The Devil's Hand

I went in to this movie not really thinking it would be all great, Jennifer Carpenter (from TV's Dexter) was the swing-vote why I decided to go ahead with it.

However she was not really why I kept interest, cause frankly she wasn't that great in this one.

Luckily the other cast was slightly better, no Academy award winning performances or anything but decent enough.

I went in to it thinking it would be a horror, and even though the beginning of the movie does fall in line with that and there are horror elements that pop out from time to time in the movie I'd say it's first and foremost a drama.

And even though the horror segments are neatly orchestrated it often just don't feel like it's from the same movie sometimes, characters who at one point are shook up can in the next minute be going on their business like nothing happened, so yeah uneven direction for sure.

It's almost as if someone wrote a somewhat realistic day to day script what life in a cult would be like and then some big shots told someone else to re-write it to a horror instead so they just cut and pasted some horror segments into the script where it could fit.

And the ending is pretty awful.

5/10

This movie caught my attention cause of Alycia Debnam Carey and I am not embarrassed to say it!!

Then, being a huge fan of thrillers I thought I would give it a shot. And I was very pleasantly surprised!

A thriller movie first and foremost has to have that eerie, spooky, unpleasant atmosphere that puts you in the mood of "something ain't right here... something must be not what it seems like...". And it succeeded!

Production wise it is just fine. Not a lot of fuss about things that don't' need a lot of fuss. The actors were each good casting for their roles. And Alycia... Ooh man oooh man..That girl can really act and I hope that she makes good choices cause she really does have IT!

Now, this I have to say: The "Trevor" character is the same actor that played Finn in "THE 100". I will not spoil for those of you that haven't seen the movie yet... but this dude is one of the luckiest/unluckiest characters on earth!!!!!!!! Both "Lexa" and "Clarke" man!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? BOTH OF THEM!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

The movie is filled with allegories and symbolism. Very nicely done guys. The whole story and how it ended was as it should have been done to make it worthwhile. Sometimes payback is not "a bitch"... IT IS THE DEVIL HIM/HERSELF!

"6 girls born on the 6th day of the 6th month. Their 18th birthday is approaching. 1 will emerge." When the 18th birthday of the daughters of Jacob Brown (Sewell) and others in a quaint Amish town approaches things become uneasy. One of the town's leaders and elder Beacon (Meaney) recounts a prophecy about the devil coming to the village. He fears that these girls are the reason for the happenings and begins to do anything he can to stop the prophecy from coming true. The girls on the other hand have a different story to tell. Going in I was expecting yet another cheesy low budget horror movie. I was surprised at how much I liked this. Without trying to start something I do think that religion in the hands of the wrong people is very dangerous and this movie is an example of why I feel that way. The best part of the movie though is that it stays one step ahead of you and you never really feel comfortable with what you are seeing. That is the sign of a good movie to me, one that keeps you guessing at the same time you are becoming angry at what you are seeing. Overall, a surprisingly good horror movie that deals with one of the scariest things of all, evil done in the name of God. I give this a B+.

Prophecy stalks a religious community. The fools! Or are they?

Strong theme and good acting, but the story is rubbish - a disapproving rant about irrational behaviour, yet the end is beyond irrational. No problem with criticism of religious faith, but this was so obviously a caricature that I couldn't believe it, and the final reveal felt cheap. I think it's a case of being so contradictory that you end up agreeing.

The story telling is weak - gaping gaps in the logic, plus several scenes you have to excuse just to keep up with events. It does look great, although the music is too busy. And so coy about the sex and violence - I understand the need to meet standards, but this was disgustingly tame.

There is a saving grace, thanks to the actors. Colm Meany had a cheesy role, but the actresses were beautiful and intense. Pity the story didn't allow them to take over.

I'm very torn about this. The idea and the beginning are pretty good, but I expected more mystery and action throughout the film. The poster spoils the ending, and it could be the reason why I was expecting the big reveal to happen earlier in the story rather than in the last 5 minutes.

The hooded figure that goes around killing people is simply too goofy to be scary, and in general the atmosphere is not tense enough. Plus, I'm no expert but I don't think it's a good representation of an Amish community.

I think the acting - I'm looking at you Alycia Debnam-Carey and Jennifer Carpenter - and the ending are what carry this film. I ended up sympathising for the devil!

Side note: weird seeing Alycia Debnam-Carey and Thomas McDonell on screen together again, hehe.