Devil Inside

If star ratings were awarded for trying, The Devil Inside would definitely get 5/5 stars. It truly wants to be something. Ever since the Blair Witch Project redefined horror with its 'first person perspective' there have been many imitators.

Some have worked, others haven't. Sadly, The Devil Inside is the latter.

Every post-Blair Witch first person film will be judged against Blair Witch and, although The Devil Inside tries to break away, it doesn't really succeed. It's about a girl who goes to the Vatican to track down her long lost mother, who was sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Was she simply mad, or possessed? The Devil Inside lurches from one carbon copy of another similar film to another. I saw shades of Paranormal Activity mixed in there with The Last Exorcism (both superior films in my opinion). The actors did as best they could with what they were given. As with these kinds of films, they did well to capture the 'naturalistic' elements of their dialogue.

It's just not that scary. If you've seen one exorcism movie, then you've basically seen this one (even if this one does do it from a first-person perspective - which The Last Exorcism has already done anyway).

It's not bad, it's just not original. And (SEMI SPOILER ALERT) the ending will leave viewers thoroughly divided. You only have to look at some message boards to see that some people loved it - most despised it and felt ripped off.

It's your call. If you really need one more exorcism movie, then give it a go. But you've probably seen everything The Devil Inside has to offer before... and better.

Exorcism of Emily Rose tops this movie.... And that's not saying a whole lot. The plot was good, the acting....par but you saw everything coming. The ending was I call a "ran out of money" ending. Definitely worth waiting for the DVD release. I didn't mind the whole Blair witch/paranormal activity/cloverfield camera action they used. It was just the fact you knew what was coming 1 step ahead. Not to leave out the very dull ending but I guess it would have cost too much $ to actually leave us paying folk to know what happened to the people we spent the last 87 minutes caring about. Overall had a few creepy parts. Dog barking made my body ache. Just don't waste your time and money running to the theater to see this one.

In the same vein as Blair Witch and the Paranormal Franchise, The Devil Inside is another entry in the hand-held documentary style film. Although I think Blair Witch and PA did a much better job of making the "found footage" gimmick believable. Anyway The Devil Inside tells the story of a young girl, Isabelle who travels to Italy to learn more of the so-called demonic possession of her institutionalized mother.

The film opens with a 911 call made from the girl's mother in which she confesses to murdering three people who were trying to perform an exorcism. I guess it's safe to say it didn't work because when we next see the mother, she's holed up in Italian hospital for the criminally insane, mumbling to herself and looking generally frightening. Isabelle is looking to investigate the circumstances behind her mother's crimes and hopefully get her returned to the United States. And so the footage goes, mostly capturing her quest to learn more about exorcism, along with some help from two men she meets at a Roman Catholic university.

It could have been a very effective film if it wasn't for the glaringly flawed ending. Up to that point there was nice buildup and a few rather shocking moments. Then abruptly, it just ended. Poof! Like that. Shows over, go home. Myself along with the entire audience sat there for several moments after the ending scene, waiting....for something. I guess it took a few minutes to realize there would be nothing else. The ending came out of nowhere. None of the questions raised by the film were ever answered. The last 10 minutes embarked on a different path that just wasn't followed. It appeared as if the final climax was coming and then somehow the producers ran out of money so they just wrapped the film with whatever footage they had.

As it stands, the movie is incomplete so I can't give it more than a 5. Had there been an additional 20 minutes or more, I probably would have given it a 6.5 or 7.

This movie should have been titled The Devil Inside: Part 1.

Where the heck is the last half?!

I managed similar cases for 9 years and I see chilling similarities to our cases; Sclera (no pupils), flying across the room, levitation, visions, hair pulling, slapping and personal invasions. Demonic infestations, manifestations and injuries are common. There is no science to the invasions. Science is only used in attempt to explain away medical causes while monitoring the victims health. These instances are slim (less than 1% receive this benefit). Remember, demonic possession doesn't exist, yet it does according to psychological diagnosis codes, Yet, if medical professionals have no choice but to use it, then the victim is usually hospitalized due to incompetence. It's easier to dismiss it was a psychological issue, however that only becomes true when the problem is ignored or goes on unaddressed. Demons, diabolical entities and even Satan that can inhibit a host (Christian or not). This film should ring as a warning to everyone that its not all or just entertainment. I personally think that Hollywood should embrace this film as a near reality, believe it or not and that my friends is truly frightening.

The answer to the title question is most likely this near repugnant cash in on a horror sub-genre that is being milked for all its worth. As always with horror as a genre, even the most unimaginative movie will find staunch supporters, such is the case with this here picture from William Brent Bell. That's not to sarcastically put down those who enjoy it, for without doubt some do find any form of demonic possession in movies as being terrifying, but in a movie that runs at under 80 minutes, there's under ten minutes of unease, chills or possession based terror. Yes a couple of scenes hold the tingle on the spine, and true enough to say that Suzan Crowley as Maria Rossi acts superbly, but what about the rest of it? The structure and formula is tired, there's no attempt to spin something new into the demonic possession market, while the ending is undoubtedly as bad a cop-out as you may have heard it is.

Cribbing from any number of movies that are far better, devoid of a sense of build up and sustaining of atmosphere, it is what it is. A lazy cash cow aimed at a small niche in the horror fan universe who find the thematics reason enough to get involved with it. My honest advice is to just watch the trailer instead and skip the movie. 4/10