May the Devil Take You

Director Timo Tjahjanto is the man behind a couple of my favourite action films of recent years - Headshot and The Night Comes For Us - and, along with Gareth Evans, he co-directed a fun story for horror anthology V/H/S/2. Naturally, I was pumped to see May the Devil Take You, which some have described as an Indonesian The Evil Dead.

I can certainly understand the comparison - both are fast, frenetic, gory tales of possession that, for the most part, take place in an isolated rural building - but Tjahjanto's film cannot hold a candle to Sam Raimi's cult classic: although it features some well handled individual scenes, a messy, unfocussed plot makes it a confusing tale that is definitely less than the sum of its parts.

The basic plot revolves around a young woman, Alfie (Chelsea Islan), who goes to see the ailing father she hasn't seen in ten years. On discovering that he has left an old villa in her name, Alfie pays a visit to the building, where an evil presence lurks in the cellar. When her stepmother and step-siblings also turn up, the malevolent spirit is freed and, in one of the film's most effective moments, possesses the stepmother. One by one, the family members fall victim to the evil at large...

Superbly executed scenes of suspense (the girl with the hammer behind her back) rub shoulders with derivative Asian spooky nonsense (what is it with Asians and haunted hair?), while predictable scares fail to do the trick. At no point was I tempted to turn off or catch some Zzzzzs - a brisk pace ensured that - but I did find the uneven, jumbled nature of the whole thing frustrating. I certainly expected better from Tjahjanto.

This is a terrifying film. It doesn't pull its punches. It hits hard from the start. It has genuine moments of horror that is missing from most films these days that just rely on cheap jump scares with sudden loud noises and ghosts jumping from out of screen.

Having said that, it does not transcend the usual horror tropes with characters making bad mistakes and acting downright stupid at times. The brother character, in particular, is frustratingly stupid. The movie also suffers from poor acting by the child actor who just isn't convincing that she is frightened. Any human being would be terrified in the circumstances of the film but her expressions are just robotic and she does not seem to be in the same movie as the rest of the actors.

All in all I recommend this movie to all horror movie geeks a 100% but do not expect an exceptional film like the likes of Hereditary (2018) or IT (2017).

This movie is a Pengabdi Setan (Satan's Slave) wannabe. You can clearly see how it tried so hard mimicking the success of Satan's Slave. The plot doen't make any sense. It is jump back between the past and the present via (somehow) time traveling or memory(?). The main character suffered too many blackouts without any explanation what is wrong with her. The director decided to add "thing" that has been his passion from all his movies: blood through cheap unnecessary gory scenes.

Edited my review on 23rd Oct 2020 aft revisiting the film cos i am gonna see the second part which looks promising.

I understood n liked the film more aft second viewing. Found the black blood/vomit to be too much. The mumbo jumbo stuff is silly but the film is creepy, atmospheric n very gory. Comparisons to Evil Dead n Wither will crop up in reviews but this one will satisfy fans of horror films. The plot - A young woman Alfie had been estranged from her rich father for years after her mother's brutal accident. She gets a call from her step sibling regarding her father's mysterious illness and when she visits the hospital, she comes to know that her step mother needs her signature for selling off an old, abandoned rural house. Alfie visits the old house after strange happenings regarding a ghost but unearths a terrifying secret about her father's wealth.

The film does have some flaws n moments of stupidity but it has its share of jump scares, scary demonic faces n voodoo stuff. Honestly, it is creepy at times.

The thing which is missing is the explanation of the witch. As a fan of the director's earlier efforts, I am a bit generous with a 7.

I enjoyed this. I thought it had some genuinely creepy moments. The effects were ok. They weren't the best but they weren't really cheesy. I think that the story could've used a bit more attention. I know that a lot of horror snobs will try to knock this film off it's feet but my opinion is that this was worth the watch. If you are looking for blood, guts and gore this is not gonna leave you satisfied. This leans more towards possession, ritualistic, and creepy horror. I'm glad I gave it a chance.