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Expectations can run high whenever a buzzworthy filmmaker makes the leap from indie to mainstream. And Radio Silence — Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Chad Villella and former member Justin Martinez — certainly had a lot to live up to after V/H/S. This production collective’s rousing contribution to the 2012 anthology film not only impressed audiences and critics, the same segment also caught the attention of 20th Century. This led to the studio recruiting the rising talent for a hush-hush found-footage project later titled Devil’s Due.

However, as soon as Radio Silence’s anticipated first film was released into the wild, the reactions were mostly negative. Devil’s Due was dismissed as a Rosemary’s Baby rehash but dressed in different clothes; almost all initial reviews were sure to make — as well as dwell on — that comparison. Of course, significant changes were made to Lindsay Devlin’s pre-existing script; directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett...

The broad outlines suggest a hasty synthesis of Rosemary’s Baby and Paranormal Activity, but inside Devil’s Due beats the heart of one of Stephen King’s many failed fathers. Seen largely from the perspective of Zach McCall (Zach Gilford) (or, more accurately, his video camera), Due may not have an original thought in its head, but in its portrait of a family dissolving, it generates a power rare in ‘found footage’ horror films. It owes much of that power to the inherent likeability of its stars, who make you wish very much that everything will work out for them even as you know sincerely that it won’t.

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If the proliferation of the found footage conceit in horror movies was ever in doubt, let January 2014 stand as proof. Not one but two found footage horror movies are currently in wide release across America. While it doesn’t solve every issue that plagues the vast majority of films in this particular sub-genre, Devil’s Due fixes enough of them while also managing to be a breezy, enjoyable film in its own right. The film opens with a quote from the Bible emphasizing a line about many antichrists coming during the end times. We then follow Zach McCall (Zach Gilford) as he breaks into his own house to see his fiancee Samantha (Allison Miller) on the night before their wedding. Zach does most of the filming which is explained away as a thing his dad did to document Zach’s childhood, a tradition that Zach wants to continue for his own child. The...

As Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s horror flick Devil’s Due begins, we open with a man, drenched in his own, dried blood, sitting in a police interrogation room, handcuffed and questioned for his part in what has obviously been a devastating set of affairs. A set of affairs the viewer then unwittingly proceeds to explore through the use of contrived found footage. Before you realise, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? This opening act is vastly similar to that of recent pictures Insidious: Chapter 2 and Sx_Tape, and even the original short movie which predated (and eventually blossomed into) the Saw franchise. This hackneyed opening act sets the precedence for a film evidently devoid of innovation and originality.

The aforementioned suspect is Zach McCall (Zach Gilford), who fervently dismisses allegations against him. We then go back in time, and recount his journey through recorded home footage,...

There have been a bunch of news stories in the last week about the newest of the newborns delivered in this new year, but we.re more interested in one of the first cinematic births of 2014, which will come in the demonic form of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.s feature debut Devil.s Due. Well to be honest, we aren.t so much interested in Devil.s Due as we are willing to tolerate it, given its trailers make it look like a dumbed down found footage version of Rosemary.s Baby. But we.ve got a few of the film.s first stills and clips here to try and sway our opinions to the anticipatory side of things. Thanks to Collider for these photos, which pretty much give us frozen looks at moments we.ve already seen in the previews. The film stars Zach Gilford as Zach McCall,...