The Devil Comes at Night

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Nowadays the norm for movies classified in the Horror genre is generally that the vast majority isn't Horror at all. Most are dark dramas with a few dark fantasy elements, like dream sequences or one or two gory bits. These elements mostly try to fool the viewers so that the movie is ultimately categorized in the "Psychological Horror" or even the "Folk Horror" subgenres- both term so vague and inaccurate that have blurred the lines between dark dramas and real Horror movies in such an extent that most new viewers cannot really tell what is Horror and what is not. THE DEVIL COMES AT NIGHT fortunately is a real Horror movie that tries to tell its story in an honest manner, touching themes that I personally have only seen only in obscure low budget Horror flicks as this one. The movie generally succeeds in most levels and is an entertaining and quick-paced Horror Mystery that will probably appeal more to old-school Horror fans like myself. At the same time it touches some current issues like racism, albeit not in much depth. Surely it has problems, like for example little gore and violence and that the ultra-low budget shows at times, but generally it gets a positive vote from me, something that rarely happens with modern movies classified in the Horror genre.

The plot summary is kind of misleading. There is a cult. But it's not really a cannibal cult. It's a white supremacist cult formed around one man, who sold his soul to the devil, to attain godlike power...though, he must destroy the first integrated church, established in the area, to do so. Only...in order to fulfill his end of the bargain...he must first eat the flesh of a direct male descendent of the preacher who established the church. A disgraced former boxer is the grandson of that preacher. Who has returned to the house that sits upon the land where the church once stood, to collect his inheritance. Hoping he can use it to pay for the cancer treatment that his only friend needs to survive. But the only thing he has inherited...is the curse. As he is targeted by a cult that has grown up around the boy- since turned demon- who sold his soul for unspeakable power. Hence why they aren't actually a cannibal cult. Rather, a demonic cult, centered around a head honcho that must engage in cannibalism in order to acquire the power he desires. The storyline is kind of weird. Though, certainly imaginative. It's not exactly clear to me, why the other cult members were affected by the protective boundaries of the house, though. I suppose they are also demons themselves? But, it's not particularly evident how, or why, such is the case. And, if so, why they can be killed by traditional means. There is, however, a rather bizarre, yet interesting- and totally unexpected- twist at the end, you definitely won't see coming. I just wish there was a bit more gore. As all of the kills happen off camera. Likely, due to budgetary constraints. Considering it's an Uncork'd production, and all. For a super low budget film, that takes place, solely, in one setting, however...it's not terrible. But it isn't great either. I, personally, appreciated the bizarreness of the storyline, for it's originality. And how the plot was constructed to keep you in the dark. Plus, the acting is fairly decent. But I could definitely see it not being up everyone's alley. Because it definitely has it's faults, as well. 4 out of 10.

The plot summary is kind of misleading. There is a cult. But it's not really a cannibal cult. It's a white supremacist cult formed around one man, who sold his soul to the devil, to attain godlike power...though, he must destroy the first integrated church, established in the area, to do so. Only...to do so...he must first eat the flesh of a direct male descendent of the preacher who established the church. A disgraced former boxer is the grandson of that preacher. He has returned to the house that sits upon the land where the church once stood, to collect his inheritance. Hoping he can use it to pay for the cancer treatment his only friend needs to survive. But all he has inherited is the curse. As he is targeted by the cult that has grown up around the boy- turned demon- who sold his soul for unspeakable power. Hence why they aren't actually a cannibal cult. Rather, a demonic cult, centered around a head honcho that must engage in cannibalism in order to acquire the power he desires. The storyline is kind of weird. Though, certainly imaginative. It's not exactly clear to me, why the other cult members were affected by the protective boundaries of the house. I suppose they are also demons themselves. But, it's not particularly evident how, or why, such is the case. And, if so, why they can be killed by traditional means. There is, however, a rather bizarre, yet interesting- and totally unexpected- twist at the end, you definitely won't see coming. I just wish there was a bit more gore. As all of the kills happen off camera, by design. Likely, due to budgetary constraints. Considering it's an Uncork'd production, and all. For a super low budget film, that takes place, solely, in one setting. It's not terrible. But it isn't great either. I, personally, appreciated the bizarreness of the storyline, for it's originality. And how the plot was constructed to keep you in the dark. Plus, the acting is fairly decent. But I could definitely see it not being up everyone's alley. Because it definitely has it's faults, as well. 4 out of 10.

I just happened to stumble upon this 2023 horror movie titled "The Devil Comes at Night" by random chance. And given my life-long fascination with the horror genre, of course I had to sit down and watch it. And while I did manage to sit through the 80 minutes that the movie ran for, I was only mildly entertained. The storyline in "The Devil Comes at Night" was generic, so very, very generic. Writers Ryan Allen, Adrienne Kress and Scott Leaver didn't exactly revolutionize the horror genre with the script that they collectively managed to conjure up here. The acting performances in the movie were fair. It was a small cast ensemble, but the performances were adequate. I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, however. Visually then you're not in for anything extraordinary or spectacular. Nay, director Scott Leaver delivered a movie that was rather monotonous and sort of devoid of anything shocking or even just remotely scary. And that made sitting through "The Devil Comes at Night" a somewhat dull experience. This is not a horror movie that I will be recommending for horror fans to rush out and get to watch. Nor is it a horror movie that I will ever return to watch a second time, because it hardly had sufficient contents for the first viewing. My rating of "The Devil Comes at Night" lands on a four out of ten stars.

source: The Devil Comes at Night

source: The Devil Comes at Night