The Restaurant

I disagree with several reviewers who've blasted this film for bad or "wooden" acting. One of the indicators that you're watching good acting is that you forget the actors are acting, and that was pretty much my experience here, with a wide range of characters played with appropriate gusto and skill.

Much of the violence is out of shot, the details left to the viewer's imagination. A dying scream followed by a generous splash of blood can say more than the grossest, most graphic death.

There were a few problems with the plot and the pacing, and the ending could have been better; however, with a little sympathy and patience, you'll find an hour and a half of decent entertainment here.

Horribel movie, maybe the worst made, the director should never be allowed to do another movie.

A horror movie that is also trying to be funny. I can see that this feels problematic. That it touches nerves. This plays almost entirely in one location, which made shooting obviously easier and the budget wasn't that big either (at least partially financed through Kickstarter as I read in an Interview). You may not like what the director decided to do with the main idea and you may find some dialog awful, but overall this is more than a decent effort to entertain the viewer.

It has blood, it has jokes and it is as over the top as it needs to be. Not to everyones liking as I already stated, but that is not a reason to declare the director talentless. If you have a heart for independent movies and the humor touches home, you will have quite some fun with this. I know I had

THE RESTAURANT AKA THE DEVIL'S RESTAURANT tells the story of a Faustian Bargain between the manager of a Restaurant and a demon. The terms of the deal are that the demon makes the restaurant successful by sending it lots of guests, many of whom will never be missed if they disappeared, and in return the manager feeds some of those to the demon.

Based on this premise, a script for a horror-comedy would seem to almost write itself: many aspects of the restaurant industry can be mined for scenes of situational humor, not to mention that food itself is a ripe subject for entertainment.

Alas, this movie felt very much like the script needed to be rewritten a few more times. After an awesome prologue during the opening credits, by far the best part of the film, it gets progressively sillier and worse. By the time the movie ends, one feels disappointment at just how short this fell of its potential.

The main characters cannot be blamed. Mark Robert Turner and Anthony Misiano did well, the best job in the cast. Turner's character reminded me a bit of John Cleese's character in the TV series FAWLTY TOWERS, and Misiano seems to be a natural comedian.

The production design was okay. The exterior of the restaurant looked kind of shabby compared to what a fine dining Italian restaurant is expected to look like, but that may well have been the point: it would take the demon's powers to attract lots of people to this place.

Some of the cinematography gave this away as a low budget affair, but this does not set the movie back nearly as much as the screenplay. The premise was good, some aspects of the story were innovative, some of the gags landed, but it all felt like it should have been allowed to stew a little more before being served up for realization.

Was it a great movie, no. However, it was very entertaining. The acting was ham fisted, and the script...meh, but you know what, it worked! The film was extremely self-aware and did not take itself seriously. Therein lies it's true strength. The Devil's Restaurant is quirky in all the right ways. Pay no attention to the low scoring reviews, some of which did not even bother to use proper spelling and grammar. This movie is not groundbreaking and I doubt it was made with any award aspirations. To be frank, I started watching this with the intent of simply having something playing in the background while doing other things. Two minutes in and I was hooked, though. Is it horror? Well, the premise definitely is. Comedy, absolutely. Let go of your expectations, open your mind, and enjoy this silly little film.