Bedeviled (2016) User Reviews

Bedeviled:A missed chance at a horror icon

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 14 March 2017]

Bedeviled is the latest in a long line of cyber horrors featuring the standard young hot cast as they become besieged by a supernatural force spawning from a mobile phone application.

Now though this hardly sounds like the best of premises it actually works, it's just not handled very well at all.

Shortly in I thought that our antagonist had the potential to be a new much needed horror icon. He looks the part, he sounds the part and his method of killing is interesting and with room for some unique moments.

The writers took the ball and ran with it, sadly they fumbled and dropped it at least half a dozen times en route to the line.

With the right writers and a competent director this could be salvaged and made into a decent franchise, but I won't hold my breath quite yet.

I'm not saying that Bedeviled is bad, it's just not what it could have been.

It's Not the Worst Movie in the World...

[zandertowne · 3/10 · 23 October 2018]

I gave this one a chance because the trailer made it look like it had a creepy Nightmare on Elm Street vibe (which turned out to be more of an "It" vibe). Overall the film is meh; a movie made by folks who only know life from other C grade films. Cases in point; the group of high school friends don't talk, or act, like high-schoolers (all the females, including the extras in the brief classroom shots, were cast from the "hot girl" casting pool and non of them look younger than early twenties); with two or three brief exceptions these kids practically live in a bubble - none of them have parents, or siblings, or know anyone else at school except each other since they don't interact with anybody or have outside interests and certainly no jobs (they live in super fancy homes yet none of them even have maids, or gardeners in the absence of parents); they know they're being stalked through their phones by an evil app but still continue to go home to their dark, empty houses and stay connected thru their phones. Oh and isn't it lucky that amongst the group there just so happens to be a studly computer genius who can figure everything out for them - possibly even completing the work of a renowned deceased scientist - and yet the evil computer app who knows everything about them doesn't even deal with that threat. If those kind of unbelievable, unrealistic, and totally synthetic behaviors and situations never bother you then you might enjoy this flick. There's one or two decent little sequences (I like the evil teddy bear) and they obviously spent all their budget on some cool effects instead of the necessary re-writes to make the film anything more than barely tolerable. And they saved money by not hiring good actors also. But it seems like all they simply wanted to do was make a movie just like other movies, regardless if those were good or bad.

Fun amateurish production

[demetrius11 · 4/10 · 9 March 2017]

This flick has a nice plot (not original but fun) and some really gorgeous young actresses (the main reason to watch this).

Sadly there are way more negatives than positives. Sound design is terrible. I really hate the old trick of popping up the volume 1000% when someone screams. Also, this kind of movie needed way way...way more SFX. All you get in this are homemade quality SGI, and quite few at that (The SGI in the final scene are especially bad).

This flick is for a fun night with friends, a few laughs, and watch preferably while playing a board game or something. Enjoy...

Don't even bother

[bladexz95 · 2/10 · 26 November 2017]

I'm writing from a crappy keyboard, so I'm going to keep it short. This movie was absolutely atrocious. The characters were bland and stupid, the directing needed some serious work, and the script was just a giant shipwreck.

While the premise wasn't bad, the entire thing was just a huge farce when you realized that halfway through the film, everyone was dying from fear.The kids never figured it out, and went through all of this technological mumbo jumbo which shouldn't have worked(but somehow it did). An entity lives through your phone, yet goes away when the app is uninstalled? If the app installed itself to begin with, then why wouldn't it just reinstall itself after? If all of these people downloaded the app, then why did no one post online about it? Why did no one say anything to anyone about it? Where did the parents go halfway through the movie? Why did the kids keep splitting up?

All of these questions, and all they had to do was learn to not be afraid. That's how I would have ended this tripe. Everyone died from fear, but the kids couldn't figure out that it was only their fears that were killing them? Just awful.

Also, all of the inane jump scares don't help. Along with that, they made several fatal flaws when it came to jump scares; the camera cuts away, but the character is still looking at it, then when the camera cuts back, it's gone. Um, what? Shouldn't the monster still be there if the character is continuously staring at it? Why is the camera all of a sudden the live entity controlling the shot? Mediocre directing 101.

On top of all this, they tried to create a 3rd dimensions with the characters by having them make boring conversation about the future and other nonsense. News flash, characters evolve by learning something, or changing in a major way, not realizing they want to be a writer when they graduate from high school.

Interesting premise, but executed without style, substance, and everything in between. Actors did okay, but that was about it. Avoid at all costs.

A Lacklustre Missed Chance Sloppily Conceived.

[P3n-E-W1s3 · 1/10 · 15 March 2017]

Oh dear, this was painful to watch, in so many ways.

First off, let me say, I liked the premise of this film. A killer app!

Shame that's all it has going for it, the writers and directors, Abel and Burlee Vang, missed so many opportunities to create a good horror film here and were lax with what they had.

The directors don't even try to build any tension or create any kind of atmosphere. They rely too heavily on crescendos to make the audience jump. When I say heavily it was at every chance they had - somebody reaches for a shoulder (BA BAA), a shadow passes by (BA BAA), a door opens (BA BAA), a camera pans (BA BAA), a gnat farts (BA BAA) - and all turned up to 11. Hey, Guys! It's the volume that makes people jump NOT your story.

Then there's the apps name; "Mr Bedeviled"; I take it the college students aren't taking English are they(?) Or they would be a little more cautious in using the app. Then there's the fact that it auto- installs on their phones. I don't know about you but if something auto- installed on my phone I would be instantly reflashing my phone back to factory presets.

Another thing I found tardy was the stolen ideas. The scene where granny does "The Grudge" is sad but extremely funny; I'm smiling now just thinking about it. If I were the Vang's I'd be most embarrassed at their demon who is a pathetic caricature of The Joker, this was really dismaying to see. I can understand why they just kept showing the smiling mouth the full effect is unintentionally hilarious and the make- up is the poorest I've seen.

However, the actors do a passable job with their characters and cope with the bad script in their stride. They at least worked for their money.

I hope somebody takes the idea of this story and decides to do it justice as this could be one hell of a story and one hell of a movie. At the moment it's just hell.

This movie couldn't scare a toddler

[shyj-71684 · 28 January 2018]

To say that "Bedeviled" sucks would be a massive understatement. I don't even know where to START in terms of its problems

The most glaring issue I've found is how it so blatantly rips off other GOOD movies. Most notably, "Get Out", "The Ring", and "It", ESPECIALLY "It". There's literally a scene where there's a red balloon in the middle of the hallway, then we get jumpscared by a clown. The correlation to "The Ring", is so painfully obvious. It wouldn't be an issue if they actually did something new with the concept, except they didn't.

It's a beat for beat stereotypical horror flick, and me and my dad found ourselves laughing at how much "Mr. Bedeviled" looks like a demonic Peewee Herman.

The acting is painfully bland, the directors and writers clearly don't know how teenagers talk, act, or even look. Everyone in this movie looks like they're in their late 20s. It doesn't help that none of the characters are all that bright. Even the SMARTEST character in the movie made one of the dumbest decisions in horror movie history. So, this guy is running away from "Mr. Bedeviled", and there's a CLEAR opening to the street. What does this braindead idiot do? He runs RIGHT past the opening, and runs around in the parking garage some more.

And before you complain that I'm spoiling the movie, you're not missing much. This movie is the equivalent of a crusty dog turd on the sidewalk. It's not the worst horror movie I've ever seen, but it DEFINITELY isn't a good movie.

It is an enjoyable movie...worth checking out.

[jagalskarmike · 5/10 · 18 November 2017]

I just finished watching this movie on Netflix. I gave it a try and was not expecting to actually enjoy the film. It feels as if the guys making the film are actually putting effort into the movie. The actors are trying very hard to make the story believable. There is not much for gore, but plenty of scares. If you enjoyed "It Follows" you'll find Bedeviled just as enjoyable. I very much liked the film...now go make your own judgment.

Why did I watch this

[iam_theeridan · 2/10 · 21 April 2018]

Why did I watch this? Oh yeah, because i hate myself and my time. Initially i just had this on for some background noise while I finished some homework and quickly wished I watched something else instead. For starters, who the hell clicks a suspicious link sent from a dead girls number? No one in the 21st century that's for damn sure. Second, no one talks the way these characters talk. Especially the black dude, no one talks like that in real life ever. My final complaint: why would you continue using an app that talks back to you and knows all your info, and can control your house? I would've called the pastor so fast "Hey I've got a demon in my phone help please" Seriously don't waste your time. Between random sex scenes that go on for quite some time (aren't these kids supposed to be like 16? Yikes.) and mediocre acting, it just aint worth your time .

Where do they get their writing from???

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 2/10 · 16 May 2020]

So the antagonist in this one is a phone App.

-1 Star For the Sex Scene with No Nudity and Just Pointless filming of it

-1 Star For just horrendous conversations between characters

-1 Star For Bad Ending

I would completely avoid this movie. The dialogue is campy. The characters are stupid. It really has nothing going for it at all.

Very straight forward, almost TOO simple Retro Horror story goes for atmosphere and suspense and ALMOST achieves it... Blu-ray: Good A:8 V:7

[lathe-of-heaven · 6/10 · 13 March 2017]

Sigh... it's almost not really worth the effort to write a review for this film, BUT... at this time there are only 3 reviews here and there are a few specifics that I thought it would be good to mention about the movie that might help some people decide whether they should bother watching it or not.

First and foremost, with a LOT of other Horror movies, especially with a young cast like this one has, you usually have to endure some pretty painful, cringe-worthy 'acting' So, in most cases that would put me off right away. But, that actually is one thing about this film that surprisingly is not too bad compared to most. Most of the young people here, depending of course on the lines they are given, do a fairly decent job of putting their characters across without too many detracting mannerisms. Not GREAT, but slightly above average.

Next, the two brothers who directed and wrote this clearly have a real affection for this kind of Retro Horror story, one that as others here have mentioned, has been done a LOT of times before. The concept that is, not so much the specific source of the Evil Bad Guy. In all honestly, the movie really just doesn't have that terribly much going for it, but the film makers really seem to make an effort to infuse scary, suspenseful visuals and sounds and appear to be TRYING at least to put things together and craft something that comes across as somewhat scary in an old-fashioned kind of way.

I think that if they had taken out a lot of the 'Drama' and perhaps focused more on the research the guy was doing to combat this entity and given that part more depth and background, that might have given the film more weight and substance. As it was, even though that was I feel one of the more interesting parts of the story, they sadly just kind of blew past it and therefore in my lowly and wretched opinion ended up with a last act that was very weak. Seriously, it was pretty bad. The last little tag scene I guess is okay, but I genuinely got the impression that these guys just didn't quite know how to end the story in an effective way.

I kind of liked the creepy, Old-School creature and at least their EFFORTS to try to make it scary. Another thing that was also very surprising to me and is something that usually really drives me up a wall with these types of Horror films, is that the sound design was actually handled quite well (despite what one reviewer here stated, but I think he was referring to the loud jump-scares, not the overall sound design) Usually what they do, and it indeed totally drives me insane (well, MORE insane) is that they usually in a very 'Amateur Hour' kind of way boost EVERY damn sound to super high, unnatural levels. Pouring water into a glass, shuffling papers on a desk, jangling keys, etc... Horrible... But in this case, all the accompanying sounds like footsteps, how the voices were miked, and incidental sounds were actually quite natural sounding and refreshingly lower in the mix, which is NOT the case in a lot of other Horror films. So, for their side-stepping that common and EXTREMELY annoying mistake, I was very thankful.

Basically, what I am trying to say here is that there really isn't a whole lot to get excited about. There honestly just isn't that much too the film. The last act is very weak and leaves you feeling like, 'That's it...??!' But, other than that, I suppose what I'm trying to get across is that there aren't TOO many obvious, stupid things that overtly annoy or detract from the overall story, so you can kind of just sit back and still enjoy it a little.

Think Stephen King's 'IT', but WITHOUT the deeper characterizations and hefty back story. We're talking 'IT' (lite)... VERY lite...

Not really a very strong recommendation I know... I was probably a little TOO generous giving this a '6' rating, but I am SO bloody used to having to put up with all these other horribly irritating things in most films, that I guess I was just surprised and happy that at least they avoided the most common and obnoxious stuff that you usually see...

Creepypasta: The Movie

[riveracheron · 1/10 · 20 April 2017]

Aside from an interesting idea (a killer app), the movie was an absolute train wreck from beginning to end. My biggest problem was the (WAYYY) over-use of jump scares and crescendo booms every few seconds. For a movie that *seemed* like it was going for atmosphere and mood, the directors sure loved to rely on the tired old method of "boo scares". Startling your audience is not scaring them. When will directors realize this? There was absolutely no subtly to this flick, hardly any character development, and while the acting was not the worst I've ever experienced, it was certainly sub-par. Also, there was absolutely zero gore, and all the kills happened during cut-a-ways/off screen. No, horror movies do NOT need blood and gore, but if you are going to use jump scares, and sacrifice your own plot for stupid *gothca!* scenes, then give us SOMETHING. It just feels like the directors could not decide on their own tone that they were going for.

What disappointed me the most is, the premise was interesting enough that this COULD have been a much better movie if it was in the hands of people with more artistic talent. As it stands, Bedeviled is a predictable, boring teen horror jump-scare movie that relies on every single done-to-death trope out there. Also, as someone else here mentioned, the origin/story of the app is shrugged to the side. Oh, it was touched upon with Sam, the physics tutor who provided a small bit of exposition, but I really think that should have been expanded upon more, since the premise is the only thing that's interesting about this movie.

The music was okay (when we could hear it over the *BAM* moments), and I WILL give kudos for the directors using Chopin's Nocturne op.9 No.2. Sadly, that's just not enough to raise my vote beyond a 1, as this movie was truly awful.

Highly original supernatural thriller

[robertemerald · 9/10 · 2 January 2020]

I'm not sure why this movie has got such a low rating. The entity in Bedeviled does have a familiar ring and look to it, something horror fans will quickly recognise from other horror films. But it is how that entity manifests that is unique. I'm not an expert on technological horror themed movies. One movie that it may be compared to might be Demon Seed (1977). The entity takes over the lives of the teens in much the same way, only Demon Seed was A.I.. It is also true the Bedeviled mirrors other urban myth style movies in that the teens tend to get picked off one by one. You have to put up with teen bickering as well. In a couple of instances I wondered why people in movies tend to cautiously move toward an intruder sound when alone in their houses, rather than bolt for the front door or window to grab a neighbour to help. Bedeviled does this too, but then, so do all horror movies. It's one of the tropes of horror movies that invent people's reactions for the screen rather than portray reality. All that aside, I did a little research, and as far as I can see Bedeviled is a truly original idea. And it's done really well. Many jump scares and chills throughout, and the scares start right at the beginning. It takes accomplished filmmakers to be able to do that. The sync between soundscape and action is superb. The actors do a fine job as well, and the Director uses a lot of interesting angles, frames and symbolism. I docked it a point for lack of review to the plot. Toward the end there was pause leading to a death that the teens should have seen coming a mile away, and throughout the film the teens also fail to bunch together as a defence. This is somewhat inexplicable, as they have complete freedom with no parents around day and night. Mind you, that does mean they are often alone in their creepy houses. The entity in this movie is not all powerful as in many other recent horror movies, and only succeeds if it can manage to induce a massive fear. Watching it do that is the genius of this movie, and was truly chilling.

Bedeviled by horror stereotypes but still quite watchable......

[s3276169 · 6/10 · 10 March 2017]

Bedeviled by horror stereotypes. Thats how I would describe this film.

Lamentably everything about this flick has been done to death (pardon the pun). It's replete with horror stereotypes we have all seen a million times before.

To get away with recycling well worn ideas something at least little different is needed, not to mention a lot of polish but really, its just not there.

Thats not to say Bedeviled its a bad film. Its a fun production, with what appears to be a limited budget. It does reasonably well with what it has. Its story line is predictable but not terrible and the acting is actually, quite good.

I would say this film is certainly worth a look just don't expect anything especially novel or remarkable. If you can accept this limitation give Bedeviled a go, it's certainly fun and does have a few, decently creepy, moments. Six out of ten from me.

Another horror which should have been so much better.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 4/10 · 3 June 2019]

I never like starting any sort of a review with a negative, but I can't approach reviewing this in any other way. This is not a very good film, in fact it's actually a pretty poor film.

It has some truly interesting ideas, but the realisation is pretty poor. Evil invasion by app sounds great, but sadly it just doesn't work. There's an effort to make it feel old school, it has a vibe of Nightmare on Elm Street about it, plus it has a few references, It and Truth or dare being two, sadly though Bedeviled is not in the same league as either.

Some good visuals, but we don't get them for long enough. Best scene definitely Cody being chased through the car park, that was great. The acting was also an issue, at times various members of the cast were very wooden.

So many wasted opportunities. 4/10

Spam

[iamtherobotman · 2/10 · 23 October 2017]

OK so I realise "it's only a film" BUT I have to pick up on one tiny little point, that being that this must be one of the worst selling Apps in the history of Apps.

Allow me to explain.

Five Students download it and quickly weird stuff begins to happen, one by one they'll killed off yet nothing is seen as odd or mysterious by the local Constabulary or Community as whole. Not only that, but it seems it is only these five who have downloaded the App in the ENTIRE WORLD!!

Think about it. Nothing on the news or online or in the papers about MILLIONS of people dying or being killed( Millions on top of the standard numbers who die daily or weekly...etc). Nothing that the Police recognise as a danger - so clearly this is a completely isolated incident, specific to this town and or district.

I mean 'Scream' or 'Halloween', 'Friday the 13th', 'Nightmare on Elm Street' etc etc those are all understandable as isolated incidents, localised. But when they move the premise to Online or even to Mobile Phone Apps then the writers have to become a bit more creative, these things are not isolated or localised, we can all access Websites and Apps from all over the world and an App seemingly as useful as this one would be in high demand the World over...

And this was where the film lost me i'm afraid. I watched it, it was a typical Teen horror akin to the films I mentioned previously, nothing special, nothing clever...Well, clearly it wasn't clever, we had a case of a localised App. Obviously the Demon involved isn't so powerful as to be Omnipresent.

Horrifically bad

[lopezpatricia-06139 · 1/10 · 2 June 2019]

It's like they dragged people off the streets and gave them $10 and said do your best. And less said about the story.

Please say firmware one more time

[lcubbin · 1/10 · 14 November 2017]

WOW. I watch some really terrible stuff on Netflix but this movie went above and beyond. The acting was atrocious, it seemed liked the actors didn't know what was happening in quite a few scenes and that they were making their lines up as they went along. Nothing against non English speaking people making films but when it's this noticeable that there is a language barrier maybe just try making a film with dialogue of your native tongue?

def. FIRMWARE - permanent software programmed into a read-only memory.

THIS IS WHAT MAKES YOUR PHONE RUN. IT IS NOT ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE. IT IS NOT ANTIMALWARE. THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN JUST PUT ON SOMEONES PHONE. FIRMWARE IS A VERY SPECIFIC THING TO INDIVIDUAL PHONES AND CAN EVEN VARY ACROSS IDENTICAL MODELS. OH MY GOD PLEASE GOD WHY DID YOU HAVE TO THROW IT IN AGAIN AT THE END.

Better than I expected

[dexpheonix · 5/10 · 31 December 2021]

My expectations were very low going into this flick. The camera work and direction were much better than I anticipated from the trailer and reviews. The story is way out there and some of the acting should have been better, but I will probably end up watching this again.

Supernatural app

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 27 May 2018]

'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

App'alling.

[Info-241-562323 · 8 June 2019]

I watched this both when quite drunk, and while mostly fast forwarding. It was so predictable I could even follow it on x30 speed.

I actually felt quite bad for the 'actors', as they're going to be remembered for this complete and total train crash of a movie.

Is it scary? No. Cheap? Yes. Well thought out? No. (But could have been). Original? No. (The Ring etc... did a much better job). Recommended? No no no.

Please people... Look at the reviews and don't waste your time. I promise... It really is THAT BAD!

0/10

It wasn't THAT BAD

[fdhodges · 7/10 · 9 December 2017]

I thought a pretty good teen horror flick. While it's supposed to be a horror there was an actual message in this which I thought cool. The part that really rang true was the pastor's spiel about people and their lives that evolve around their phone and social media and losing touch with life reality and self. Which I thought was cool. Aside from that it's a modern day teen scream flick that is not badly put together. The quality of the film the angles were pretty decent. Make-up pretty cool. So all in all if I was teeny bopper or young adult I probably would have frightened a time or two especially with those creepy hands. Yikes!

in the top ten worst movies on netflix

[livewnovak · 1/10 · 20 November 2017]

I really don't agree with IMDBs rating scale, 0 should be allowed because a 1 is too generous for this garbage. I don't know why they even tried or who thought of the cast, concept or costumes all were absolutely terrible. One of the worst movies ever made. This garbage shouldn't be on netflix's homepage or even on the website.

Not bad

[david0188 · 10/10 · 28 June 2018]

First of all, that fact that the cast was so diverse is enough for me to even be half interested. White guy dies pretty early too so it isn't that predictable as for as pecking order. I'm satisfied, fun movie.

OK Social Media Horror

[Pairic · 6/10 · 28 December 2019]

Bedeviled: Another APP horror Film but this one is more reminiscent of A.M.I. rather than Countdown. A girl is frightened to death by the manifestation of an app she has downloaded, Mr Bedevil, which appears as an evil leering ventriloquist's Dummy (think Tony Blair). Her friends then get an invite from her phone to download this app, which they do even though they know she's dead! Teenagers! Life becomes Hell for them as Mr Bedevil insults them and then moves on to making them see the dead, we get a Ring type ghost, basically anything they are scared of. Ordinary people even take on aspects of Mr Bedevil, his app icon appears on their bodies. There is little humour in this film apart from attacks by a teddy bear but even then the laughter will die in your throat. A few good jump scares but nothing extraordinary or innovative. Written and Directed by the Yang Brothers. 6/10. On Netflix.

utter garbage

[georgio-26490 · 1/10 · 15 July 2020]

So we start with the full house!! the mandatory cheap movie casting!! the dumb blonde, the feisty brunette, the intelligent chinese kid, the handsome lovable jock, and the stern adamant black guy. like this group of five have enough in common to be friends, its totally nonsensical. acting is as stiff as a board sprayed with starch then froze for 6 months! the storyline is non existent, glimpses of computer generated clowns and the modern white toothy spectre to create around 5 or 6 jumps, they pop off one by one and you are left yawning thinking "how many times am i going to have sit through this carbon copied nonsense!" honestly , dont bother , its pathetic from the outset , if you manage to watch it through you have more going for you than the idiots that put this lame duck together! utterly awful!