The premise of 'House of demons' relates that it follows "four estranged friends" as they reunite for a weekend primed to go horribly wrong. The word "estranged" is the most important one to focus on in that sentence, because the film is overwhelmed with feelings of awkwardness, disconnection, resentment, and alienation. That goes for the characters in and of themselves, their interactions with each other - and my feeling about the movie as a whole.
Of everyone in the cast, there are a few names I especially recognize. Where I've seen anyone before, I think they're fine actors; here, too, I think everyone's performances are actually quite good. The problem is that the quality of their acting seems to exceed writer-director Patrick Meaney's film-making capabilities. This is, accordingly, his first feature film - and frankly, unfortunately, it kind of shows.
There's a coherent, somewhat inventive story hidden in these 90 minutes, but it's presented very haphazardly and unconvincingly. Pervasive use of flashbacks and hard cuts to concurrent scenes make the narrative flow disjointed and sloppy. Visual effects, lighting, and editing serve the same purpose, but instead of conveying the weight and gravity of events, they make it all desperately difficult to engage with. Some individual story beats seem like they weren't fully developed on paper before being filmed, and at times the movement between points A and B seems very wishy-washy. Noteworthy, commendable themes and notions are easily subsumed by the slapdash writing, and Meaney's direction is just as unpracticed and disorganized.
I get what Meaney was going for here, and I like the concept he's playing with. I appreciate how the cast, many or most of whom plainly know each other well in real life, was clearly drawn in by such an oddball feature. They believed in the idea of 'House of demons,' and it shows. I wanted to, too. But, to echo a famous line - I feel that Meaney's reach exceeded his grasp.
On the one hand, the imagination and potential is worthy of praise, and the cast's performances just as deserving. But on the other hand, the cast is limited by shoddy writing and direction that likewise renders far too much of the film inert. 'House of demons' isn't entirely bad, and could be worthwhile if one is a particular fan of anyone involved or enjoys a cinematic challenge regardless of quality. But it's a very checkered, uneven experience, and it's hard to recommend this to any but the most persevering of viewers.
Nice try. Better luck next time.
