Demonic (2014) Review!!

Synopsis – A police officer and a psychologist investigate the deaths of five people who were killed while trying to summon ghosts.

My Take – Its surprising to see a horror movie with the name “James Wan”, stamped over it release without any hype or marketing but just pure hate. Sure, it seems like just another haunted house movie, but common its produced (not directed) by James Wan! The man gave us Saw, The Conjuring, the Insidious series & of course the recently released Furious 7 (OK this movie has nothing to do with where I am heading). It even stars some known faces like Maria Bello (Prisoners, A History of Violence) & Frank Grillo (The Purge Anarchy, Captain America: Winter Soldier) in the lead. Just out of curiosity without watching trailers or reading the synopsis I decided to give this a watch & well I got my answers! Yup, I see why my fellow horror movie fans hate this movie so much & (I guess) why its being boycotted. Mainly as it is less of a horror movie & more of a crime thriller even at times may seem like an extended episode of TV shows like the X Files or Supernatural. Sure, their are some jump scares thrown here & there (did I mention how much I hate them), but is that enough?

Not exactly! The story moves back & forth with two timelines – 1) Detective Mark Lewis (Frank Grillo) is called in to find thee dead bodies at an old crime scene murder house, where many years ago a similiar massacre had occurred in the same house, the only survivor of this massacre seems to be John (Dustin Milligan)! He calls in his psychiatrist girl friend Dr. Elizabeth Klein (Maria Bello) to figure out where the remaining two survivors Michelle (Cody Horn) & Bryan (Scott Mechlowicz) are. 2) John is being plagued by nightmares of the haunted house & decides to go & hold a seance with his girlfriend Michelle and her friends Jules (Megan Park), Donnie (Aaron Yoo) & Sam (Alex Goode) who just happen to be paranormal investigators, led by Michelle’s ex-boyfriend Bryan. Yes! The film does have an interesting premiere & for most parts they do built the right atmosphere. It doesn’t offer heaps in terms of originality, but it’s a stylistically stunning film and takes steps in the right in direction very gracefully. The part where the film succeeds in is by keeping you hooked despite already knowing who will die in the film since the movie begins at the crime scene with the corpses lying around the house, so when it focuses on a side character you’re already expecting the worst for them. The downfall begins when it tries to complicate with its way too many unlikeable characters & plot holes. The closest comparison is The Taking of Deborah Logan, which I thought was busy and overblown + lacking the depth, but with an excellent premise. Even its predictability may have hampered its potential; the movie uses generic effects – door closes on its own, painting bursts into flame, spirit plays with the music box (music boxes to disembodied souls are like yawn now) – in its attempt to make the audience shiver with fear. However, despite the scarcity of scares, the movie tries to set itself apart from others of the same genre by relying less on the actual ghost appearances and instead centers more on utilizing jump-scare tactics and other psychological factors. It does have an upside down cross thrown in to further prove itself a demonic movie, lest you forget this isn’t just a thriller. But it would’ve been more interesting if they had a brainy character who would, for once, explain how that imagery is traditionally used for the exact opposite of worshiping the devil. The dialogues are heavily borrowed from textbook horror script, however there are several parts in the movie that had some pretty smart comebacks we wished we could see more of. The cast, even though led by Maria Bello and Frank Grillo, fall short at times, but the duo’s presence on screen is quite pleasing as a new horror pairing to look out for.

Dustin Milligan was alright although some of his scenes when he cries didn’t seem to suit him, but he pulled through. The other actors we’re fine considering they’re just death fodder, except Cody Horn’s character seemed bland and didn’t add much to care for her except that she’s in possible danger. The pacing of the movie is unhurried, with minimal frights within the first and second act. Horror fans who are used to superior horror films will find the spirits in the movie relatively tame. They prefer to hide rather than show themselves; but the few glimpses we catch show that the makeup/CGI department did do a rather good job on maxing up the scary faces. It is sad to see how a film with so much potential adds little to the genre that hasn’t been done before except for the ending which will probably shock or disappoint the audience! Director Will Canon & Producer James Wan’s film isn’t memorable enough to consider fresh or a must watch horror film. On the whole, ‘Demonic’, despite its visual style ends up being an average fare which tries hard to disguise itself as a horror film but in the end falls short on most accounts. This can be considered a good film for those who want to watch horror film but prefer to keep the ghost or demonic appearances to a minimal. While anyone looking for some supernatural action will have to stay put till the end.