Film: Here Comes The Devil
Starring: Laura Caro, Francisco Barreiro
Directed by: Adrián García Bogliano

With December now well under way, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to escape 2013 without seeing a single film that made me think, ‘what the hell am I watching?’ Fortunately for me, Here Comes The Devil exists, and starting this weekend you too can experience its strange, periodically arousing, and at times completely nonsensical plot from the comfort of your own home thanks to the power of VOD.

Set in a relatively quiet place, Here Comes The Devil is a sex-fueled tale of missing children that leaves viewers with far more questions than answers. The story begins with seemingly non-sequitar scene involving intense lesbian sex, murder, and a crazed naked man roaming a desolate mountainside, then cuts to a nuclear family on a sightseeing vacation around the very same mountains. After their daughter gets her first period, the family is forced to stop at a nearby gas station for an outfit change. While there, the parents become distracted with a little sexual excitement of their own, and by the time things calm down once more, their children are nowhere to be found. Cops are called, tears are shed, and for one hellish night the couple wonders if their passion for one another may have lead to the death of their children.

Don’t worry, the story doesn’t stop there. When the sun rises the next day the kids have returned, almost out of thin air, but as any movie fan experienced in horror can probably guess, there is something about them that is not quite right. The children look like their parents remember, but their personalities are completely different. They’re distant. Cold. Quiet. At first their parents believe this may be due to sexual assault, or that someone otherwise hurt them on the mountains. Never could they have guessed however, that the real evil that lies behind their childrens’ disappearance is something far more sinister.

There is something both fascinating and entirely off-putting about Here Comes The Devil that I still feel I cannot fully explain. The film’s influence is clearly experimental/cult horror from the 70s, and to his credit, filmmaker Adrián García Bogliano does a fine job of channeling those ideas into the modern era. Unfortunately, the story he’s trying to tell struggles to find energy amidst scenes of overly quiet children and empty dialogue between adults about what they believe to be happening. The actual problem at hand is interesting enough, and I tried my hardest to be engaged with the plight of the characters, but there was no spark or tension to be found on the screen. Confusion, sure, but that can only hold the viewer’s attention for so long before you have to question whether or not the story is going anywhere at all.

Once Bogliano reveals all that has transpired on the mountain there is a slight feeling of relief one feels for knowing you haven’t actually wasted the previous hundred or so minutes of your life. It might not be enough of a twist to leave you feeling satisfied with what has transpired, but I will say there is a lot more going on than you’re originally lead to believe.

Here Comes The Devil is the perfect example of a movie filled with great ideas that have been somewhat spoiled by poor execution. Genre diehards will appreciate Bogliano’s clear love of classic horror, but casual viewers will more than likely be left confused (and possibly a bit disgusted). Having loved a number Bogliano’s previous works I expected something special with this film, and I am sorry to say the final cut is admirable at best.

Score: C-

Written By: James Shotwell (Follow him on Twitter)

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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