Demon

Through his best friend in London, Peter (Itay Tiran) meets Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska), and soon he travels to her home village in Poland to marry her and settle down in the large, if somewhat isolated, house of her parents. Left there overnight, he does some digging and appears to uncover a skeleton; but the next morning, the hole and the bones are gone, and Peter has spent a rather strange night. Shrugging it all off, Peter and Zaneta marry and a huge party is held at the house; much dancing, speechifying and, especially, drinking of vodka ensues. But Peter isn't feeling quite himself shortly after the party begins, and soon he's acting *very* much out of character…. This is a retelling of the Yiddish tale of the dybbuk, a kind of ghost story, and it's very well done here - the acting is excellent, the atmosphere alternates between wild partying and sheer creepiness, and the horror, while striking, is more of the quiet variety than the blood-splatter type (for which I was grateful). I don't know how available it is in North America - I saw it at Montreal's always-brilliant Fantasia Festival - but it's well worth searching for!

The story surrounding the film 'Demon' made in 2015 by Polish director Marcin Wrona is almost as tragic as the story in the film, and builds around it a special aura. The director committed suicide shortly after the premiere, during a festival that promoted this third and final feature film of his, a film that has in its center a wedding that ends tragically. Marcin Wrona himself was freshly married and left behind a young wife (who had also been one of the film's producers). Those who believe in such phenomena may speculate that perhaps some of the evil spirit exemplified by the phenomenon of 'dybbuk' described in the film has spilled over into reality. The rest of us can mourn the disappearance of a film director who was on the path to become one of the most representative for Poland, and beyond the borders of his country. 'Demon' is a very interesting film, which does not leave its viewers indifferent, located somewhere between the Gothic horror genre with elements of Polish and Jewish folklore, and the art film with social and historical commentary. The film is a Polish-Israeli co-production, which is, I think, also first time kind of collaboration.

Pyton (Itay Tiran) comes from London to a remote village in Poland only accessible by ferry (the bridge collapsed some time ago) to marry Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska), the daughter of the owner of the stone quarry that seems to be the main industry of the village. The two had only met her via skype, but we can't blame him because Zaneta is a blonde beauty, or her because she probably dreams that sooner or later she will get London. The problem is that for now Pyton dreams of reverse migration, learns Polish, changes his name (and personality?) to Piotr before the wedding, and begins to renovate a dilapidated house to settle in. The bulldozer used for the works uncovers a buried corpse, and from here, an evil force seems to be released and takes possession of Pyton who became Piotr on the day and during his wedding. Did a demon take over him? Are we perhaps dealing with a phenomenon of 'dybbuk' descended from the Jewish folklore and mysticism, in which souls that do not find peace take possession of foreign bodies and refuse to release them until they see their goals achieved? Are the strange events taking place in this Polish Catholic village related to the history of the Jewish community, a whole world that disappeared in the Holocaust with only one survivor alive in the person of an old teacher?

The film oscillates between grotesque, social satire and horror, adding at the end a commentary with historical significance. The light, comic, folkloric tone of the wedding scenes can lead viewers to false path, as the final message is much gloomier, telling about the impossible reconciliation between an amnesic present and a past that does not let itself be buried and returns to haunt the descendants or accomplices of wrongdoers. The cinematic execution is not perfect and the spectators are required to focus so as not to omit details or clues that flip on the screen for only a few seconds. I liked the cinematography and the acting of the Polish team , who managed draw clearly both the lead roles and the smaller ones that make up the social background of the story. Itay Tiran, who plays the lead role, was at the time of making the film in 2015 a mega-star of Israeli theater, the most talented and successful actor and director of his generation. (Since then he has decided to move to Berlin, where he started a new career from scratch). His roles in film are, in my opinion, a bit marked by theatricality and this happens also in 'Demon'. What works perfectly on stage (Tiran played on stage Klaus Mann's Mephisto among others) doesn't work as well on screen, and he lost me exactly in the 'demonic' scenes. For all its imperfections, Marcin Wrona's farewell film is a meritorious cinematic work, an experience not to be missed.

Well the fact that yet another movie was presented as horror when it had nothing to do with the genre, makes it all so beautiful! Really! I saw Demon and Neon Demon, one after the other, and I've seen less horror than when I run out of toilette paper.

Sure the movie gets you sucked in, you start to feel the dizziness, the walls seem to get closer and the alcohol is starting to play tricks on you. The movie is efficient, for a drama, a nice depiction of some Polish habits, some interesting facts here and there, and then, nothing! Out of the blue, you get the end credits. Abadi abadi abadi aba- That's all Folks!

So you're a horror fan and you curious, so you'd like to throw an eye on Demon. But are you sure? I mean, not for the horror part, I hope. In rest, sure, as I previously stated, this has some different elements to offer. No horror. No scares. No tension. Just a lot of unanswered questions. If you can put up to this, then by all means, go be disappointed.

Cheers!

Ok, so this guy gets a plot of land and property as an early wedding present and, while using a backhoe to dig out a new pool, unearths a skeleton. Not wanting to upset his bride to be, he doesn't mention it. However, on the night of the wedding ceremony and reception (held on the same premises), it appears that the subject can't really be ignored. This is a very interesting, and fast-paced, take on a classic demonic possession tale - in this case, the Jewish dybbuk legend - and it gets creepier and creepier as it continues along. Sure, it's in Polish, but as with many horror movies there's no overabundance of thick dialog. I'd say it's slick and mildly plausible. Well, in the arena of demonic possession, anyway.

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.