darkphoenix-83164

I knew going in that this was one of those films that I couldn't compare to a mainstream film. I read all the critic reviews, saw all the disdain for it. To my surprise, it was watchable, and to be fair I've seen weaker plots come out of big budget Hollywood movies. It reminded me a bit of 1998's U-turn, and I'm sure fans of lurid, under-the-radar cinema will find something to enjoy here at least.

And of course there is Joe, who you know from the beginning is a nutcase but you can't help but find him appealing. The actor is definitely a looker. Honestly I don't know whether or not his gay scene was bait or not, and I don't really care (it was kinda hot - until it wasn't).

All in all a very rough, small budget endeavor that plays it a bit safe for the crowd it was aiming for and it shows its weaknesses throughout, though I can't help but feel that with some proper mentoring, a good writing staff, more risks, tighter pacing and better editing, this might have been a solid cult film. As it is though, it's inevitably going to be lost in the wide sea of better produced genre efforts. I admire the attempt though and hopefully it was a valuable learning experience for ?first time?director ms Roderick. I've seen a lot of first worse first attempts, if indeed it was.

If you enjoyed the final half of the Exorcist, you'll find much of it here. While this film doesn't quite have the substance or realism of the aforementioned film, it does give you theatrics in spades, and it wastes almost no time in getting to the "good stuff". Evil kids tied to beds with scratches on their faces, hissing obscenities and looking less human by the day is the name of the game here, with a good dose of The Conjuring's bombastic hauntings and hellish showdowns to sweeten the pot.

While predictability inevitably creeps in and there's a feeling that you've seen it all before in the better films that inspired it, it's applied well here, with an occasional cheeky joke by Crowe's charismatic Father Amorth to make him relatable.

All things said, it's an often fun watch for fans of the demonic possession subgenre of horror that doesn't aspire to be great or memorable as much as spectacular. And therein it succeeds.