Devil's Den

This film essentially begins with two young men by the name of "Quinn" (Devon Sawa) and "Nick" (Steven Schub) driving back to the United States with a cache of Spanish Fly they had recently purchased in Mexico. Naturally, being the losers that they are, they cannot wait to try their merchandise out on the first unsuspecting women they meet, so they stop at a small, seedy nightclub known as the Devil's Den along the way. To that effect, noticing a beautiful dancer by the name of "Jezebel" (Dawn Olivieri) casting looks his way, Quinn invites her to his table and, when she accepts his offer of a drink, manages to slip one of the pills into it without her noticing. Sure enough, the Spanish Fly produces immediate results and within minutes she is leading him to a quite spot to continue their romantic encounter. Meanwhile, an attractive woman by the name of "Caitlin" (Kelly Hu) has noticed the two leaving through the back door and has decided to follow them for reasons that remain unknown at this time. However, when she finally catches up to the two of them, she notices Quinn fighting for his life against a hideous creature that is attempting to devour him-and there are even more creatures of this type that have suddenly appeared as well. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie certainly had potential as both the initial plot and the presence of several attractive actresses like Kelly Hu, Dawn Olivieri and Karen Maxwell (as the waitress named "Candy") certainly provoked my interest. Unfortunately, my interest waned to a great degree due to the number of uninspired action scenes repeated over and over again. Likewise, the transformation of the beautiful actresses into hideous ghouls didn't help either. In any case, other than a few moments here and there, I found this movie to be rather dull for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

OK so in actuality, this is a total B movie (by which i mean it pretty much sucks). But you know what totallyi redeems it? It STARS Kelly Hu. I mean, she is not just an bit part. She is the star role. OK, you had me with Kelly Hu (in her prime). It is what it is!

You know what else kinda redeems the movie. Its about GHOULS. Different! not vampires, not demons, not werewolves. Ghouls! Bonus points for that and Hu, brings this movie from a 5 to a 7.

As mentioned countless times already, "Devil's Den" really can be considered to be a "From Dusk Till Dawn" knock-off... But that doesn't mean it can't be fun, right? And indeed, I had as much fun with this one as I had with watching "The Hazing" (2004) the week before. Both can be considered good fun horror party flicks. No vampires in this den, actually, but ghouls instead. No big twist halfway through the movie, but ghoul action from the get-go. No elaborate plot whatsoever, but still a few nice character twists. And Ken"Beyond the Dawn of the Texas Sleepstalking Dentist-Reject"Foree is in it. And for the teenage ladies, there's Devon Sawa (but I must say the dude seems to have gained some weight since "Final Destination"). And guys, I don't need to tell you that there's indeed some pleasant femalish eye-candy in this one, right? Yes, this movie will very likely not go very far into horror history, but it's still a certified fun B-movie watch. The same kind of fun I recently had with "Bloodsuckers" (AKA "Vampire Wars"), now that we're talking vampires and ghouls.

The best way to describe this movie is fun. If you are looking for something to scare you, it won't, in point of fact it won't even try. If you are looking for a well scripted, entertaining little story that takes a couple of unexpected twists, and keeps you laughing along the way, then this is a definite must see.

It is a low budget movie but the production value is actually pretty good. The strip club it mostly takes place in is pretty cool looking, nothing on the scale of From Dusk 'til Dawn, but considering the budget it is better they didn't even try. The action was fast paced and well choreographed, Devon Sawa and Ken Foree were quite funny, and the chemistry between them was outstanding.

Unfortunately, my favourite moments would be considered spoilers and I cannot mention them, but suffice to say, with all of the low budget, and big budget drivel that passes for horror today, this one is quite a little gem.

Cheers

I recently rewatched Devil's Den (2006) on Tubi. The storyline follows a group of shady characters who converge at a strip club, each with their own hidden motives. As their true intentions are revealed, the strippers suddenly transform into flesh-eating ghouls. Now, the strangers must band together if they hope to escape their deadly predicament.

This film is directed by Jeffrey Burr (Straight into Darkness) and stars Devon Sawa (Final Destination), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead), Kelly Hu (The Scorpion King), and Dawn Olivieri (Bright).

The plot of Devil's Den is essentially From Dusk Till Dawn with ghouls instead of vampires, but with fewer compelling subplots, characters, and a noticeable drop in star power-despite a cast that had the potential to make this a much better film. The strip club setting worked well for the horror element, offering plenty of beautiful women and nudity, along with some fun kills and gore. The masks, makeup, and use of contacts showed promise. However, once the film tries to explain what's happening and why, it falls apart. The dialogue turns painfully bad, and even the actors seem to stop taking the material seriously, as if they were filming during a weekend horror convention. It's a shame because this could have been much better. Perhaps it would have worked better as a parody.

In conclusion, Devil's Den has some entertaining kills and gore but is ultimately a poor From Dusk Till Dawn knockoff. I would score this a 4/10 and only recommend it with the right expectations.