Dir. Will Canon (2015)
A police officer and a psychologist investigate the apparent murder of a group of people inside a house famous for a previous massacre.
You know a movie is gonna probably not be the best when they tout the producers rather than anyone involved with the actual filmmaking part of a movie, but I suppose we could give 2015's Demonic a pass because the producer was James Wan. Nevertheless, the old adage holds true, because while there are a few inventive scenes and a pretty interesting storytelling device involved, Demonic is more of a rote standard horror flick than it is any particularly new addition to the genre. Of course, I suppose you could say that for 90% of the horror made today, so that alone isn't enough to pass on it.
A group of "friends" (and I use that term loosely, as they don't seem all that friendly) have gathered together to try to summon some ghoulies at a house that was the site of a previous murder spree. The film tells the story of their attempt at raising the dead mostly through found footage, as the bulk of the film entails the lone survivor of the event, John (Dustin Milligan, or Ted from Schitt's Creek) being questioned by the police who have been called to the scene. As we watch the previous events begin to go haywire, the police must investigate to see if there are any other people alive in the house, as well as a way to stop whatever is unfolding from threatening the world outside the house.
Milligan is a charming actor, and he does his damnedest to carry a film that doesn't contain a whole lot to set itself apart from other films of its ilk. Frank Grillo plays grizzled Detective Mark Lewis, and he's fantastic as he always is, though he seems to gravitate to one particular type of role more than any other. Maria Bello is also good as psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Klein, and the relatively B-list star power of the trio help make the film infinitely watchable despite its shortcomings.
Director Will Canon also does a pretty decent job with the film. It's decently scary when it needs to be, and there are some great moments of tension created by the switch back and forth between standard narration and found footage. The final act of the film is pretty decent, and the twist at the end definitely adds a layer that I wasn't completely expecting. That's always a nice change, especially for a film that doesn't do a whole lot to push any boundaries. I was pretty impressed with the practical effects on display, and even the digital effects, which were more commonplace in the film, were handled pretty well.
Don't get me wrong, Demonic is not a great movie by any means. It's got a few decent jumpscares, and the actual meat and potatoes of the plot work surprisingly well, especially the found footage elements. It's really more that the plot itself is fairly standard, with no real additions to the genre that you haven't seen before and nothing that makes the film stand out as anything other than a forgettable, straight-to-DVD movie. Again, that's bread and butter (what's with all the food metaphors?) for the horror genre, so I don't want to be any harsher than necessary for the film. Unfortunately, there's just not enough here to make the movie anything more than a way to pass a couple of hours while adding another film to your watched list.
Who this movie is for: Standard horror fans, Found footage lovers, Trespassers
Bottom line: Demonic isn't anything you haven't seen before, and while it's a decent watch and won't leave you disappointed, it's not a whole lot more than that. It's a good effort by director Will Canon and stars Dustin Milligan, Maria Bello, and Frank Grillo, but ultimately falls short of being anything more than forgettable. Horror is horror, though, and it's worth a watch as a fan of the genre. You can check out where to watch it below.
