Donde se esconde el diablo

I went in to this movie not really thinking it would be all great, Jennifer Carpenter (from TV's Dexter) was the swing-vote why I decided to go ahead with it.

However she was not really why I kept interest, cause frankly she wasn't that great in this one.

Luckily the other cast was slightly better, no Academy award winning performances or anything but decent enough.

I went in to it thinking it would be a horror, and even though the beginning of the movie does fall in line with that and there are horror elements that pop out from time to time in the movie I'd say it's first and foremost a drama.

And even though the horror segments are neatly orchestrated it often just don't feel like it's from the same movie sometimes, characters who at one point are shook up can in the next minute be going on their business like nothing happened, so yeah uneven direction for sure.

It's almost as if someone wrote a somewhat realistic day to day script what life in a cult would be like and then some big shots told someone else to re-write it to a horror instead so they just cut and pasted some horror segments into the script where it could fit.

And the ending is pretty awful.

5/10

This movie caught my attention cause of Alycia Debnam Carey and I am not embarrassed to say it!!

Then, being a huge fan of thrillers I thought I would give it a shot. And I was very pleasantly surprised!

A thriller movie first and foremost has to have that eerie, spooky, unpleasant atmosphere that puts you in the mood of "something ain't right here... something must be not what it seems like...". And it succeeded!

Production wise it is just fine. Not a lot of fuss about things that don't' need a lot of fuss. The actors were each good casting for their roles. And Alycia... Ooh man oooh man..That girl can really act and I hope that she makes good choices cause she really does have IT!

Now, this I have to say: The "Trevor" character is the same actor that played Finn in "THE 100". I will not spoil for those of you that haven't seen the movie yet... but this dude is one of the luckiest/unluckiest characters on earth!!!!!!!! Both "Lexa" and "Clarke" man!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? BOTH OF THEM!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

The movie is filled with allegories and symbolism. Very nicely done guys. The whole story and how it ended was as it should have been done to make it worthwhile. Sometimes payback is not "a bitch"... IT IS THE DEVIL HIM/HERSELF!

WHERE THE DEVIL HIDES is a modern-day horror flick with at least a different setup to the usual one: it's set in a remote religious community, which feels very Amish in style (but isn't). A fire-and-brimstone preacher keeps the locals in line until a series of brutal murders leads some to believe that there's evil in the midst.

Sadly, despite the difference of the setup, the execution of WHERE THE DEVIL HIDES turns out to be entirely humdrum. Everything that happens has been done better elsewhere, and it's all very choreographed and unexciting. One of the worst things about this film is the look, which is all dark colours and shadows; in other words, like 99% of other modern horror flicks that try to be atmospheric.

Even worse, WHERE THE DEVIL HIDES manages to waste the talents of a pair of decent cast members, Rufus Sewell and Colm Meaney, by having them not do very much at all. Jennifer Carpenter (of QUARANTINE fame) also has a role. In the end, though, this one's a struggle to sit through because it's so slow and predictable, and it's still as forgettable as all the others.

This movie had some promising elements and very good production value. Despite what seems to be a modest budget, the lighting and technical aspects of the filmmaking on display here are all pretty top notch. The young female leads are also pretty strong and the fundamental idea behind the story seems like solid starting point.

Unfortunately, there's really not many more positive things I can think to add. The way the story unfolds is completely predictable and not even slightly interesting on any level. It's pretty much the same old same old that you see in any "powers of the devil"-type horror movie. No new ground is broken.

And while the movie is far from being terrible, it's just as far away from being good and ends up as a textbook example of genre mediocrity.

Prophecy stalks a religious community. The fools! Or are they?

Strong theme and good acting, but the story is rubbish - a disapproving rant about irrational behaviour, yet the end is beyond irrational. No problem with criticism of religious faith, but this was so obviously a caricature that I couldn't believe it, and the final reveal felt cheap. I think it's a case of being so contradictory that you end up agreeing.

The story telling is weak - gaping gaps in the logic, plus several scenes you have to excuse just to keep up with events. It does look great, although the music is too busy. And so coy about the sex and violence - I understand the need to meet standards, but this was disgustingly tame.

There is a saving grace, thanks to the actors. Colm Meany had a cheesy role, but the actresses were beautiful and intense. Pity the story didn't allow them to take over.