Of the Devil – Movie Review
Director: Kelton Jones
Writer: Kelton Jones (Screenplay)
Writer: James Cullen Bressack (Story)
Cast
- Vernon Wells (Mad Max 2)
- Robert LaSardo (Death Race)
- Devanny Pinn (Death Count)
- Eileen Dietz (Halloween 2)
- Jonathan Stoddard (Black Monday)
Plot: Of The Devil follows a family desperate to find a cure for their young son’s brain cancer. When unconventional treatments lead to the child being possessed by an ancient evil, the parents must fight not only for the child’s life but his very soul.
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Of the Devil starts when the Cortez family Ben (Stoddard) and Norma (Palavecino) discover their young son Alex has brain cancer. The doctors don’t give him much time to live, starting to see visitors that no one else can see.
Norma learns of different treatments, one of which will see her needing to go to Mexico for answers. When they meet a surgeon (LaSardo) it is believed he might be cured, but he has returned with an evil attached to him.
Verdict on Of the Devil
Characters
Norma is the mother that finds out her son is dying of brain cancer. She isn’t willing to listen to the doctors, turning to other methods to save him. This will see her return to Mexico in search of answers. Not prepared for what happens next, she is a loving mother that puts her child’s health first.
Ben is the husband and uncle of the child; he has given up his faith to support his brother’s widow. He will help in the best way he can, supporting Norma’s decisions when it comes to finding answers.
Alex is a young boy that has been diagnosed with cancer. He starts seeing spirits around the home, where they will start to give him uncomfortable messages. He only sees them as friendly, while the darker side of the take over of his body is happening.
Performances
This movie gets plenty right for shock value. Unfortunately, the performances are not the strongest, Daniela Palavecino and Jonathan Stoddard struggle to show the chemistry of a couple. They both lack the urgency of the problems they are facing, taking away from the intense concepts behind everything going on.
Story
The story follows a couple who search for a solution in the spiritual world for the dying child. This leads to an evil coming back with the, forcing them to figure out how to save their son from that.
The story uses the idea of a parent’s desperation to save their son well, no parent would want to just standby and watch a child die. Turning to the spiritual world was an interesting idea because it would show what people would offer. Mixing everything with the evil presence taking over the young boy. This offers a different look at possession and exorcism, which does feel fresh.
Themes
Of the Devil is a horror-thriller that explores the idea a family will turn to spiritual ideas to save a dying child. This side of the story works, but it is the horror moments that work very well. The spirits visiting are similar to ‘The Sixth Sense’ where they don’t threaten, communicating more than anything else.
Where to Watch: Of the Devil is available on VOD from the 9th of August.
Final Thoughts – Of the Devil is a disturbing twist on the exorcism movie.