13th Child

You can't go wrong when you buy a tape or DVD for 1 or 2 dollars. If you don't like it, just sell it and pass it along, and you're not out much at all if anything, but this one is one that I'll keep. A nice and eerie telling of the Jersey Devil folklore without being grossly gory. Some here say that it's not being honest to the folklore, but then again it's FOLKLORE. Overall, I would not give it a 9 or 10, I'd say that it's more deserving of a 5 or 6, but there are three things that made me jack up the rating. One, a super performance by Cliff Robertson that is spooky enough but not hammy, tough for good dramatic actors to do with horror material. Two, very cool way that the creature manages to get in and out of locked places, worthy of comparison to the best X-files. Three, the idiots who gave it an undeserved zero or one, that's worth a couple extra points right there. (same ones who give this comment the NO vote) These are the type who are sour on anything that isn't a gorefest of unredeeming violence. You know the type, they think the remake of TCM is better than the original, and they think Hitchcock's Psycho was boring between the killings and should have been in color. Oh, wait a minute, yeah, that was done already!

This was not what I expected it to be. The movie didn't seem all interested in the actual Jersey Devil Legend. This movie was sad on many different levels. The plot line seemed as if it was written over a weekend. The some scenes did not need to be in the movie. No real mystery to the plot at all. This movie falls into the regular common horror/monster genre. This movie is has nothing to offer expect the predictable teens getting naked and the occasional mystery. At times the movies seems like it is just reading from a how to book on horror movies. I wouldn't recommend this movie at all. Its not worth wasting your time over.

If you are thinking of seeing this movie, I would think again. Living in Southern New Jersey, the Legend of the Jersey Devil really hits home. So when we heard of this movie, there was no doubt we were going to see it. So we paid $7.75 each at the local multiplex, and settled in. I was originally expected Blair Witch Project type filmography, but the video was actually better than I thought it would be. The movie on the other hand was absolutely dreadful! Not only was their a non-existent plot, but the author completely changed the legend of the Jersey Devil! No Mother Leeds? There were so many obvious errors in the movie, it was really an amateur production. The theatre booed loudly at the end. I heard no less than 10 people comment that it was the worst movie ever. I couldn't help but agree.

Living in New Jersey one becomes familiar with the legend of the Jersey Devil, it's a shame that the creative team behind this picture didn't brush up on that legend. The film has the fun stylings of those campy drive-in horror films, but aside from that, suffers from painfully long/slow scenes coupled with downright derivative imagery. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, ALIENS, 12 MONKEYS, and even the EXORCIST all exist in this film. The film, for a low budget feature, actually shows decent production but the acting, script, and story all suffer so. Here's hoping a "Volume 2" isn't in the works.

I am from South Jersey, and very familiar with the legend. I even worked as a tour guide at Batsto Historic Village, where the movie was filmed. Interesting fact, the outside scene of the hospital is actually the visitors center at Batsto. Also, one of my friends is a thirteenth generation decendent of the Leeds family, and her mother worked as a consultant on the film. The story of the Jersey Devil that most people know, the one of mother Leeds cursing her thirteenth child and causing him to become the Jersey Devil, is where the title of the movie comes from. Unfourtantly, that story is copyrighted, and the film makers of this film had to use an alternate story. So naturally it wasn't what most people expected, but it could have been saved. Unfortunately, the filmmakers tried to cover all of the holes in the movie, weak backstory, mediocre acting, and poor editing, with excessive gore. The only thing I could think of when I left the theater was, Yucky! It was a poorly made movie, that wasn't properly researched.