The Devil's Candy

source: The Devil's Candy

What, to me, kept this film from earning higher marks was simply how silly the plot and direction turned out to be. I get that the father was weak and spineless (No gun in the house? In rural Texas? With a wife and vulnerable young girl in the sprawling, relatively isolated house?), but was he so weak that he couldn't fight off an overweight burglar? How'd he suddenly gain so much strength to suddenly go running through a burning house if he was shot several times and left for dead? The part about how the father came to be able to channel the killer's darkest, murderous thoughts on canvas needed explaining, too. How this is possible is a mystery, since Fatboy is just a regular human being who spent many years in a psych hospital for attacking local school girls with a brick, his M.O. Somehow, being in the hospital all those years endowed him with supernatural powers. The Pluses to this film was the ability of the studio to license Metallica songs. And the fact that the titles were written in Iron Maiden lettering doesn't hurt, either.

The relatively high rating for a horror was reason to give this a blast, but having sat through it I'd advise you to avoid it unless you are 10 to 16 years old and think IRRRRN MAIDENNNN rawk in hell. Seriously, don't waste your time. Pros: slightly above average cinematography. Sorry, only one pro. Cons: cinematography mostly consists of sweaty tattoo goatee dad hero and sweaty mysterious fat guy. Predictable, snail pace storyline. Lazy child in danger sequences. Awful teenage metal guitar drone throughout. Cliché demonic art. Avoid like the plague unless you are a teenager who loves kerrazeee satanic dethmetal and Metallica, that wild and rebellious group who thoughtfully took their fans to court. Seriously save yourself this waste of time and seek out Near Dark or Jeepers Creepers. Or literally ANY OTHER FILM.

I'm a big fan of the Loved Ones, but this is just hot garbage. Filled with one cliché after another that sound like they're out of a Lifetime TV-movie, this film just piles on one generic trope after another disguised as "Metal" which comes off more as "christian rock". This is the type of film someone's square parents would make and call it "edgy". Each and every piece of symbolism blatantly smacks the viewer over the head like it's desperately seeking attention. "Hey......did you see how the main character looks like Jesus?"........yes.....everyone saw it, understood the obvious symbolism, and yawned. Not sure what the director had in mind here, but I would bet that his next project is going to be on a much tighter budget. Perhaps he would be better served with a focus on remakes........much like some bands are better playing covers.

Sean Byrne shud b applauded fr giving us a solid horror film aft his long break. I hav not yet seen his torture *, The Loved Ones n i don't plan to. In this movie he succeeded in refraining from torture * n amazingly succeeded in combining elements of haunted house, possession, home invasion, mental illness n a tale of Satanic influence, all in one. This movie is truly frightening, tensed, well acted, well directed n has a tight script. The Texas countryside is gorgeously captured. The farmhouse n the desolated fields are creepy enuff. The plot is nothing new but the execution n direction is superb. Ethan Embry gives perhaps his best performance here and looks like he's probably in the best shape of his life. He is totally unrecognisable here from his previous roles like the ones from Late Phases, Vacancy n The Guest. But it was Pruitt Taylor Vince's performance which is tremendously disturbing n sympathetically innocent, as well. He shines as the most terrifying serial killer considering his deeds n innocently sympathetic fella considering his looks n physical n mental condition. I remember his performance from Identity n Captivity. The movie is complemented by pulsating musical energy. The soundtrack helps ratchet up the tension. Two things, the source of the demonic voice and the local art gallery is not fully explored. Nonetheless, the voice n the art gallery, specially its owner n the receptionist set up as a sinister n surrealistic imagery. The art gallery owner reminded me of De Niro from Angel Heart n the movie does hav shades of Amityville Horror, The Shining, True Detectives S1, etc.

A struggling painter (Ethan Embry) is possessed by supernatural forces after he and his young family move into their dream home in rural Texas (just north of Austin), in this creepy haunted-house tale. First and foremost, this film deserves credit for working in the metal-horror connection. You don't have to enjoy metal to enjoy this movie, but I think it helps. One reason the 1980s were a great decade for horror is because it was also a great decade for punk and metal. "Devil's Candy" doesn't try to be an 80s throwback, but does offer something of a modern equivalent. Leading us through the film is Ethan Embry. Like many others, my love for Embry is strong. Not to pigeon-hole him, but he has been in a number of horror films in the last decade (such as the brilliant "Late Phases") and as part of the horror community I'd like to claim him as one of ours. Fans of "Grace and Frankie" may fight me, but we would all agree he is a great actor and truly underrate. Casey Affleck an Oscar contender? Really? Embry emotes with his eyes in way that few others can -- we have seen him sensitive, petrified, terrifying, and everything else. Some of that we see in this film (though luckily for us he is more on the good side this time around). And countering Embry is Pruitt Taylor Vince, who unfortunately is probably best known as a "character actor" who has one of those faces you have seen 100 times but don't know the name. If this is you, make this the movie you start remembering Vince for. Holy smokes. He has had a handful of "idiot" or "incompetent" roles, but he really turns it on here, making us wonder just how much he is tormented inside and having pity on him, even though we know within the first five minutes that he is a tool of the devil. The plot is thin, but not necessarily in a bad way. Rather than get bogged down or become too cerebral, "Devil's Candy" prefers to keep the pace moving so we can get punched in the face over and over again in its relatively short running time. You like cerebral horror? Great, we can watch "Frailty". This is not that film. But it is one filled with rich atmospheric cinematography and a dark, yet vibrant color palette (if such a combination is possible). With all due respect to writer-director Sean Byrne, it is cinematographer Simon Chapman who sold me on this film. The only thing that left me wondering, is why did the film take so long for a proper release? Beginning in 2015, it was floating around film festivals, receiving praise. The journey continued throughout 2016, and we finally see a release from IFC in March 2017. I suspect maybe it was securing the music budget, as getting the rights to put Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" on DVD is probably not cheap. But what do I know? Regardless, IFC must be thanked for getting this out to the masses. Perhaps not the best horror film coming out on home video this year, but I assure you it is far from the worst. Any horror fan who has 90 minutes to spare would be investing their time wisely with "The Devil's Candy".

What I find maddening is how Sean beats his characters to death...but then they can crawl back from gunshot wounds, beatings, etc to rise up and save their loved ones. And these people are REALLY beaten row. In LOVES ONES, a drill to the brain, feet hammered to the floor and thrown in a cellar...and he can STILL do a full body pull up out of the cellar, drive a car at 140 mph (with those busted feet) and do all of this with a hole drilled in his head. REALLY? In CANDY, a room on fire actually explodes...and our two heroes survive AND can climb down the ladder---this after the father was shot several times. Sigh. It all is very disappointing but so well done. I hope Sean gets out of the horror genre and moves into thrillers since he's great with suspense. And he shouldn't write and direct his own films; he needs someone to day, "This is just silly and needs to be cut/revised." Like Ti West, he needs an objective viewpoint to help with the climax of the film. He can do a GREAT first hour...but then it just collapses. Terrific talent and I'll keep watching; just hope he doesn't make the same film for a third time.

Beyond corny, the ending was so bad I don't know how I didn't vomit. One of the worst movies I have ever seen. I will be spending decades in therapy trying to figure out why I watched this terrible thing. How do I get my 1 hour and 19 minutes back? Whoever is responsible for this piece of crap deserves a special place in Hell. Only problem is that Satan would be so disgusted by this flop that he would throw you out! I love metal music but the way its used in this movie is very contrived and distracting. This movie is fantastic as a "what not to do" model for film students. Whoever made this I sincerely hate you for taking a potentially good idea and churning out this steaming pile of maggot infested dog crap! Either make a horror movie or a Lifetime original, please make up your mind. Thankfully the bottle of wine I just drank was far better than this sorry excuse of a horror film.

Here's a good, creepy movie for you. A family moves in to a house cursed by The Devil, and the previous occupant returns to carry out what the demonic voice in his head tells him to do -- which just so happens to be the same voice the father hears that compels him to paint horrifying scenes. There's a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle things that make this movie really great. From the metal soundtrack, with all of its connotations to devil worship all the way to names and roles of certain characters and locations referencing the biblical devil, a lot of thought and care was put in to making this movie work on more than one level and flow together great. Rarely is the movie too heavy handed. The supernatural elements are treated with such a deft hand that it's almost possible a case could be made that this movie isn't even supernatural at all. It's there, around the edges, creeping in to your head, but never getting in your face. The scariest monsters are always the ones you cannot see. And, at its core, what really matters are strong characters. Though a lot of the family in this movie are metal heads, there are no stereotypes here. These are real three dimensional people, and they care about each other very much. It sounds so obvious, but you'd be surprised how many movies forget to make you invested in their protagonists. Not so, in "The Devil's Candy." If you're looking for a horror movie with a strong sense of personal style and you like heavy metal, I definitely recommend The Devil's Candy.

Of course I'm not going to spoil it but it is sad that people will have to find out for themselves how dumb the end of the movie is. The whole last 15-20 minutes or so are just tragic. I suspend disbelief and love terrible exploitation movies but this.... I was eye rolling the whole last part of the movie.