As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
At The Creepercast, we make a point of seeing anything and everything featuring our patron saint, Bill Oberst Jr. When 'Scream at the Devil' came across our desk, we got excited to see his name attached and I happened to be the lucky one assigned to watch this film. From the get go, there were several things to be excited about. Not only was Bill in it, but he was surrounded by some other favorites of mine too; including Tony Todd ('Candyman'), Eric Etebari ('Witchblade') and Shari Shattuck ('On Deadly Ground'). The poster for the film, was pretty creepy and seemed to have a 'Last Exorcism' vibe to it, which was another positive. The prospects were all pointing in a good direction. What happened over the course of the next hour and 38 minutes, were not what I was expecting to see at all.
The movie opens like a Roman Polanski film and from the very beginning, I could appreciate all the love of 70's and 80's supernatural movies writer/director Joseph P Stachura was paying homage too. We initially meet our protagonist, Mirium (Shattuck), as she seems to be worshiping some kind of god or demon, praying for a child of her own. It's clear that she's tried and failed before, to conceive a child, and is desperate to try anything. Soon, we've moved forward a couple of days and she's moving into her brand new home, with her husband Gabriel (Etebari). They seem happy enough, as they slowly settle into their new lives in a beautifully, picturesque, mountain view home. However, it would appear that some other entities have moved in as well. Over the course of the rest of the movie, we watch as Mirium appears to slowly descends into madness or is she really being tormented by the devil and his minions? The walls of reality start to bend and blur so much, that even the viewer no longer can tell the truth. Not until the final scene of the film plays out.
In story and structure, the film is very straightforward. The locations are minimal and the actors are all well seasoned and know their craft. We have a classic tale of what happens when you ask for something from the darkness, before thinking about the consequences. On paper, this idea seems like it should work. Sadly, in it's execution, it falls incredibly flat. I could tell, from the early scene in the bedroom when Mirium see's the screaming/yelling demon, that this was not going to be a very good film. The practical effects, CGI and other special effects all looked to be stolen from a late 90's Cinemax film, but all of that could be forgiven, if the rest of the movie was stronger. There are some strong points to the film, however. Bill Oberst Jr, although in a very minimal appearance, steals the scene and is suitably creepy. There is also the stand out performance of Teddy Vincent as Bellah. She's channeling her inner neighbor from 'Rosemary's Baby' and makes your skin crawl with her overly friendly evil. 'Scream at the Devil' strives to be a classic demon story, but just never finds it's foot hold in the genre. For example, the over use of special effects to show you the evil that's plaguing Mirium, instead of letting your mind create the terror. Especially considering how much Mr. Stachura plays with the notion that maybe this is all just in her mind. Sometimes less, truly is more. The more I think about the film and what happens throughout, the more I realize how heavily it borrows from 'Rosemary's Baby'. From the obviously demon like neighbors, to the hellish love making scene, all the way down to the idea of carrying the child of the devil. It's all in there. The only thing that sets this apart as a different tale, is the psychosis of our lead character. Which is also what takes away from the end result.
I wish that I had more positive things to say about this film, but unfortunately there's just not enough there to elevate it beyond a 1 out of 5 star review. It's clear that Etebari and Shattuck are doing the best with what they have. Even Tony Todd brings his 'A' game to his character, trying to breathe life into the third act of the story. It's not really any one person at fault here, it's just that all of the pieces of the puzzle don't fit together like they could have. I truly respect and can appreciate anyone who is willing to do everything it takes to make a movie on their own terms. You can't please everyone and as long as, at the end of the day, you're happy with the end results. Then that's all the matters.
If you like movies like this, please check out: 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968), 'The Lords of Salem' and 'The House of the Devil'
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