Devil's Due (2014) Reviews

• Don't waste your time.

  conchur-mackey2014-01-19

  Absolute Dogsh*t is a term that cannot be used enough to describe this movie. I hated the characters (especially the tw*t of a husband), the stupid shaky-cam, the "scares", the pathetic sub-plot of an ancient cult, the trailer that gave away absolutely everything, and did I mention the tw*t of a husband? No doubt there'll be a sequel, and another, and another. Remember when there were actually good horror found-footage films? Me neither. Hollywood is just saturated with them, none of them good. A complete and terrible rip-off of Rosemary's Baby. Just don't watch it. If I could give it a minus rating I would. Definitely in the category of one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

• A Diabolical Pregnancy Story

  3xHCCH2014-03-18

  Samantha and Zach get married. For their honeymoon, they went to visit the Dominican Republic. One night there, they were brought by their taxi driver to a mysterious place where they get drunk and drugged. Nevertheless, they still managed to get back home safe and sound. Not long after, Samantha finds out she was with child. From there, the further along the pregnancy Samantha got, the more bizarre and more violent behavior she would display. As she nears her due date, can Zach still do anything to avert the diabolical fate that seems to await his wife and baby? Like many current horror films, "Devil's Due" is told through camera footage. Aside from the cameras Zach and characters carried around, there was also footage from security cameras. The first thirty minutes were practically just needless wedding coverage. When it got around to telling the story, the pace was also quite slow. Mundane daily events like going to the supermarket or the obstetrician were punctuated by some disgusting or violent scenes which would have been a big deal had it happened in real life. Here, they happened, but there seemed to have been no consequences that follow their occurrence. The best moments of this film were those scenes showing Samantha's repulsive eating habits, her super-telekinetic powers, and her effect on Catholic priests. The rest of the film was unfortunately forgettable, all the way up to the predictable climax. 3/10.

• Hand-held horror fare without pretensions.

  drownnnsoda2014-01-22

  "Devil's Due" follows a young newlywed couple who find out they're expecting a child after returning home from their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Shortly into the pregnancy, mother-to-be Allison begins having unusual symptoms, and it appears that she and her husband are being watched by some sort of secret society who are awaiting the birth of one of the "many" antichrists. Cleverly prefaced with scripture from John, "Devil's Due" sets out on a road oft-followed in the found footage sub genre of horror films, charting terrorized couples and Satanic magic wreaking havoc on suburbia. That said, the film has a few interesting aspects; first off, it's not really a "found footage" film. Although much of the narrative is dispensed through home video footage which is recorded by the couple themselves, the film also utilizes surveillance footage from public spaces as well as the cameras secretly placed in their home to help tell the story. In other words, it is not a film claiming to be a "true story" "discovered" as a cohesive piece of found footage. It's in all actuality a fairly standard horror movie that is told through the medium of hand-held video and surveillance without the claims of being real or "found", and for that, I found the film mildly refreshing. I roll my eyes every time I see a found footage horror film claiming to be reality ("The Devil Inside" comes to mind), but "Devil's Due" makes no bones about anything of the sort, and in that sense is very much aware of itself and doesn't rest solely on its pretensions. Secondly, I can't not praise the acting in this film. The other downfall of most "found footage" films is that they star unknown actors who often have little experience and/or talent, and thus tend to have less-than-stellar acting, which just cheapens films that are already cheap to begin with. That's not the case with "Devil's Due". Zach Gilford plays the concerned husband role both behind and in front of the camera, and is convincing in the role; however, Allison Miller is the one who really carries the film. Her performance in this was wonderful in general, and especially wonderful in a film of this type. Very naturalistic and totally believable. My praise even goes for the minor roles; all of the acting in the film does feel genuine, which really elevates this above other hand-held horror fare. Narratively, the film is definitely imperfect. Some people have claimed the film is boring, which, while it does take time to get going, the slow burn nature of it allows for some subtle scares to creep in over an extended period (also, there isn't much for jump scares here either, which I was really surprised by). That said, the film does lack steam at times, and propels itself into a conclusion that doesn't reveal as much excitement or surprise as the preceding 80 minutes would lead you to believe is coming. The finale is pretty weak, and follows a pattern that's been done before in other found footage genre films. That's not to say that a horror film requires a twist ending to be worthy (which this film surprisingly doesn't have), but there's not a whole lot of payoff in terms of anything truly shocking or nuanced occurring in the film's final act, and for that, it is predictable. There's a lot of build-up for a pretty mediocre ending. All things considered, "Devil's Due" is an oddball in the sub genre in which it's been placed. The film doesn't make any claims to reality, doesn't ascribe to jump scares or a surprise ending, has shockingly worthwhile performances, and, most importantly, isn't actually a "found footage" movie at all. The references to "Paranormal Activity" and "Rosemary's Baby" are indubitable, and despite the film's burnout ending, I still was mildly happy with it, probably because it did the opposite of what I expected it to do in a lot of ways. The flip side of that is that the film doesn't have much in way of surprises, but the above-average performances and a handful of crafty scenes elevated it above any other hand-held and/or found footage horror film to come out in the past five years. 6/10.

• Anyone who worked on "Devil's Due" should never work again

  whirrrrl2014-01-19

  This was really deceptive marketing and hype that drew me into this movie. I am very sorry I went. The acting, directing, production design, continuity, editing and of course the story, screen writing and execution were just abysmal. There was nothing of quality in this film. The characters were stupid, the camera work was jarring "handheld reality TV" nonsense and on top of it all, the plot was told in a far superior manner by Roman Polanski in "Rosemary's Baby" forty years ago! It just shows that with some production money, a digital camera and some reality-TV "Blair Witch"/"Paranormal Activity"-type marketing approach, you can sell any kind of garbage to the American public. I urge you not to support this film, or any future endeavours of anyone involved with this project (cast, crew, director or screenwriters)....

• Do not Waste Your Time with This Awful and Lame Rip-Off "Rosemary's Baby"

  claudio_carvalho2014-05-12

  The orphan Samantha (Allison Miller) gets married with Zach McCall (Zach Gilford) and they travel in honeymoon to Santo Domingo. In their last night in the Dominican Republic, the newlywed couple is invited by a taxi driver to go to a party in the outskirts of Santo Domingo. They drink too much and do not see that Sam is brought to a weird cult. They return to the United States and soon Sam discovers that she is pregnant. Along the pregnancy, Sam changes her behavior and becomes nervous and aggressive. On the night of the delivery, Zach witnesses weird events at home. "Devil's Due" is a lame and cheap movie that uses the same storyline of "Rosemary's Baby". This rip-off could have the title "How to Destroy the Storyline of a Masterpiece with a Hand-held Camera and an Absurd Plot". Sam and Zach accepting to go to a slum in an unknown country with a stranger are among the greatest stupidities of the cinema industry. The new doctor uses the office of Dr. J. Ludka and no receptionist or nurse notices. The house of Sam and Zach is completely destroyed in a calm neighborhood and no neighbor observes. The use of camera as if it were Zach is nonsense in most of the situations. My vote is two. Title (Brazil): "O Herdeiro do Diabo" ("Devil's Due")