United States/2015
Format Viewed for Review: Netflix Instant
Netflix Streaming: Yes
Amazon Prime: No
"It's difficult to even call it a horror movie due to its lack of horror."
A police officer and a psychologist investigate the death of several ghost hunters at a supposedly haunted house...
Demonic is a generic horror film. The plot follows a cliché group of
Demonic is not a poorly-made film. It has some decent production values. The editing and storytelling were also good, which is important since this isn't a linear film. On the other hand, the plot is painfully generic. It offers very little to the haunted house subgenre of horror. You've seen this story before, one way or another. Worst of all, Demonic just isn't frightening. It's completely lacking in the suspense department. It doesn't even have a semblance of suspense—you know, like those long, dull moments where nothing happens that often gets mistaken as suspense? The "horror" is completely reliant on jump-scares. I will admit: one jump scare caught me off guard. Otherwise, the rest of the film was dull and forgettable.
The acting was mostly decent. Frank Grillo played the detective well. Aside from some bad overacting towards the end, Maria Bello was also good. Dustin Milligan is also guilty of overacting during the investigation segments, but he fares better during the ghost hunting sections. Their bland, unlikeable characters don't help them, either. The film was shot well. I don't remember the music. The screenplay was written by Max La Bella, Doug Simon, and Will Canon; Canon also directs. Although the film was competently-made, the writing and direction are disappointing. The writing is safe and boring while the direction fails to conjure any significant frights.
Overall, Demonic
Score: 3/10
Parental Guide: Some violence and blood.
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