The Devil Inside – Review

The Flick:

The Devil Inside is a supernatural horror film directed and co-written by William Brent Bell. The film stars Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, and Suzan Crowley. The trailer for this movie looked interesting and disturbing. Despite all the hype on the internet, I kept an open mind while I was watching The Devil Inside, hoping to be shocked and perplexed. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

Opening with a 911 call that was received on the night that Maria Rossi killed three people during an exorcism that was preformed on her. This scene is kind of eerie but didn’t pack a punch. Followed by an evidence tape of the crime scene, showing the bodies of the victims and the weapons that were used. Had me interested until the first jump scare, which is weak as fuck. It shows that while the police are investigating the scene, they find Maria in a crawl space in the basement, who jumps out at the screen. Then, during Maria’s trial the jury finds her not guilty due to insanity. For some reason the Catholic Church became involved and she was taken to a Catholic psychiatric hospital in Rome and is still there. I found this part to be a bit strange and I would have enjoyed more back story as to why the Catholic church became involved. At this point I’m starting to get annoyed and this is about ten minutes into the flick.

Twenty years later, Maria’s daughter Isabella is told the truth about her mother’s case by her father who dies three days later. Yet again, this is another back story plot point that is referred to and not actually explained. Leaving you feeling like you just hit a pot hole in the road. Isabella is in the process of filming a documentary with her camera man Michael, about exorcisms and also to find out more about her mother. She visits a school in Rome that deals with exorcisms and enters a classroom where students, priests and scientists are having a discussion about whether or not a subject, Rosa, is possessed by a demon or just has a mental condition. She has dinner with a few students to discuss the class and ends up getting a little closer with two people, Ben and David.

Later Ben and David ask Isabella and Michael to join them as they preform an exorcism on Rosa so they can experience an exorcism first hand. This has to be the only creepy scene during the whole movie and it last for about ten minutes. Once they complete the exorcism on Rosa they feel somewhat prepared to visit Maria. Then all four of them try to preform an exorcism on Maria without the doctors and the Vatican’s permission. Things get a little out of hand and Maria’s demons speak some truth to Ben and Isabella that leave them feeling a bit uneasy. After they get kicked out of the hospital and return to Ben and David’s apartment, one by one they all start acting a little possessed themselves. Will they save Maria Rossi from the devil she has inside of her before the devil’s disciples take them over? If you really give a flying fuck, then you’ll have to go see it for yourself.

Conclusion:

First off, this whole conclusion is going to be a Spoiler Alert, you have been warned. Jesus ‘effin Christ, this movie is bad. The plot was holier then the priests and jumped around just like the camera did. The whole movie was a clit tease that stopped abruptly. The only part worth talking about is Rosa’s exorcism. It was creepy and disturbing and lived up to the hype. Unfortunately, it didn’t last as long as I thought it would but it did make me feel uncomfortable and disturbed. Unlike Maria’s exorcism, where the camera is jumping between 3 or 4 different camera angles, which made it annoying because I felt like I wasn’t seeing half of what is happening. There’s a random scene where David is preforming a baptism on a baby and attempts to drown him. A bit unsettling but, not shocking.

Super Spoiler Alert: Isabella witnesses David shoot himself in the head (special FX on that three second scene where epic) and has a seizure, then is rushed to the hospital where she becomes possessed. Ben and Michael kidnap her so they can preform an exorcism on her, in an attempt to save her. While in the car, trying to get to safety, Michael becomes possessed and drives the car into on coming traffic causing a crash. The camera shows small clips of the car flipping and you can’t tell if anyone survived. Fade to black and then it says if you want to follow the Rossi case you should visit this website, then they give you the web address. Out of curiosity, I went to the site and it’s just a promotional site for the movie with clips of the movie. Logically speaking, if you already watched the movie, why would you want to visit a website with clips that you’ve already seen?! Not to mention, at the beginning of the film it states that this film is based on real events but it’s not based on a true story. These characters are fictional, so why would you want to follow a exorcism case that’s fake? At the end of the day, this movie didn’t have a complete ending, the plot was weak, and it didn’t shock me as much as it should have. A total disappointment. This film is a waste of time and money! Watch at your own risk!

Rating: