Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's been awhile since I've seen this, but it was a real psychological thriller. The kind that makes one stop & consider what this movie was really trying to get across to the audience. While it's not the best of horror movies, it's certainly far from the worst. It stayed with me, often playing through my mind even a few weeks later. If you like horror movies that concentrate more on messing with your mind than cheap jump-out-at-you type scares & gore, I think you'll enjoy this one!

Devour feels like several movies have been thrown into a blender by writers Adam and Seth Gross, and then wolfed down by director David Winkler, only partially digested, and finally excreted onto the screen; some of the original ingredients are still identifiable, but on the whole, it's just one big stinky mess.Part The Omen, part Brainscan, Part FeardotCom, and part Rosemary's Baby, the Gross's screenplay sees high school student Jake Gray (Jensen Ackles) experiencing hellish waking nightmares after his pals Conrad (Teach Grant) and Dakota (the perfectly toned Dominique Swain) sign him up for an online game called 'The Pathway'. To cut a long and very confusing story short, the game is controlled by the devil herself (yes, she's a woman, just as I suspected), who is searching the world for her missing son.No prizes for guessing who turns out to be the spawn of Satan...Decent acting from its young (but perhaps not young enough) cast, the odd gruesome moment, and a gratuitous sex scene between Ackles and a fully clothed Swain (what, no nudity?) cannot help Devour from being a disappointment; and with a final comment from Jake which suggests that the whole devil thing might have been a figment of his twisted imagination, it's hard to see this film garnering praise from anyone other than fans of its lead actor.

A young man(Jensen Ackles), with a very promising future, finds that his violent dreams are becoming frightening real when an Internet game, called The Pathway, introduced to him by his troubled pal Conrad(Teach Grant)might by controlled by Satan himself! What's even worse is the fact that his "waking" nightmares are used in killing his friends and family. He seeks comfort in the arms of beautiful nurse Marisol(Shannyn Sossamon)who attends to his crippled wheelchair ridden mother. Dakota(the very, very sexy Dominique Swain)is Jake's friend/sometimes-lover who was a product of molestation and now receives visits from her professor so that she can pass. Aiden Kater(Martin Cummins)is the creator of The Pathway game, who practiced black magic in Satanism. Ivan(William Sadler) is the Master Satanist who quit teaching others when Aiden supposedly sacrificed his wife and child to the Devil. Jake has a deeper connection to Ivan than he realizes. There's reason why he has survived while others, such as his two friends, succumbed to suicide after killing those who caused them harm in life.I felt the development of the premise and it's characters feel rushed. I felt like there was some post-production tinkering which leaves plot holes and inconsistencies. Such as what happens to Dakota. While we actually do see what occurs to Conrad from the phone call that coerces him through emotional manipulation into murdering a person he had issues with, we might not see his death take place, but do get a glimpse of the horrifying "suicide." But, Dakota's exit from the film isn't fully realized and all we really know is that she murdered the man troubling her finishing herself off through self-mutilation. It's a scene totally left out of the film and is quite an important part of the development of the story. Anyway, later Jake is knocked unconscious by Conrad's ghost(?)and he awakens in Aiden's plush mansion. I can't understand this, but oh well. Aiden is here to inform us who Jake really is. Instead of developing Aiden, he's plopped in the flick for a few minutes and dispatched. Ivan's wife, Anne, is a major part of the grand scheme of things and we see who she has been emulating so to stay close to Jake. The final thirty or so minutes really rushes a build up during the film. Someone calls Jake's Uncle Ross on the phone. We do not know who it was. It would've been nice to know. He later is found by Jake and Marisol. And, then the film makes a bold statement that what we have witnessed, including the revealing of the Demon behind the Pathway possessions, could be just figments of Jake's demented mind. He asks for us to help him. The director and screenplay writer are the ones who needed help the most. Oh, and I do admit that Swain is an absolute sexpot, but perhaps she could try other roles that just the slut. She's become quite typecast.

The movie revolves around a character named Jake Gray and his friends that have been playing a deadly game called "The Pathway", which eventually spirals out of control and threatens a worldwide epidemic of violence.After reading the plot outline and the cool cover art, I decided to give it a go. It starts off right away with the opening credits which plugs a fairly dire heavy rock / metal song in the background. It's the type of set-up that gets you thinking "Oh god, this is going to be lousy and look really cheap!" but alas the first half of the movie is the most entertaining.The story behind this film is interesting yet executed in a fairly poor manner. Basically, the devil communicates to others via the internet through an online game called "The Pathway" in which you give the site your phone number and apparently it can bring up your whole life's history. You then get phone calls asking you to do certain things, similar to sacrificing animals to your god. The problem with this movie is that it decides to put such a huge twist (a twist that is too complex for its own good) into the mix that really leaves you confused at the end. Though, once you've sat through the first hour of the movie and it all starts to become un-interesting, you won't really care before you get to see the twist. I know what you're thinking... "The devil using the internet? What the hell?" Yeah, I know.The devil / creature in the movie is similar to a cross between an alien (from the Alien movies) and Djinn (from the Wishmaster movies) but never talks and the screen is always shaken or blurred when you see the creature so you don't really get a good look. The best chance you'll have to get a decent view is near the end but like I said, you may be battling your eyes once you get there.Devour could have been really good and pulls you in for the first 30 minutes or so, but due to poor character backgrounds, a confusing story and the constant switch between horror and drama, it really is hard to make it worth your 90 minutes of viewing time.Ah, what the hell, go have a watch. It is a fairly well made movie for direct-to-video but that's no excuse to cut it some slack. The first half got me interested, the second half lost me. I'll be very surprised if your reaction is any different.