Where the Devil Hides

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

Let's start off by saying this movie does not reinvent the wheel and I don't think it tries. However I thought the story was compelling and the characters were entertaining enough to make me immerse in the story. You have some familiar faces with well-known actors and they are doing a great job depicting their characters whether they are good or evil. You have some gnarly kills and some decent gore that also enhances the watching experience. The overall story has been done before but I think the execution was fine and as soon as I started watching the movie I pretty much guessed the end so you might find it predictable. While this is certainly no masterpiece I think that if the plot summary sounds interesting to you, you should give it a try and see for yourself. [5,7/10]

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.

My gods! Was it terrible. Too cliché and generic. It's more hilarious than terrifying. But if you're into one of those moods when you just want to watch terrible horror movies, this would do great. I mean do get those moods. Unfortunately, I didn't watch this movie on those moods. BUT! I did get to see Alycia Debnam-Carey's butt though, so...I'm giving it 5 points for that. :P Good thing I love ADC. This movie stained the reputation of my small flower child! She's too adorable in this movie though. That is the only reason I watched the whole film, but if ADC wasn't there. I would have been done 20 minutes into it.

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.