The Demons Among Us

"The Demons Among Us" is the first film I have seen by Lost Art Films, and I'm not sure I would've seen it if it hadn't been released by Troma, so thank you yet again Troma! I hope to explore more from Lost Art Films in the near future.

This film is really something special, and it doesn't take long to notice that. It's a very normal plot with an extremely psychotic twist to it. The whole film is lifted up by it's stunning visuals, but I still think it could've survived as a fun low budget film even without it. I'm a big fan of demon films, with "Demons" and "Evil Dead" being my two all-time favorite movies, and I was very pleased with this one. There aren't a lot of memorable killings, which often is a turn-off. Not here though. There are some scenes that actually freaked me out. It's not a scary movie, but some things really gnawed their way into my brain. One example is all the crawling and surreal movements the demons do, which has been done a lot in movies before, but with the whole bizarre visual aspect that this movie has, it really made those scenes work.

The visuals are, like I've stated a couple of times already, really great and make the whole movie very unique. They might not be the most advanced techniques, it's mostly just editing, filters and color adjustments taken to the extreme, however they are used in the best possible way. You need to see it to know what I'm talking about.

What negative things does this cutie have? Well, we're not talking perfection here, so I have a couple of things to complain about. The biggest problem I had was the dubbing, which usually was pretty good, however sometimes it's just very, very out of sync. They also could've used other voices for some people I think. Especially the film studio guy, his voice was way off. Okay, more negatives... Gore! There is gore, but I think they could've squeezed some more in there, because the gore they had looked pretty good. It doesn't necessarily need it, but a demon movie can just get better with gore, right? A lot of people seem to dislike this movie, but they're obviously just asses. If you like independent films who dare to do something unique, or if you're a fan of good ol' horror, look no further. I have to warn you though, some scenes will set up camp in your mind for at least a few days after you've seen it.

Pictures of the film, and other reviews on FilmBizarro.com

I thought that by spending 30 dollars on a locally made film, I would be supporting the Australian Film Industry - but if films from Melbourne are all like this - I'll never buy another. In fact, I don't think I will ever buy a locally made film... such a shame. This film has shaken all my faith in Melbourne. Shaken my faith in film in general. My eyes weep. My heart bleeds. It hurt so bad.

It's as if the director started with the intention of going through every single film filter in history. I think this film would have been not bad if not for the ludicrous pretentious use of stock AVID and Premier filters littered, with no real reason, throughout the film. The writing isn't horrible, the make up is quite good (as far as B grade horror goes) and the story is interesting enough - but beside all that Hard work, the director literally pulled down his pants and defecated all over the canvas with the filters, colors, bad computer generated effects, bad day for night shoots and editing, annoying monochrome -for-no-reason, etc etc etc. It's like watching somebody back when VHS video camcorders were released playing around with all the transition settings. I'm a fan of all film for the main part - from B grade and Z grade 60's and 70's exploitation horror all the way to Oscar fodder, and there was nothing in this that I can say I enjoyed. Nothing. It is a great film to watch if you want to see what not to do if you're a filmmaker, but only if somebody pays you to take a copy of the film.

I feel very sorry for the actors, who after 3 years of production, had to sit through this film at the premier and see there performances mangled under a pile of bad transitions, annoying over the top filters etc. It is such a shame.

And the fact that this won an award locally just goes to show how bad our industry is. I would usually never go out of the way to derail a film, but whoever wrote the last review was an inside man, and that's just cheating.

Watch if you enjoy: Gouging out your eyes. -0/10

I am a huge Troma fan. A lot of Troma's recent releases haven't been too good, however...Bloodspit? Pot Zombies? Meh. I thought the trailer for this one looked really cool, so I recently bought it, and I must say...it's really good. It has really nice imagery, good special effects, pretty good acting, done pretty well considering what the budget was. The storyline isn't all there, but that is okay. It relies heavily on the imagery, and it works pretty well. It has some decent gore, with good special effects. It is pretty much unlike any other movie you have ever seen. It is also an Australian movie. And for the plot, it is near indescribable, much like most of David Lynch's movies are. Basically, a man moves to a ton, and demons start attacking. But check this out, it is extremely weird, and pretty cool. One of Troma's better recent films.

I had a chance to see this film at the Perth International Film Festival this year and was very impressed. For a first independent feature i was amazed at just how good it was. Good acting, cool looking creatures and make-up fx and lashings of style. Very moody, creepy and in some parts, all together bizarre. David Lynch meets THE EVIL DEAD was one good description i read of this film. Shot on video and "film looked" in post the print i saw was beautiful and reminded me of the old days of 70's horror where unlike so many of todays films was not over lit and clinical looking. For me the film also had a dream-like quality (thanx to some inspired editing) akin to some of Lynch's earlier outings. The music and sound effects also impressed me greatly and complimented the visuals perfectly. Not overly gory, nonetheless the killings on screen had the impact one would expect, helped greatly by some of the best performances i've seen in a grass-roots independent for a long time. All in all a highly original and entertaining take on a well worn genre.