House of Demons

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source: House of Demons

The premise of 'House of demons' relates that it follows "four estranged friends" as they reunite for a weekend primed to go horribly wrong. The word "estranged" is the most important one to focus on in that sentence, because the film is overwhelmed with feelings of awkwardness, disconnection, resentment, and alienation. That goes for the characters in and of themselves, their interactions with each other - and my feeling about the movie as a whole. Of everyone in the cast, there are a few names I especially recognize. Where I've seen anyone before, I think they're fine actors; here, too, I think everyone's performances are actually quite good. The problem is that the quality of their acting seems to exceed writer-director Patrick Meaney's film-making capabilities. This is, accordingly, his first feature film - and frankly, unfortunately, it kind of shows. There's a coherent, somewhat inventive story hidden in these 90 minutes, but it's presented very haphazardly and unconvincingly. Pervasive use of flashbacks and hard cuts to concurrent scenes make the narrative flow disjointed and sloppy. Visual effects, lighting, and editing serve the same purpose, but instead of conveying the weight and gravity of events, they make it all desperately difficult to engage with. Some individual story beats seem like they weren't fully developed on paper before being filmed, and at times the movement between points A and B seems very wishy-washy. Noteworthy, commendable themes and notions are easily subsumed by the slapdash writing, and Meaney's direction is just as unpracticed and disorganized. I get what Meaney was going for here, and I like the concept he's playing with. I appreciate how the cast, many or most of whom plainly know each other well in real life, was clearly drawn in by such an oddball feature. They believed in the idea of 'House of demons,' and it shows. I wanted to, too. But, to echo a famous line - I feel that Meaney's reach exceeded his grasp. On the one hand, the imagination and potential is worthy of praise, and the cast's performances just as deserving. But on the other hand, the cast is limited by shoddy writing and direction that likewise renders far too much of the film inert. 'House of demons' isn't entirely bad, and could be worthwhile if one is a particular fan of anyone involved or enjoys a cinematic challenge regardless of quality. But it's a very checkered, uneven experience, and it's hard to recommend this to any but the most persevering of viewers. Nice try. Better luck next time.

This is the worst crock of dogcrap I've ever seen. Has to be the worst movie I've ever sat through. Avoid at all costs.

So party at some bar, moves to party at some house. Drinking wine and reflecting on past crapola. And I'm like halfway thru this movie and really not a damn thing has happened. What is going on with this??? There's like some Jim Jones kinda vibe going on. And like people are seeing themselves in visions of what could happen? Or could have happened??? -1 Star for the mixed up scenes..... Omg this is so bad, the flashBACKS and whining and crying. And then a murder of course... Some scissors stabbing. -1 Star For the people watching themselves in scenes of alternate realities that never happened...or did they??? Bahahaha. Well +1 Star for the Santa Scene....s My name is Gwen. How many times have I heard that during this movie. Must be like 30 times. There's like some demon thing as we hopefully get near the end of this horrific mess. Some people get stabbed. And then wait...they wake up in some cabin...and everyone is okay? What was this some big acid trip or something?? -1 Star for people waking up in the cabin And GWENDOLYN signing her book for people at some book signing. And some surgery to fix the paralyzed dude. And the end... paralyzed dude opens his eyes after the surgery. Everyone seems still alive, after all the stabbings and demon things.... I have to give a -1 Star for the Ending. I made it to the end however so this one ends up with a 2/10. No way in heaven that it deserves higher than that.

House of Demons is like a horror movie and a surreal trip rolled into one. It reminded me of Lynch or Gaiman, and all the actors did a great job. Was really fun to see Amber Benson from Buffy again!

As mentioned in other reviews it can be a confusing movie. There are some hops through time. The more I paid attention, the more I could appreciate it. Many movies are simple enough that multitasking while watching is possible. I actually had to stop multitasking to better understand what was going on. I enjoyed the soundtrack and the special features included on the DVD. As a whole, I enjoyed it.

Not all demons are palpable. Some exist within. And House of Demons exposes both. Not your typical slasher movie. It has a sort of 1970s vibe. Watch it and keep your nightlight on.

Looks like this was shot on a low quality phone, complete with bad acting & cheesy special effects. Not even worth watching at home for free if you are bored.

Most of the cast is trying, especially Whitney Moore, and there are a few interesting shots here and there. Some decent lighting. The story could have made more sense and the ending could not have been completely tacked on and removed from everything that came before. That said, the editing is what kills this movie flat out. It's a completely disjointed mess that is jumping between something like ten ongoing plots at once. My friend and I gave up trying to count how many there were. He gave up on the film completely about thirty minutes in. Basically avoid this one.