Devil's Due Review

Rated R (Language and Some Bloody Images)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 29 Minutes

Cast-

Allison Miller-Samantha McCall

Zach Gilford-Zach McCall

Sam Anderson-Father Thomas

Roger Payano-Cab Driver

Vanessa Ray-Suzie

Bill Martin Williams-Ken

Geraldine Singer-Sally

Julia Denton-Natalie

Colin Walker-Stanley

Madison Wolfe-Brittany

Joshua Shane Brooks-Braedon

Aimee Carrero-Emily

Robert Belushi-Mason

Donna Duplantier-Dr. J. Ludka

Robert Aberdeen-Dr. Dylan

Catherine Kresge-Tina

Kurt Krause-Jay

Tyler Forrest-Steve

Sloane Coe-Ashley

Michael Papajohn-Officer Miska

Douglas M. Griffin-Detective Zeman

Yohance Myles-Jim

Stacie Davis-Karen

DeMaris Gordon-Psychic

Justyna Kelley-Paris Wife

Shane Woodward-Paris Husband

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

How did Rosemary handle her demonic pregnancy?

Note: At AMC Loews 34th Street 14.

Looks like that dastardly Satan is up to his usual shenanigans again, impregnating unsuspecting human women with his unholy sperm and bringing about the end of days with his army of baby antichrists. Hot on the heels of Christopher B. Landon's spin-off "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones"—which debuted only two weeks prior and kicked off the 2014 new year—we have yet another found-footage horror film, "Devil's Due" from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The duo—along with executive producers Justin Martinez and Chad Villella—are part of a filmmaking quartet dubbed 'Radio Silence,' who made quite a splash in the 2012 found-footage horror anthology "V/H/S." Their segment, titled "10/31/98," was a bat-sh*t crazy haunted house yarn and was one of two bright spots (the other being "Amateur Night") in an otherwise dull and overlong film. The strength of that short managed to catch the attention of producer John Davis, who offered Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett the chance to make their feature film debut with "Devil's Due," based on a script by newcomer Lindsay Devlin, whose only credit is the little-seen 2013 documentary "In So Many Words." While "Devil's Due" sports a pair of likable protagonists in the form of Allison Miller and Zach Gilford along with a slow-burning sense of dread, the film ultimately adds little to the found-footage subgenre and is content with coasting on the same horror clichés that we've seen dozens of times before.

To celebrate their recent marriage, Zach (Zach Gilford) and Samantha McCall (Allison Miller) travel to Santo Domingo, the capital city of the Dominican Republic, for their honeymoon but their exotic holiday takes an unsettling turn following a visit with a local fortune teller, who reads Samantha's palm and repeatedly warns her that 'they've been waiting for you.' When the newlywed couple find themselves lost on unfamiliar streets later that night, a friendly cab driver (Roger Payano) offers them a lift to their hotel. However, he insists that they check out an underground nightclub first. Samantha is hesitant but Zach convinces her to go as he wants to have one last night of fun before they fly back home. After partying for a while and downing a few drinks, the couple passes out drunk and wakes up the next morning in their hotel room with absolutely no recollection of what happened. Believing that their cabbie kindly drove them back at the end of the night, the newlyweds return to the United States, eager to start their new lives together. Several weeks later, Samantha discovers that she's now pregnant despite taking birth-control pills 'religiously.' Although Zach is surprised at this news, he is nonetheless overjoyed and begins to excitedly plan for the arrival of his first child. Unfortunately, all is not well with the future mother-to-be as Samantha begins experiencing nosebleeds, severe abdominal pain, and a sudden craving for raw meat even though she's a vegetarian. Zach tries to calm his wife, who gradually becomes convinced that something is seriously wrong with her unborn offspring, but his suspicions are aroused when he notices strangers lurking outside the house at all hours, along with a mysterious symbol that keeps reappearing on his home videos. Investigating further, Zach learns that not only is the symbol demonic in origin but that his unborn child might be the first of many antichrists.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's "Devil's Due" is essentially a found-footage take on Roman Polanski's 1968 horror masterpiece "Rosemary's Baby." Since the debut of Oren Peli's "Paranormal Activity" in 2007, the found-footage subgenre has experienced its fair share of highs ("Chronicle," "End of Watch," "V/H/S/2") and lows ("Apollo 18," "The Devil Inside," "Paranormal Activity 4") but I think we can all agree that it's pretty much worn out its welcome at this point. What was once dominated by enterprising, cash-strapped indie filmmakers has now been coopted by big Hollywood studios that only care about making a quick buck. However, even when these studio-backed films bomb at the box office, they continue to make good money because the production budgets are so minuscule. Although it debuted in seventh place during its opening weekend, "Devil's Due" still made back its entire $7 million production budget…and then some! That being said, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett's film is actually one of the better found-footage offerings in recent years, which is surprising since its coming from 20th Century Fox, a studio that's not normally associated with this type of subgenre.

Hiring Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett was certainly an inspired choice but producer John Davis should've gone one step further by having them do a rewrite of the script. As it stands now, the story from Lindsay Devlin adheres so closely to Polanski's film that it's virtually a remake. That's not the only the problem that "Devil's Due" suffers from as the picture undermines its own central mystery by opening with a needless flash-forward of a bloodied Zach in a police interrogation room. The question of whether Samantha's unborn child is the antichrist is also answered fairly early, leaving the audience to watch Zach as he slowly plays catch-up. While the middle act tends to spin its wheels for a little too long, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett succeed in creating an escalating sense of dread with some inspired set-pieces, such as a holy communion that goes horribly wrong for the officiating priest (Sam Anderson) and three curious teenagers who meet a bone-crushing end in the woods. Unfortunately, most of the freaky occurrences fail to drum up much excitement and come off as rather clichéd. Of course, something happens when Zach walks away momentarily or when Samantha's niece starts roaming around their house with the camera's night vision turned on. Devlin's script contains a fair amount of plot holes as well. Zach's camera somehow magically turns itself on during the satanic ritual performed on Samantha and then he doesn't even bother to view the footage until story needs him to. For all its flaws, "Devil's Due" manages to close with a bang, with an ending that approaches the bat-sh*t craziness of their short film, only with more gore.

Partially elevating Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett's film is the performances. Zach Gilford and Allison Miller are immensely likable from the very first scene and are quite convincing as a newlywed couple. Stripped of its supernatural elements, "Devil's Due" would've actually made for a fine drama as it explores the strains of marriage and having children while being faced with an uncertain future. I also appreciated the fact that Zach isn't characterized as a thick-skulled husband; he quickly notices that his pregnant wife is not herself and wants to help her in any way he can but never in a million years would he come to the conclusion that the source of his troubles is Satan himself. A high-concept, studio-backed horror film that takes its characters seriously is something of a rarity these days. You are still invested in these people and actually care about what happens to them even when the film falters in its originality and logic.

Released on January 17, 2014, "Devil's Due" has received overwhelmingly negative reviews with a paltry 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics called it 'derivative and mostly uninspired' as the film 'adds little to either the found-footage or horror genres that it's content to mimic.' As I mentioned before, "Devil's Due" bombed in its opening weekend debut, coming in at seventh place with a gross of $8.3 million. However, it's not a total loss since the film only cost $7 million to make and has already earned more than double that amount ($18.7 million worldwide). "Devil's Due" is a hard film to pin down; it's not bad but it's not good either. This is a promising yet ultimately middle-of-the-road effort from Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

"Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour."