Inner Demons

INNER DEMONS tells the story of teenager Carson, who has become a heroin junkie. Her devout parents have agreed to let her get treatment within the framework of a reality show that follows the rehabilitation of addicts. Eventually, it turns out that her problem is more than just a drug addiction.

This found footage film connects two subjects which, in retrospect, are such a natural fit that it seems strange that they were not combined before in horror (to my knowledge): substance addiction and demonic possession. Thus, the brilliantly chosen title attains both a metaphorical and a literal meaning.

There are several good found footage horror movies dealing with demonic possession or exorcism, such as THE LAST EXORCISM (2010), THE POSSESSION OF MICHAEL KING (2014) and THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY (2018).

Part of what makes these movies so good is that each successfully finds a novel angle by which to approach a well-worn familiar subject. DEMONS joins this eclectic group by means of a novel premise, one according to which a woman becomes a substance user not to get high but to keep a literal demon inside her at bay.

The framing of the story within a reality show provides the justification for the found footage format. Technically, this movie is executed well: the acting is convincing, the production values good, the pace just right and the cinematography appropriate to the format.

Once the demonic aspect comes to the fore, there are a few cliché CGI effects to convince us that the demon is real, but I found them altogether unnecessary if not cheapening. Other than that, the movie proceeds quite well until the end of the second act.

At that point, Carson gets expelled from her treatment center and the cameraman who tries to help her gets fired, and from then on the movie becomes increasingly more implausible on several fronts.

One implausibility concerns the justification for filming, since the reality show crew reason is no longer operable. But I tend to be forgiving of that because I would rather be able to see what happens than be constrained by realism on that point.

Another implausibility concerns the character arc of the cameraman: his actions late in the movie reflect a person so different from the way he is presented at the beginning that it becomes unconvincing.

Finally, the "twist" which reveals how Carson got possessed requires a bit of suspension of disbelief. Moreover, it raises the question of why she herself never told anyone about earlier.

The movie ends on a note of true horror which, I suspect, only because it was preceded by a weak third act, has turned off a lot of critics. I believe that the same ending with a strong third act, one that somehow overcame the plausibility problems, would have been received well.

Although this falls short of being a good film, found footage fans and those who like possession movies might still enjoy it.

Possession movies have been big now for a while. There have been sooooo many over the years since The Excorsist. Then found footage was introduced and Found footage/Possession movies started popping up like crazy. It's a genre that is hard to do without being like every other movie. Inner Demons actually manages to pull off this genre in a new and interesting way.

So Inner Demons plays out like you are watching an episode of "Intervention" with demons, this was a nice touch and moved the movie along well. We are introduced to Carson who is a drug addict who uses drugs to hide something evil. She is actually a fairly interesting character, a little dull but sweet and you actually care for her. The supporting characters are also pretty well done.

Things don't exactly move very fast in the movie, but I was still entertained throughout. The first 45 minutes sets things up well with interviews from the characters and banter between the TV Show crew. Once things do start to pick up and get crazy it isn't exactly anything you haven't seen before but does make for a few jump scares. The finale however, is pretty nuts and a lot of fun.

Overall this actually a pretty entertaining found footage flick. It's not all original, and you will see some things you have seen done before, but it does add in some new elements to make it it's own movie and a fun ride.

7/10

6.5/10. A young religious straight A student becomes an intravenous pill and heroin user seemingly overnight and causes turmoil for her family. Believing she is on a path of destruction, her family agree to let an Intervention style reality show document her addiction and eventually try to get her into rehab.

As they follow her every move, they come to realize that she believes she is using drugs to hold back something sinister inside of her and that she has no other choice.

Once she goes to rehab and is off the drugs, events are set into motion and the real fun begins (for us, at least).

This entertaining found footage possession horror doesn't offer much new to the genre but does deliver some scares and an entertaining story. In the quagmire of these types of movies being released these days, this is one of the better ones and worth a watch.

First off, the whole rehab thing is so wrong. No rehab works in the way they filmed. Nobody in detox goes to group or has contact with family or anyone except the facility staff. So the whole film is kind of wrong from the onset. Some creep stuff for sure, but all in all this one failed.

I do not get the torrent of bad reviews on here. If you are a found footage fan, then this is an absolutely solid watch. The main character is sympathetic and believable. It's well acted, well shot and the ending was genuinely surprising. It's a different take on the genre and it works. Definitely never heard of someone having to shoot up herion to keep the demon inside of them subdued. It made me think if this actually happened to someone pretty much no one would believe them. I had become very invested by the end. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not going to go into detail, but if you like found footage, I'd day it's not quite a "Possession of Michael King" nut it's on par with the "Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan." Definitely worth a watch.