The Devil Inside REVIEW

It took a hell of a lot of hair product to maintain her Robert Smith 'do.

Release Date: 16 July 2012
2012 | 15 | 80 minutes | £19.99 (DVD)/£26.99 (Blu-ray)
Director: William Brent Bell
Cast: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama, Suzan Crowley

This found-footage horror was panned on release, receiving a barrage of one-star reviews and inspiring genuine anger with its somewhat, er, brusque finale. But is it really that bad?

It starts off well enough. A woman calls the police with an ominous message: “I killed them all.” When the cops investigate, they find three dead, murdered by Maria Rossi, a middle-aged mother who’s either insane or demonically possessed. Years later, Rossi’s daughter embarks on a quest to find out the truth, taking cameraman Michael with her to record the proceedings.

Found-footage films – especially ones that purport to be true – stand or fall on their sheen of authenticity. The Devil Inside rapidly loses credibility by introducing a pair of rogue priests who run around illegally exorcising people. This silly streak gets more pronounced as the film goes on. By the end, not only have they broken into an asylum, they’ve also carried out an exorcism in a moving car.

Suzan Crowley is reasonably creepy as Maria, though if you’ve seen any other possession movie, you’ll know what to expect from her performance. But The Devil Inside’s biggest crime is to throw away atmosphere and ambiguity in favour of bland jump moments that come from the usual loud noises and suddenly appearing animals (this time it’s a dog, not a cat. Innovation!). It’s not even close to being the fabled Worst Movie Ever Made – but it is cripplingly dull.

Extras: None.

Will Salmon

Read more of our DVD reviews.
For an alternate perspective, read our The Devil Inside review from the theatrical release.