The Demon Disorder

Trying to move on in life, estranged brothers living on a ranch in the middle of the countryside are brought back together when a series of incidents with a family member are eerily reminiscent of what happened to their father when he got possessed by a demon, forcing them to believe it's returned.

This was a decent enough if somewhat flawed genre effort. Among its better qualities is the strong startup that provides a solid base for the demonic activity to follow once everything is revealed. The early setpieces involving the brothers reconnecting and managing to come together again to investigate the strange circumstances surrounding their family with the symptoms resembling what happened with their father that allows for their reunion to take place gives this a decent enough starting point. Tying in the idea of the unnatural behavior and violent outbursts that signal something is wrong, setting the brothers up on their quest to figure out what's going on that ultimately leads to the overt possession and ultimate revenge plot at the center of everything, giving this a solid overall setup. On top of that, when dealing with the grisly aftereffects of the possession, the film scores incredibly well as there's some gruesome work here. The idea of the calling card for everything taking on the form of a spreading and bloody wound on the body leaves quite an impression with the effects going for goopy body-horror style undertones. With the big confrontations in the final featuring even more great effects-work as the practical nature if everything here including demonic beings emerging from victim's body's, the graphic contortions and dismemberments that occur with the possessed in control of the body, and the general grotesque appearance that signals the possession has taken place helping to make the action inside the restricted location even more potent with everything here coming across well enough to have a lot to like. There are some issues with this one that hold it down. One of the biggest drawbacks is the overly familiar and cliched storyline involving long-buried family drama and grief manifesting itself once again. This is a familiar route that plenty of other features have gone with as they try to make the idea of generational curses and long-hidden trauma mean something but it's just not different enough with the material to make much of an impression. Everything is by-the-numbers and routine to the point of making it feel far more dragged out in the beginning than it actually is since everything is building to the point of genuinely chilling horror elements in the final half. However, going once again with the route it halts the moment of this one at the very beginning and makes for a bit of a difficult watch getting into things with this type of setup. These are the main detrimental factors involved with this one.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

I wish I knew why I still pay for Shudder. Very little new content is added and when it is, it is either "Shudder exclusive" nonsense like this and In A Violent Nature or a "Shudder Original " like...well, name any Shudder Original, they pretty much all stink. This one is yet another average possession film, with the distinction of Australian accents. Shudder was much better before it was under the dubious wing of AMC. At least then there was the possibility of finding an older classic to revisit. Now? Not so much, plus all the new stuff absolutely suck. Skip this, and skip Shudder if that's at all possible.

Oh, When Evil Lurks, it's a chest burster.

Continuing into Ahhctober 2024, I found another Australian horror to promote. But, barely. This is such a minor version of the great "When Evil Lurks" of 2023. I will say, though, this has INCREDIBLE special/practical effects. I will ALWAYS praise a movie that favors/uses practical over CGI. Especially, THIS well.

Two estranged brothers reunite when a family member suffers from a demon attack much like the father/head of household. This isn't a straightforward tale, but it's fairly easy to grasp. I just can't fathom these people surviving these chest-bursting demons.

I do LOVE Australian movies, especially the horror kind. SOOO many of them out there to enjoy. Problem here is, it's very self-contained. It all takes place in two locations and literally could've taken place anywhere in the world.

It's also very short - only 86 minutes, but it does feel SOOO much longer. Not much story here and yet, it's serviceable. Especially due to the effects, acting and it being well-shot. Slight recommendation.

***

Final Thoughts: Let's all support filmmakers like these. Practical effects need to be front and center. It's creative and shows heart.

I usually don't like horror movies anymore as they are mostly boring to me. And the lot of them are so low budget that the acting and special effect are horrible.

But I believe in time, that this low budget Australian gem will become a cult classic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from beginning to end!! The acting was pretty decent and the low budget special effects were amazingly gruesome.

On several occasions I caught myself yelling "Ewwww" out loud followed by a laugh of disbelief at what I had just watched!!! I gave it a 7 out of 10 for the type of genre it represented, but this movie definitely gets a 10 out of 10 on the gross scale with a commendation for its large "Ewwww" factor.

I would recommend this for anyone who likes this genre. As it never really had a dull moment, it keeps you on the edge of your seat and it's truly entertaining.

As most reviews have acknowledged, the best thing about this film is the practical FX.

The family drama doesn't resonate as strongly as it could but it does build throughout the runtime. The father figure is sympathetic and a poignant "team-effort" moment at the end of the film lands surprisingly well. I didn't think they would but the characters won me over in the end, despite their flaws.

The pace is a little slow but things go hard enough in the last 20minutes to be worth the build up. Not only are the practical FX well produced but the way they are revealed to the audience, first in close-up, then in low light, before being shown in full glory is just fantastic.

Recommended for fans of When Evil Lurks (2023), Almost Human (2013) and Altered (2006).