The Devil's Doorway (2018)

In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.

Director:

Aislinn Clarke

Writers:

Martin Brennan, Aislinn Clarke

Stars:

Lalor Roddy, Ciaran Flynn, Helena Bereen

5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Lalor Roddy	...	Father Thomas
Ciaran Flynn	...	Father John
Helena Bereen	...	Mother Superior
Lauren Coe	...	Kathleen
Dearbhail Lynch	...	Eileen Murphy (as Dearbhail Carr)
Carleen Melaugh	...	Sister Maria Louise
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charlie Bonner	...	Dr. Cleary
Cathy-Brennan Bradley	...	Sister Maria Agnes
Iona Clarke	...	Ghost Girl
Maddox Gulliver	...	Ghost Boy 2
Isaac Heslip	...	Ghost Boy 1

Storyline

In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.

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Plot Keywords:

found footage | catholicism | priest | nun | asylum | 

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Taglines:

This Is Not Found Footage. It Has Been Supressed by the Catholic Church for the Last 58 Years

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Just as a slight correction to the above. There is hardly any Computer Generated Imagery in this film. It was shot mostly on 16mm and nearly all the effects were done in camera ie live.

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Quotes

Mother Superior: You've some neck on you. Coming into this home and casting aspersions on me. Who do you think you are? You send all the country's dirty wee secrets here, here to my home and sally off without a care in the world. Sweep it all under the carpet and they expect us to hide the dirty laundry. Isn't that it, Father? Leave all the dirty work to the women.
Father Thomas: Reverend Mother, I don't think that...
Mother Superior: No! You don't, do you? You worry about how we treat the girls. What about how you treat us? Leave us to hide ...

User Reviews

Suppressed horror

The idea sounded very interesting and creative, so there was enough to make one want to see it. The cover looked quite eerie. So saw 'The Devil's Dooway' with genuine interest and wanting to at least sort of like it even if it had many problems.

Seeing it, well 'The Devil's Doorway" is far from perfect and is not great but it was much better than expected. The good things are noticeable and for found footage it is much better than most, one of the better ones actually. Having prepared myself to do that, that was disappointing. Liked the concept quite a good deal, the potential is not quite lived up to.

'The Devil's Doorway' at least didn't insult my intelligence. It at least didn't make me angry watching it.

Surprisingly, it looks great. The setting is atmospherically spooky and pleasing to look at and the camera work was surprisingly accomplished-looking and clever, some nice techniques and angles here rather than looking amateurish and making one physically ill like most found footage horrors do. The editing also has atmosphere. The sound is creepy and not obvious or intrusive.

Also a nice surprise was the acting. This aspect, often one of the noticeably worst assets, was well above average. the best of it good even. There is engagement with the drama, they all look comfortable and it doesn't get unsubtle. The film starts off intriguingly and there are unsettlingly tense, creepy and suspenseful moments early on.

Later on however, the tension, creepiness and suspense dissipates and the latter stages sadly run out of steam. It becomes dull and predictable, as well as ridiculous and things don't make sense. The ending felt anti-climactic.

Dialogue is also quite ropy, with some awkwardness and cheese and parts are a little heavy-handed. The effects have instances where they do look under-budgeted and hasty-looking, not quite gelling with everything else.

Altogether, better than expected but flawed. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Ireland UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Doorway

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$516,660

Company Credits

Production Co:

23ten

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1