) and Dominique Swain (Dakota) did an excellent job portraying and acting their parts... Shannyn Sossamon (Marisol)was just mediocre in her acting skills. I found her acting kind of bland and boring.

The movie itself started off really well. It was set up well, but then the further along it got the worse it got. If a different person were playing Marisol, if they'd kept the beginning and the basis of things being connected to the website, but found a way to make various parts and the ending more realistic and added a bigger budget to pull all of that off, then this had the potential to of been a great movie. However, they did not and this is what we are stuck with. Which is, a really good, but not great B movie...

All and all this movie is not a complete waste of time. I think it was highly entertaining, but like someone else said it is no masterpiece. If you start the movie with unrealistic expectations you will be disappointed. It is best to have no expectations at all and decide for yourself. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes horror movies or thrillers, but if you don't then it's not for you.

Poor Jake is living a pretty screwed up life. He keeps having disturbing visions. His mother is a cripple, his dad a recovering alcoholic. He gets fired from his job. And he gets introduced to a dark computer game called The Pathway. Then everybody around him starts to die. But it's not all bad, Jake is a hit with the ladies! This starts off slowly but intriguingly. However once the plot begins to open up about The Pathway being a computer game used by the Devil, who here is a she(?), and a Satanic cult it descends into absurdity. I found myself laughing at how silly it was. Acting is decent, though the actors are obviously older than the parts that they are playing. Not as gory as the DVD cover suggested, however there is a graphic tongue cutting. I certainly won't be going for a repeat viewing. If you want to watch a good Satanic video game movie choose Evilspeak instead.

Well acted and shot snore-fest by director David Winkler, tells the story of a computer program linked to Satan himself. Basically just another psychological thriller with out much substance, the story sputters along at the same speed as sheep jumping over a fence. It does have some decent gore scenes, but they are too few and way too far in between, and chances are you will miss them due to the fact that you are sleeping, which makes "Devour" almost impossible to pay attention to. The plot involves a collage student who's (Bobby Brady-looking) best friend introduces him to a internet program (as a gift)that turns his dismal life upside down. Certainly not the worst premise, but it's slow pace makes it so boring that I actually fell asleep four times trying to make it through this. Perfect evening's viewing for anyone suffering from insomnia, as I found it more effective then NyQuil... Yawn.

Yes, this film offers an odd perspective of the paranormal, from religion to speculation, there is a clear definition... Once the film starts, you realize there is a lot going on, and there are many twists and turns that lead you to the ultimate ending of faith, belief, power, imagination, and an important story. Of course there are things that make many believe that this type of storyline is absurd, but from the beginning till when it all starts to reveal itself is a great intrigue, if not an obvious plot to turn to. If nothing else, Devour will reveal itself as an interesting turn of events in a mediocre world. Considering that this is a movie that isn't as shocking nor revealing as Saw or Land of the Dead it's worth a viewing since it was never released in theaters. It may not be the next Hitchcock, but there's a vibe to it that may make the many fans of this genre enjoy the originality!!