The Devil's Work

Now having watched this last night and then reading the reviews on here after watching the movie, I have to a few conclusions: 1) most of these ratings must be from people who have a finger in the pie of this movie.

2) the one shot camera work was the best thing of the film.

3) this movie could have been a whole lot better if it had a bit more dialogue.

4) even though as a viewer we don't need to have our hand held and taken through what the movie is about but sometimes having a bit more back story seems to help the film and flesh the characters out more.

5) a four star rating, no more than that is a struggle to give. In fact I would give the one shot camera work three stars and the movie itself one star.

6) to anyone reading this review, if you give this film a miss, don't worry your not missing much.

Ursula has done it again. Another gritty, tightly-scripted, wonderfully scary horror film shot entirely in South Australia. This female writer/director knows that the best horror of all is that which delves into the infinitely many ways in which a family can become unstuck, unhinged, and murderous. Delillo wrote something along the lines of 'family is that thing which twists you out of shape', and that certainly holds true here. Great acting from all, and the suspense grows relentlessly, leading up to a climax that gets rather messy. As they say, blood is thicker than water! It's great to see what an independent filmmaker, working with a very small budget, can pull off.

Saw The Devils Work by Ursula Dabrowski in Adelaide. It was my first time watching a Dabrowski film and after seeing this it left me wanting to see all of her work. I LOVED IT! I'm not much into to gore but love a suspenseful thriller and this film delivered. The balance was perfect and done in a way which made it feel authentic and believable, fully immersing me in the script. I thought the music was fantastic, heightening the suspense and the acting was excellent.

After the screening during the Q&A Ursula revealed that The Devils Work was shot in just four days, on a very low budget and in one location. Incredible talent to pull off such a feat. Highly recommend!

I am stil actually watching this right now . ,apparently there's still about twenty minutes to go , probably five will be credits .

It started out fine .(why people bother locking doors if you leave keys under mats is a mystery to me . ) About twenty minutes in I was thinking this seems like one of those short films and had to double check that it wasn't , seemed like it was pretty obvious what would happen and should be over soon , here I am , feels like an hour later and apart from a lot of wandering around and slow walking I still feel the same . Some of the reviews talk about one shot take thing but so what , that's been done before , This should have been like thirty minutes ,tops .

Oh no , surprise ending ...nah . Not really. Finally over though.

It's not bad , but way too long and nothing exciting or new.

There's so much to love about this film. It's a taut, intensely suspenseful experience creating a strong and sustained sense of claustrophobic fear and dread. Directed by South Australian based horror movie maker Ursula Dabrowsky, the story is a clever, heightened and horrifying rendition of how the damage done by family dynamics in childhood can manifest later in life. The film creates a kind of dark, almost tactile feeling of the damaged psyche as a place one ends up feeling trapped. The talented actors, Cassandra Kane, Luca Sardelis, Mark Fantasia and Kerry Reid are well cast for bringing to life the sticky web of dark undercurrents that tie these characters together. For aspiring filmmakers in this genre, there is so much to learn from how cleverly, stylishly and elegantly this low budget horror story is crafted at all levels - from the story, the talented small cast, and using a singular location to great effect. Music composed by Michael Taylor, and the sound design by Tom Wroblewski both deserve a mention as the audio experience creates such beautiful tension and foreboding throughout the story, complementing the beautiful cinematography by Maxx Corkindale. There are some exquisite effects in make-up design by Dominique Keeley - stay until the end. Settle in to a nice cosy room in the dark and prepare to feel tense and anxious in all the right ways as you watch The Devil's Work ... but maybe don't invite any of your siblings to join you. Do pop this one on your Valentine's Day viewing list though!