The Devil's Business

The Devil's Business just came across as an extremely low budget made-for-TV movie. It was heavily dependent on the conversation between just 2 people for the majority of the movie duration. In order to carry that sort of setup off you're going to need some top quality acting and while the acting was occasionally decent in this movie, it was also sometimes below average.

Both Billy Clarke and Jonathan Hansler gave decent performances for the most part but Jack Gordon couldn't really match them for most of his on-screen time, although there was one scene where he demonstrated his true capability and that just about saved his credibility. Perhaps the scripting for his character was part of the problem. All the actors showed promise but they really needed more time and more takes to film the scenes perfectly. I assume either the budget didn't allow them to do this, or the director didn't spot the potential for improvement.

The writing overall was good and could even be considered the stand-out feature, it's just a shame that the budget couldn't be stretched considerably to make this into a real film and bring out the writing with cut-scenes and great cinematography. Instead, nearly all the action takes place in a darkly-lit small house somewhere in England. As a result, the visual imagery is just dull and boring for most of the movie and it gets tiresome rather quickly.

The production value was just a notch above the sort of movie a student might make at college or university, it was just so low that it was almost filmed like an episode of some British television show from the 80's, just sadly not with the same sort of entertainment value.

All the actors had some passion to their work, the writing was decent, the direction, while flawed, showed promise. But as a complete package, a fairly terrible movie that I just can't recommend. Maybe with a bigger budget it could have been a totally different story..

I don't get why so many here are accusing this film of 'ripping off' Kill List. It's obviously and occult version of Harold Pinter's play The Dumbwaiter... given an occult twist. One of the characters is even named 'Pinner' as a nod to its inspiration. In truth, the earlier parts of the movie, that more closely resemble that play, are a lot creepier than the later, bloodier, bits. Still, it's a good show and kept me entertained all the way through. It is very minimal... just a few (good) actors and a couple of filming locations... but what need would it have for more? As it is it makes perfect sense without a bunch of unnecessary bloat to dilute its story.

I'd be quite interested to see what it's creators make next.

Ripe for rediscovery, The Devil's Business remains a tense, thrillingly unpredictable, darkly foreboding, palpably disturbing Brit-crime/horror hybrid with exhilarating eruptions of unleavened weirdness. A blackly funny, wholly credible, exceptionally well-made independent British horror film, The Devil's Business has an nihilistic, doomy ambience, with rigorously compelling performances. Frisson-hungry fans of equally skewed Brit-horror eccentricity like 'The Ghoul' 'Mum & Dad, and 'K-Shop' are sure to appreciate the no less Mephistophelean menaces lurking oppressively within 'The Devil's Business'. It is extraordinarily rare to discover a genre feature that commingles gritty crime and lurid folk horror tropes so adroitly. Sean Hogan's infernally creepy The Devil's business is a heady distillation of Stephen Frears The Hit and the weirder elementals of monster master Clive Barker.

...and I'm saying that as an obsessive fan of Kill List--as in, watched it dozens of times. Another reviewer here claims that if "rips off Kill List" and that is simply wrong. True, it features two hit men, one English, one Irish. They run into trouble on the job and the subgenres switch from crime drama to folk horror, but the dynamic between the two principals are completely different, plot doesn't come close to resembling Kill List and, while it can be argued that it's not as good as Kill List, it isn't a bad film by any means. Performances were impressive, especially Billy Clarke's Pinner, the plot was fairly original, and while it isn't terrifying, there are a couple of nice creepy moments.

To be honest, I might have been disappointed if I paid full-price at a theater, but to watch it I Shudder while recovering from a bug wasn't a bad way to kill 90 min or so.

Two hit men arrive at a house under instruction to kill the guy who lives there. They sit around talking waiting for him to get home, one of 'em goes for a Pooh just as he gets back. Timing, eh?

The cast, all four of them, are very good, especially Billy Clarke as Pinner, the elder, experienced hit-man. His unblinking 10 minute monologue is flipping ace, a great, weighty centrepoint of the film. The majority of the runtime is the verbal exchange between the two hit men, there is gore and jump scares but they're not over used and the script will hold your attention as it creates a nice creeping tension.

The only weak point is the very end of the film, without giving anything away, it gets, we thought, a little silly. It's a let-down, but a forgivable one as the hour leading up to it was so enjoyable and well made.

Well worth a purchase/rental!