Demon

Tons of booze. Everyone's drunk. Epileptic dancing. Possessed groom. Sex with the band...and it lasts all night until dawn. Just like any wedding should be, it's scary, funny, and just downright nuts.

"Demon" (2015 release from Poland; 94 min.) brings the story of Peter, an English guy who is about to marry his Polish fiancée. As the movie opens, we see Peter arriving at a construction site, and in conversation with his future father-in-law, who expresses doubt about the upcoming marriage, given the apparent short courtship between his daughter Zaneta and Peter. But the wedding plans are on. Later that day, Peter arrives at the countryside home of Zaneta's family, which is in dire need for some fixing up. When Peter does some cleaning up in the yard, he comes across the remains of a skeleton, and before we know it, strange things start happening. At this point we're not even 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is perhaps billed as a horror movie, but it really isn't. It really is more of a psychological thriller, rooted deeply in Polish family traditions. Much of the movie plays out over the course of the long wedding night (ceremony, followed by the wedding reception, dinner, and post-dinner celebration). I noticed in the movie's credits that it is in fact based on a theater play, and the movie certainly reflects that (and that is not meant as a criticism). Rather than a horror story, you instead get the constant feeling that something creepy is going on. There are a number of worthwhile performances, including Israeli actor Itay Tiran as Peter/Piotr and Andrzej Grabowski as the patriarch of Zaneta's family. Given the nature of the film, I don't want to disclose much more, but I can only tell you that I became transfixed as this played out, and couldn't hardly believe it how quickly this all went by.

The movie premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, yes, over a year ago. (Sadly, the movie's director Marcin Wrona took his own life not long thereafter.) It opened without any pre-release fanfare or advertising at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend, and I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at was attended poorly, just a handful of people. Given the lack of marketing, it didn't really surprise me. If you are in the mood for a creepy (in the best possible way) and haunting psychological drama, I'd readily recommend you check this out, be it in the theater, on Amazon Instant Video, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

I was thoroughly enjoying this and it just ended. What's up with that? I wanted more answers. That was disappointing. I will say that one of the best and somewhat comical aspect was just how much drinking went on. These folks were lit! I mean all of them were wasted to the point that it could've passed for a zombie flick. I like it but I had to lower the rating because of all the questions that were left unanswered.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie until the last 15 minutes or so. The wild polish wedding in rural isolation with the foreshadowing of a death and funeral a few miles away, the clueless, friendless groom from out of town London and the Father of the bride trying desperately to keep everything seemingly normal, "It's food poisoning", while his son in law gets possessed by the spirit of a, probably murdered, young Jewish girl from over a generation ago and does a St. Vitus Dance at the wedding.

The groom finds a skeleton near his new home right under the nose of his wedding venue and tries to keep it a secret as the spirit begins to take possession. The hilarious cowardly priest and the rather sad scene where one old Jewish wedding guest realizes the groom is now speaking Yiddish and the spirit talking through the groom is of a young Jewish girl he once knew who thinks her whole family is still alive waiting for her.

The build up is fantastic and the location and characters reactions all make this story feel very real, as if it could be taking place right now somewhere in Poland, but the ending gives nothing. You must decide what happened with the spirit and the poor groom. All said, I still really enjoyed the movie.

On the big day for an engaged couple the groom uncovers a grim secret, and the celebrations don't go quite as intended ...

This seemed so intriguing, and I was rubbing my hands as the action kicked off at a lively pace with good humour from the actors. Then we switch to a Polish-Jewish wedding, with great music and dancing and lots of knowing observations. But where's the horror? Instead we get an oblique reflection on the secrets buried in sad soil - it's worth the telling, but doesn't dare to be explicit. I guess the aim was to achieve a haunting atmosphere, but it doesn't really make it - although the fate of the director after the movie was released adds a terrible twist. Is there any such thing as a Jewish horror movie?

Performances are good, but the plot and characterisation are uneven. There's a running joke with characters getting soaked in rain and vodka, and the photography is good. One scene is captured brilliantly, when the couple emerge from the church and get caught in a flurry of snow and umbrellas.

Music is OK, with a joke about Chopin that then fails to switch the music from electronic to piano. Lots of play with several languages and a few puns.

Overall: Spirited but not demonic.