Devour (2005)

Director:

David Winkler

Writers (WGA):

Adam Gross (written by) &
Seth Gross (written by)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Don't Get Mad. Get Evil.

Plot:

Revolves around a character named Jake Gray and his friends that have been playing a deadly game called "The Pathway", which eventually spirals out of control and threatens a worldwide epidemic of violence.

Plot Keywords:

Daydreams | Sexual Desire | Beautiful Woman | Interracial Sex | Rough Sex

Cast

Jensen Ackles	...	Jake Gray
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Marisol
Dominique Swain	...	Dakota
William Sadler	...	Ivan Reisz
Teach Grant	...	Conrad Dean
Martin Cummins	...	Aiden Kater
Rob Stewart	...	Ross North
R. Nelson Brown	...	Walt
Wanda Cannon	...	Kathy Gray
Jenn Griffin	...	Older Anne Kilton
Alan Ackles	...	Paul Kilton
Rob Allen	...	Young Paul
Tami DeSchutter	...	Young Kathy
John Innes	...	Father Moore
Reg Tupper	...	Hartney

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language, some sexual content and drug use.

Runtime:

Australia:90 min | Argentina:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Singapore:M18 | USA:R | UK:18 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Bigel / Mailer Films

Trivia:

Jensen Ackles and Martin Cummins had worked previously together on "Dark Angel".

Goofs:

Continuity: In the early scene in lecture hall, Dominique Swains' hair alternates between neatly brushed and tousled as she has dialog with the Professor.

Quotes:

Walt: You don't cross people who give up their souls.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

The first half got me interested, the second half lost me.

The movie revolves around a character named Jake Gray and his friends that have been playing a deadly game called "The Pathway", which eventually spirals out of control and threatens a worldwide epidemic of violence.

After reading the plot outline and the cool cover art, I decided to give it a go. It starts off right away with the opening credits which plugs a fairly dire heavy rock / metal song in the background. It's the type of set-up that gets you thinking "Oh god, this is going to be lousy and look really cheap!" but alas the first half of the movie is the most entertaining.

The story behind this film is interesting yet executed in a fairly poor manner. Basically, the devil communicates to others via the internet through an online game called "The Pathway" in which you give the site your phone number and apparently it can bring up your whole life's history. You then get phone calls asking you to do certain things, similar to sacrificing animals to your god. The problem with this movie is that it decides to put such a huge twist (a twist that is too complex for its own good) into the mix that really leaves you confused at the end. Though, once you've sat through the first hour of the movie and it all starts to become un-interesting, you won't really care before you get to see the twist. I know what you're thinking... "The devil using the internet? What the hell?" Yeah, I know.

The devil / creature in the movie is similar to a cross between an alien (from the Alien movies) and Djinn (from the Wishmaster movies) but never talks and the screen is always shaken or blurred when you see the creature so you don't really get a good look. The best chance you'll have to get a decent view is near the end but like I said, you may be battling your eyes once you get there.

Devour could have been really good and pulls you in for the first 30 minutes or so, but due to poor character backgrounds, a confusing story and the constant switch between horror and drama, it really is hard to make it worth your 90 minutes of viewing time.

Ah, what the hell, go have a watch. It is a fairly well made movie for direct-to-video but that's no excuse to cut it some slack. The first half got me interested, the second half lost me. I'll be very surprised if your reaction is any different.