Where the Devil Roams

I really love the other titles this family has given us. My expectations for a film are rather particular and my tastes are a little exacting. Not many pictures particularly move me. When I heard Wonder Wheel had a new movie, I was genuinely excited. Trying to keep my hopes in check, I still knew they're not going to shy away from making a gripping movie that's unafraid of a supernatural concept. The creepy carnival gig is right up my proverbial street.

But there's so little plot. This isn't a movie so much as an art project and a showcase for their daughter's ability to sing a capella.

I respect what they were going for, I respect what they were trying to accomplish but it's not for me, as much as I really wanted it to be.

Apparently, this family production has its followers, but I am not rating this as someone who has seen their other movies. They are carnival performers, set likely during the depression, and the carnival features many grotesque performers. We find them at a performance, and follow them to their next performance, racking up some gruesome body counts, all of which are photographed by their daughter, Eve. Seven is the father, and his act is cutting off his fingers, and then sewing them back on. Maggie, the mother, simply likes to kill. The stay in a barn, and the farmer comes out and invites them in. Maggie kills him, saying considering what the Germans did to Seven, he deserved it. The farmer had a Norwegian flag, and when Maggie asks if that is German. After the answer she says close enough. There are some flashback WWI scenes setting context. It is one of some horrific scenes, and some really darkness by the family. The story will be off-putting for many, and hard to take. Others will appreciate the horror of the story. There really is no remorse about the killings. This really is a movie for the fans of their family films.

WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS is another creepy film from The Adams clan. Set during the Great Depression era, we are taken along with a family of three carnival performers (John Adams, Toby Poser, and Zelda Adams), as they embark on their spree of grisly murder.

Known for making the best of meager funds, this movie is no exception. As usual, the story is unique and gruesome, and the practical gore effects are well-realized. It's cool to see a family of filmmakers put together such a dark genre effort. The music -also performed by the Adamses- is a sort of ethereal sounding gloom-metal that might not have been around in the 1930s, but fits the overall mood of the film.

Recommended for those who appreciate low-budget horror movies that are quite out of the ordinary...

I can only see these guys getting better over time. For a small family run production company they cover most, if not all aspects of their productions, including most of their own music (H6LLB6ND6R is on bandcamp). Even the practical effects were really decent, all things considered. Sure there were some things i didn't really care for, but i think it's important for people like this to exist and be out there, making things they want to make. Great things can be created with little in the way of tools (and/or money), and they did a good job in that regard. I'll definitely need to check out their previous work, and of course looking forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Please wait through the opening poetry reading (which I didn't care for), and you'll be rewarded with a solid little indie horror. I've liked other Adams family movies, and this one fits into their work nicely.

"The Deeper You Dig" was my first one and is still on my list of favorite "must see" October movies. It has a wonderful twist at the end, and the ending of this one provides just as good of a payoff.

Story = 5/10. I wasn't quite sure why the family wasn't traveling with the circus, but their horrific side trips wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Cinematography = 8/10 -- it's visually stunning. I loved the look of it and paid more attention to enjoying the imagery than to the story in some parts.

Recommended if you like different, weird stories.