13th Child

You can't go wrong when you buy a tape or DVD for 1 or 2 dollars. If you don't like it, just sell it and pass it along, and you're not out much at all if anything, but this one is one that I'll keep. A nice and eerie telling of the Jersey Devil folklore without being grossly gory. Some here say that it's not being honest to the folklore, but then again it's FOLKLORE. Overall, I would not give it a 9 or 10, I'd say that it's more deserving of a 5 or 6, but there are three things that made me jack up the rating. One, a super performance by Cliff Robertson that is spooky enough but not hammy, tough for good dramatic actors to do with horror material. Two, very cool way that the creature manages to get in and out of locked places, worthy of comparison to the best X-files. Three, the idiots who gave it an undeserved zero or one, that's worth a couple extra points right there. (same ones who give this comment the NO vote) These are the type who are sour on anything that isn't a gorefest of unredeeming violence. You know the type, they think the remake of TCM is better than the original, and they think Hitchcock's Psycho was boring between the killings and should have been in color. Oh, wait a minute, yeah, that was done already!

This was not what I expected it to be. The movie didn't seem all interested in the actual Jersey Devil Legend. This movie was sad on many different levels. The plot line seemed as if it was written over a weekend. The some scenes did not need to be in the movie. No real mystery to the plot at all. This movie falls into the regular common horror/monster genre. This movie is has nothing to offer expect the predictable teens getting naked and the occasional mystery. At times the movies seems like it is just reading from a how to book on horror movies. I wouldn't recommend this movie at all. Its not worth wasting your time over.

Being one who was born and raised in South Jersey and near the Pine Barrens, I just had to see this movie. I read all the negative comments and ratings and braced myself for the worst. However, I was not all that disappointed.

OK, so I gave this movie a HUGE benefit of the doubt, being a huge fan of South Jersey folklore and of the Jersey Devil, and also a fan of horror movies. But I still did enjoy it for the most part. It was good and bad.

The Good: Cliff Robertson gave a great performance as Mr. Shroud, the mysterious Native American descendant. Christopher Atkins was also good as Ron, the park ranger and Gano Grills was good as Mitch, his partner. Robert Guillaume was excellent as Riley, the former cop.

Aside from the acting, the basic story was great. And what made it better was that it was really filmed in New Jersey, particularly in Batsto village/park. But they did a good job of making it into Shroudsberg Manor. Also, I personally laughed at the Piney Hunter. I thought he was the funniest person.

Although they changed the Jersey Devil legend, they did a good job in keeping with South Jersey history. They put the Lenni Lenape as the Natives there, which is true.

The Bad: Michelle Maryk was downright awful as Kathryn, the D.A. assistant sent to investigate. Leslie-Anne Down was good but...why such high billing? She was only in the movie for a minute or 2. Seems like the good actors were given the small roles. Michelle Maryk got WAY too much screen time, I see why they gave her such a low billing, I wouldn't advertise her myself.

The effects were not so great, and the camera-work was a bit shaky at times. The editing was awful, and the text on screen was badly put together. The time changes were confusing, but I actually sort of did get them. And they changed the legend, but I understand why.

Over all: Not a movie for everyone. Mainly one for South Jersey locals.

If you go to watch: Put it in your mind that this will be pretty bad and that the legend was changed, it will be easier to sit through then.

6/10.

Living in New Jersey one becomes familiar with the legend of the Jersey Devil, it's a shame that the creative team behind this picture didn't brush up on that legend. The film has the fun stylings of those campy drive-in horror films, but aside from that, suffers from painfully long/slow scenes coupled with downright derivative imagery. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, ALIENS, 12 MONKEYS, and even the EXORCIST all exist in this film. The film, for a low budget feature, actually shows decent production but the acting, script, and story all suffer so. Here's hoping a "Volume 2" isn't in the works.

If you are thinking of seeing this movie, I would think again. Living in Southern New Jersey, the Legend of the Jersey Devil really hits home. So when we heard of this movie, there was no doubt we were going to see it. So we paid $7.75 each at the local multiplex, and settled in. I was originally expected Blair Witch Project type filmography, but the video was actually better than I thought it would be. The movie on the other hand was absolutely dreadful! Not only was their a non-existent plot, but the author completely changed the legend of the Jersey Devil! No Mother Leeds? There were so many obvious errors in the movie, it was really an amateur production. The theatre booed loudly at the end. I heard no less than 10 people comment that it was the worst movie ever. I couldn't help but agree.