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."
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