“Devil’s Due” fails to frighten
January 30, 2014
Nothing says movie night like a horror film that’s more silly than scary. If you are hoping to get chills — this film is not for you.
The previews encompass the entirety of the movie in just a short 30 seconds, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.
“Devil’s Due” is a poor adaptation of the 1967 classic horror film “Rosemary’s Baby” and like most horror films these days, it tries, but fails to juice up an already classic horror film by adding a home video footage template that takes away from the realism of the film. The story follows a newlywed couple, Sam, played by Allison Miller, and Zach, played by Zach Gilford, who are obsessed with recording every minute of their life. During the last night of their honeymoon, they come across strange and sinister characters, including an aggressive cab driver that is too pushy, and a superstitious fortune teller who predicts horror in their future.
In addition to visiting some underground “satanic-style” clubs in the Dominican Republic, a night out turns bad, leading the couple to find out about a surprise pregnancy, with no memories to recall from their night out. Throughout the pregnancy, the couple experiences unexplained behaviors from both the mother to be and the unborn fetus; paranormal experiences throughout the house and strange uninvited outsiders breaking into their home, automatically drawing up the conclusion that the surprise gift that they are blessed with, isn’t quite a blessing. Throughout the film, the unexpected pregnancy becomes more of a nightmare and the happy couple becomes more broken.
The film is disorganized and drags on until the end where most of the horror scenes take place which results in a disappointing, anticlimactic ending. The home video template that the filmmakers use, fails to actually produce realism and fright because of how perfectly the camera is placed and dropped throughout the film. The only positive note about this film is the casting of Sam and Zach, played by Gilford and Miller, who surprisingly brought life to the film despite what they were working with. A suggestion to those that are looking to this film for a scare — wait until the film hits the horror section on Netflix and save yourselves some cash.