In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The only scary thing about this movie is just its existence. It goes beyond wasting your time. It is one of these movies that someone is shot by a gun then after a while stands up as if it never happened and fights in a burning room and then walks out just fine. NO realism NO concrete storyline NOT a single moment of horror..After it finishes you are left with a "what...".

It's all ok, nothing really great, but watchable... until there's the scene where the father gets shot. He drops dead and bleeds empty, or so we are to believe, but then some minutes later just as easy 'raises from the dead ' (like Lazarus? or Jezus Christ himself?), starts running, climbing ladders... I was so pissed with this nonsense that I cut the movie short. Waste of time. Insultingly stupid!

Moving into a new house, an artist and his family into a remote house and slowly succumbs to a dark, sinister force within the house that affects not only his relationships with everyone else but the quality of work he starts creating which soon puts the rest of his family in extreme danger.This was quite the enjoyable and chilling effort. Among the fine points throughout here is the fact that there's a typically creepy and chilling location at the heart of the film. These films are based on the type of setting being utilized and this has a spectacular one, as the old-school wooden construction, large open spaces and general feeling of darkness seeping through the walls of the house which creates quite a strong and chilling impression. That's even before it starts in on the houses' history that includes the original backstory and the overall manifestation that pops up throughout here with the ghastly voices whispering continuously in his head that brings out the new style of painting in his artwork. The slow descent into madness he finds himself as the artwork becomes darker and far more intense inspired by the time in the house is an exceptionally enjoyable slow-burn storyline that pays off nicely here with the way it works itself out in the darker paintings he creates. When it slowly starts to dawn on everyone that he's falling into the same traps as those who were in the house before him which lets this one maintain a rather creepy feeling throughout here. Once it begins to invoke the concept of the intruder coming into their lives who invades their lives in one of the finest scenes here in his botched invasion attempt which is a chilling concept that gets utilized effectively in here and leads into the emotionally draining and charged final half which just enhances this one with a flurry of disturbing concepts, frantic action and a truly vicious streak that's fun to watch. How it plays off the brawling and stalking taking place in the burning house gives this a strong element of action while the burning walls leave a fine visual impression during that time and create a truly enjoyable and memorable image at the right time. Given that this one manages to incorporate all this into the stellar family relationship angle at the heart of it all makes for quite an impression as well, and given the fun pace and quantity of gore these here all make for quite an enjoyable time here. There isn't much to bring this down, which mostly stems from the overall lack of conventional haunted house tactics throughout here. This one goes for the subliminal in their scare tactics rather than throwing tons of jump scares out there, and that might be somewhat problematic for some who go for a more traditional pace. Otherwise, there's not much else to hold this one down.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and mild drug use.

The Devil's Candy is the second feature film from Australian director Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones). This movie is impressive enough as it is, but knowing it is only the director's second film makes it even more so.The story centers primarily around an almost unrecognizable Ethan Embry as Jesse, the grungy, long-haired, metal-loving, art-obsessed patriarch of a small family. Despite the fact that it means he will have to sell out a bit, he's ready for them to move into their first real home, a large farmhouse in rural Texas with an expansive barn that he envisions as a studio. His preteen daughter, Zooey (Kiara Glasco), is frustrated by the expected growing pains of starting at a new school, and his wife, Astrid (Shiri Appleby), is hesitant when she finds out that the too-good-to-be-true low price is due to the previous owners dying within the house's walls… but onward they go. No time is wasted before Jesse starts being "inspired" by inexplicable urges and one of the previous tenants makes an unwelcome reappearance…** SPOILERS! **I was hooked in to this film from the very first minutes… and that's rare. The styling, the mood, the dread-heavy guitar riff… I loved it all.Metal is featured heavily — almost exclusively — and the father-daughter bond that Jesse and Zooey share over their love of Metallica and headbanging in the car is really goddamn cute. I feel like I'm so used to seeing either fathers and sons bonding or fathers fumbling through trying to connect with their daughters that this was a refreshing departure. Zooey is beautiful but unapologetic with her style, and there's really no mention of her "not fitting in" aside from the universal apprehension to start fresh at a new high school.The entire thing felt sharp in a way I haven't experienced in a while. The acting felt natural, each of the characters seemed like they were well-cast, and the run-time was short enough that I never got bored or antsy. At only 79 minutes it was both pleasing to my ADHD mind that tends to bounce around if it has too much freedom to do so (and even when it doesn't) and impressive that Byrne was able to flesh out the characters so much in such a brief span of time.Everyone was fantastic, but Pruitt Taylor Vince — playing Ray, the possessed son of the house's previous owners — stole the show. As with many actors, I first discovered him in an episode of The X-Files (Gerry in "Unruhe"), but he has a huge list of previous projects. He managed to be sinister and yet almost pitiful in a way, especially with it being unclear just how long he had been tortured by these growling, menacing voices. He brings such an understated sense of tension to every scene he's in, particularly the feeling of panic you feel when hearing his blaring guitar riffs (his futile attempt to drown out said voices).The concepts explored are vast and complex. We center around the idea of Satan being an "active, violent, anti-God personal reality", a force that moves through humans rather than a goofy cartoon character with red flesh and horns, and then segue seamlessly into the fear that every parent has of someday not being able to protect their child from all evil. We see Jesse dealing with feelings of inadequacy on all sides — not being able to support his family even when he compromises his artistic values, especially when it comes to his daughter, who, with age, is becoming increasingly skeptical of his ability to do (and provide) it all. Not to mention the juxtaposition of intense artistic inspiration being a form of "possession" in itself, with Jesse only able to get the attention of the high-end gallery owner when he completely loses himself in his work, at the expense of his family and their trust in him.And the final scenes? Oh man, the final scenes. I wouldn't have imagined myself loving watching Ethan Embry kill a man with a Gibson Flying V while flames encircle them and metal music rumbles so loud you think it will explode the TV itself… so I learned something new about myself today.It's like a haunted house movie merged with a possession film and dressed up in the style of a serial killer flick… and I freaking loved it.