I Trapped the Devil

The film makers did a lot with very little here as the budget is obviously tiny. The atmosphere quickly becomes quite creepy and a feeling of dread starts to build. I watch horror films regularly and it is rare to find one that creates a real sense of uneasiness and apprehension like this does, for me that is where true horror lies so massive credit to the film makers for that.

Unfortunately there was just not enough information and the script was quite poor. There's a guy in the basement who Steve believes to be the devil: how did he get there? why does he think he's the devil? These questions are not asked by his brother Matt or his wife and this just seems beyond ridiculous. Although there is some hinting at a traumatic incident in the past and Steve's sanity is questioned there is just not enough back story and the dialogue is quite limited so you end up frustrated because there is never any real explanation for how this situation arose.

I appreciate sometimes directors want to leave things open for the viewer to interpret how they want but for me there were just too many unanswered questions which left me unsatisfied at the end.

This movie was definitely inspired by Rod Serling's 1960 Twilight Zone episode titled, "the Howling Man" (Season 2 Episode 5). It was made more involved with a psychotic gatekeeper, as opposed to a religious zealot keeping Satan under wraps. But, you can see the similarities in the plot.

Ending was an insult and major letdown, the slow burn just doesn't pay off here at all...I gave 4 stars for the atmosphere and premise, just a bad attempt though all around. Come on IFC, you used to do better than this!

*NON-SPOILER*

The whole film is a build up to something that is a massive let down. The film makes zero sense. How did the devil get trapped to begin with!? Surely that would be explained given the circumstances?? It's just a ridiculous movie throughout, but I have seen worse, which saves it from the 1 star.

Pretty much that...

A shame too. I do think this director has a great feel for mood and atmosphere, and with the lighting, camerawork and such, I felt he has an excellent grasp on how to use those. Unfortunately, and with what is still a rather thin story, I feel that he really did not handle the writing/dialog very well at all. The few scenes where the actors interact with each other I honestly think are not done terribly well.

And, unfortunately with a story that is about 90% atmosphere and mood, the dialog and scenes between the people absolutely Have to be very strong. And, sadly that is where I feel the director and/or the writer, and even the acting really detracts from the story.

If the writing and the direction of those scenes had been a lot stronger, then I feel that really could have added to the tension and buildup of suspense to the story. But those scenes I feel were handled very poorly and instead kind of diminish any suspense or atmosphere that had been built up rather well up to that point.

Yes, I think the director has a lot of promise and has some genuine talent for visuals, lighting, and atmosphere, but he really needs to work on the dialog scenes so that they work in harmony with the powerful mood created and help strengthen the ongoing plot rather than weaken it.

So, a really solid if rather simple idea and some great atmosphere, but the threadbare story really runs out of steam towards the end and without being too specific, leaves the audience kind of going, 'What...?!'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Particular Way of Rating:

5 - Flawed, but perhaps with some entertainment value.

6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.

7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.

And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )