Devil’s Due
Samantha and Zach are happy newlyweds. They are also expecting their first baby.
Is this the happiest time of their lives or what!
..NO.
In fact, the couple would have been better off never meeting at all…
Cast
Allison Miller – Samantha McCall
Zach Gilford – Zach McCall
Sam Anderson – Father Thomas
Roger Payano – Cab Driver
The Best Worst Film
This was by far one of the BEST worst movies I’ve ever seen. The overall ridiculousness of it matched the likes of Creep, In Fear and the Wrong Turn series.
Have you ever sat and watched something so daft and so tacky that you actually ended up enjoying it?
Welcome to Devil’s Due.
The movie is shown in ‘found footage’ style throughout, which – let’s face it – is a rare treat from a horror movie you know is scripted and performed to the best of the actor’s ability.
The whole ‘found footage’ element gives it an eerie air of intrigue; are the actors improvising? Left to their own devices? And all that jazz.
The only criticism I have is the whole “why is whoever filming, filming in the first place?” – which I’ll come on to later.
Natural Actors
I have absolutely no complaints when it comes to Allison and Zach and the way they played the story out. They are pretty much faultless throughout, and portray a newlywed couple superbly. The chemistry between them is very natural.
When we’re first introduced to Zach, he displays all the natural flair of a newly married man whose first child is on the way; you know that classic cheesy bloke who everything seems to be right with? Boasts about how content he is and is seconds away from literally glueing photos of his family to your face so that you’re fully aware of his “wonderful life” – yes, this is Zach.
Samantha is a little easier, she is content but isn’t as plastic as her boyfriend.
Again, these two are so natural that it is just like watching a real couple.
The Conception Concept
I think the main reason I enjoyed this movie is because of it’s incredibly simple concept:
Couple on holiday get pursued by a stranger – couple are taken to a mysterious place – couple lose one night, cannot remember what happened – the female is soon pregnant – the shit kicks off – “they” (mysterious people) come to collect the reward…
If you’re “expecting” a full on, in-depth plot – don’t. Devil’s Due is brilliantly simplistic, and goes ‘BANG, BANG, BANG’.
You really don’t need much – it begins, flows and ends easily.
Raising Hell
One part of this movie reminded me of 2009 horror flick Drag Me To Hell.
The scene where “they” perform an act on Samantha’s body and she is laying on the ground; the symbol she is laying on is lit up by some sort of fire from below. They certainly raised Hell. And it reminded me of Drag Me To Hell, where the ground opens in a gateway to Hell. Same with 1990 flick Ghost – where the sky opens to reveal Heaven.
It’s all very fascinating; the whole ‘other world’ element and is possibly the most crucial and relevant part of this movie. Don’t miss it!
Stupid Bitch Syndrome
Our lead girl displays the classic “stupid bitch” characteristics at the beginning of the movie.
When Samantha and Zach are on the final night of their honeymoon, a strange looking taxi – a dangerous looking taxi – rolls along the street and pulls up..
An even stranger man sits behind the wheel. Not only does he offer them a ride back to their hotel, but he out of the blue suggests they go to a party.
Samantha sits next to Zach moaning that she wants to go back to the hotel..
..within seconds, she gets a second wind and (all giggly) announces, “ok, one more drink! Let’s do it”
Yeah, nice one Samantha. Not only are you in the backstreets of a foreign country, in the company of a scary looking taxi driver, but you actually agree to be taken to an unknown location where there is a “party” happening.
You may be off your tits on booze, but for fuck sake – if you had the judgement in your head to decide you wanted to return to the hotel, then where the fuck was this judgement when it came to a scary dude literally – against your will – carting you off into oblivion?..
Stupid bitch, have you never seen Hostel?
“Lights! Camera! … Confusion”
What baffled me throughout Devil’s a Due was Zach’s irritating ability to take his ‘in-your-face’ attitude to a higher level by filming daily life.
Yes, he doesn’t just start filming when he realises something is wrong with his pregnant girlfriend – but the REC button on his camera is firmly inverted even before they are married.
I kept thinking, “why don’t you just switch it off, and start filming from when something genuinely happens?”
No such joy.
This guy is so damn proud of his ability to hold on to a woman, marry it AND get it pregnant, that he literally becomes the human example of a “look at my kids, they are beautiful. Look at my hubby, I’m so lucky” Facebook status.
(most of us know people like this, who upload statuses boasting how fortunate they are to be so wonderful. Gross.)
Jump
If its jumpy moments you’re after – you won’t be disappointed. The movie isn’t bursting at the seams with shit-yer-pants scary stuff, but it does manage to deliver three or four “FUCK” moments.
(“fuck” being the only thing which escapes my mouth whenever I’m scared and happen to vocalise it)
Overall, Devil’s Due is watchable – but unfortunately falls into that classic “meh” category of movies that all feed off the same idea and have been squeezed the fuck out of. The only thing that saves it, is its sinister concept of the taxi driver and his ‘associates’ – this puts a whole new spin on this kind of movie.
As I said, its probably one of the best shittest movies I’ve seen. However, skip paying to see it – just rent it when it becomes available.
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