It was hardly a case of 'Demon Eye' being doomed from the start, meaning that it was not a case of it being a bad idea already. Actually was quite intrigued by the idea for the film, coming from someone who has a thing for good concepts, and it did have the potential to work with the right execution. Also appreciate horror, and there are lots of classics, lots of clunkers and lots of in between, so there has never been any bias against it.
'Demon Eye' though could have been so much more. Good idea, with some decent elements, but very overall lacklustre execution, am aware that that can be a cliched thing to say when talking about film, television etc. (and there are people that do hate it being thrown around), but do feel that it is apt regarding 'Demon Eye'. It also could have been much worse though, have seen a lot of potential wastes recently which has rather annoyed me but 'Demon Eye' is not among the worst examples.
Will start with the things that 'Demon Eye' did quite well on. For low budget, it did look pretty good. There was a suitably creepy setting, enhanced by moody but not too obvious lighting and photography that wasn't amateurish or too flashy. Actually appreciated that special effects didn't feature heavily here and thought that worked in the film's favour rather than being a detriment, it's preferable to having lots of them and risk swamping everything and exhausting the viewer from all the bombast. What there was of them were okay. The music has an ominous vibe and doesn't overbear anything or used too obviously that it ruins impact, hates of mine when it comes to music.
The actors, considering what they had to work with, put in game efforts, didn't see any phoning in or anybody trying too hard. The lead actress carries the film in a way that doesn't look like she was over-parted. 'Demon Eye' starts off promisingly, with some unsettlement.
Unfortunately, that promise peters out too early and the biggest offenders were a very dull pace and a story that was very thin for the running time and felt very stretched out. Too much of it was pretty uneventful and too reliant on clunky talk. There is very little suspense or sense of threat, while the horror elements weren't really enough and were pretty predictable and bland. Not much after the promising start thrilled or even engaged.
Despite the actors' game efforts, the clunky script and plodding direction worked against them as did the very sketchy characters that behaved with little logic. The ending needed more clarity and felt rushed.
In conclusion, lacklustre. 4/10
