Devour

Poor Jake is living a pretty screwed up life. He keeps having disturbing visions. His mother is a cripple, his dad a recovering alcoholic. He gets fired from his job. And he gets introduced to a dark computer game called The Pathway. Then everybody around him starts to die. But it's not all bad, Jake is a hit with the ladies! This starts off slowly but intriguingly. However once the plot begins to open up about The Pathway being a computer game used by the Devil, who here is a she(?), and a Satanic cult it descends into absurdity. I found myself laughing at how silly it was. Acting is decent, though the actors are obviously older than the parts that they are playing. Not as gory as the DVD cover suggested, however there is a graphic tongue cutting. I certainly won't be going for a repeat viewing. If you want to watch a good Satanic video game movie choose Evilspeak instead.

First make sense. It's a good rule when writing a poem and it's really a good rule when making a horror movie. This felt like three different films, none of them fully resolved. The leads are attractive but weak actors, especially the lovely Swain. You may not care by the time you get to the 'twist' at the end.

It started of really good!

I had low expectations, was prepared for something cringy and was honestly very happily suprised. Jensen Ackles is just great. But the last 20 minutes or so... I don't know what happened. What a mess. I think they just had too many ideas and couldn't decide.

It had real potential, but sadly by the end the story (and characters) felt rushed and unfinished. Would've gotten a better rating of not for the ending. Bummer. Still, not horrible.

In Cheever Lake, the twenty-one years old Jake Gray (Jensen Ackles) has bloody nightmares while awake. His friends Conrad Dean (Teach Grant) and Dakota (Dominique Swain) apply him in a weird game called "The Pathway". Jake begins to mix reality with daydreams, while his closest friends die. Jake blames the game, which might be connected to the devil, for the deaths of his friends and decides to investigate the mystery.

The beginning of "Devour" is a promising but miscast teen horror movie. Jensen Ackles and Teach Grant are too old for performing characters of twenty-one years old, as well as Shannyn Sossamon, who looks very old to be the girlfriend of a young guy. The rules and the reasons for the attraction of "The Pathway" are never explained, so it is not clear why the three friends decide to participate in this strange game. When Jake Gray discloses the mystery in the woods, the confused direction and the terrible screenplay are completely lost and the movie wasted. The dubious conclusion, with Jake questioning what has really happened and who he is, is excellent but does not save this forgettable flick from a complete failure. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Adoradores do Diabo" ("Devil Worshipers")

College student Jake Gray (Jensen Ackles) has disturbing visions. His friends Conrad Dean (Teach Grant) and Dakota (Dominique Swain) have some troubling secrets. Then they introduce him to a weird computer group called "The Pathway". It turns out that "The Pathway" is something more disturbing. When Jake's douche boss fires him, "The Pathway" helps him get revenge. As more deadly things happen, he is more concern that this is even more dangerous than a simple cult.

This movie had some good tension going. Jensen Ackles is good as the lead. The visions are a bit weak. Teach Grant is not up to the job his role needs. Dominique Swain is good as a damaged corrupted girl. Shannyn Sossamon is perfunctory as the sweet love interest. All of it was going well as an average horror movie. But the ending is really weak. It needed a lot more action to push the climax over the top.