The Devil Inside

The Devil Inside isnt THAT bad. The dialogue isn't that bad. The acting isn't that bad. Some of the scares are actually pretty effective in a stuff-suddenly-rushing-at-the-screen or banging loudly sort of a way. It certainly doesn't deserve the 0 star rating that some critics have given it. The main charge that can be levelled against it is that it's massively derivative - but no more so than your average low-budget horror or even other recent exorcism movies (2010's The Last Exorcism springs to mind).


It's a classic case of death-by-marketing. No self-respecting cinema-goer has fallen for the found footage thing since the Blair Witch team snottily roamed the Maryland woods back in 1999. So releasing fake 911 calls online and insisting that the story is 'inspired by true events' was probably not the wisest course of action for The Devil Inside - it just comes across as disingenuous and patronising to today's audiences.


But it's the film's ending that seems to have left some people feeling personally affronted. The ire-inducing post-finale url directing people to the film's website has been judiciously removed for the UK release. But that didn't stop the audience at the screening I attended from emitting a collective groan when the end credits began to roll. There were a few laughs too, though. Judging by the chatter on the way out of the screening, it's clearly a matter of opinion whether the ending's gallingly irritating or a bit of silly fun. Either way, it's really not that out-of-the-ordinary in the context of the genre.


It's true that there are more plot holes in this movie than plot, but horror fans are a generous bunch, so might be willing to overlook them in favour of a couple of stand-out scenes  one featuring an extremely talented contortionist, the other a baptism that goes very wrong. That said, if you've watched the trailer and the preview clip online, you'll have seen the best bits already so could save yourself the cinema trip.