Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Saxon Sharbino | ... | Alice | |
Mitchell Edwards | ... | Cody | |
Brandon Soo Hoo | ... | Dan | |
Victory Van Tuyl | ... | Haley | |
Carson Boatman | ... | Gavin | |
Jordan Essoe | ... | Mr. Bedevil | |
Alexis G. Zall | ... | Nikki | |
Robyn Cohen | ... | Alice's Mom | |
Kate Orsini | ... | Nikki's Mom | |
Bonnie Morgan | ... | Grandmother | |
Aaron Hendry | ... | Mr. DiFilipo | |
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Linda Barrett | ... | Lady on Bus |
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Doug Scarbrough | ... | Homeless Man |
Robert John Brewer | ... | Voice of Homeless Man (voice) | |
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Shannon Sinclear | ... | Bedeviled Lady |
Five friends are terrorized by a supernatural entity after downloading a mysterious app.
'Bedeviled' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing and quite creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.
It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws are here present in those films, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Bedeviled' is not great, or good, has a fair share of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a couple of decent, even good, qualities in 'Bedeviled'.
Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric, despite the rather direct to video schlocky way it's shot and edited at times.
A few unsettling moments here and there and the antagonist is appropriately sinister in sound and with a cool look, complete with some interesting killing methods.
However, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the acting.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace is uneven, dragging in a lot of the second half and never is it exciting. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the lack of tension and suspense. A lot of the film has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the killings are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame.
There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, while the psychological elements are unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show the horror of the subject. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is pretty leaden and the music doesn't really fit.
Concluding, very weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox