I feel like I watched Paranormal Activity for the 6th time which is an all too familiar feeling that I genuinely could pass on and with good reason.
I want to be very brief when I say this. Demonic is a movie that does nothing to keep ones’ attention and it isn’t that interesting of a film, to say the least. Coming from a person that predominantly watches horror movies (And I’ve seen some bad horror films in my day), Demonic just does not do a single thing to reinvent the wheel. Watching this film has been a complete and utter challenge for me. I have watched the movie on 4 separate occasions because it failed to keep me awake because it is literally just that uninteresting. However, I powered through it and to be quite honest, sleeping was probably the better option.
Just for a bit of background, the film centers around a police investigation of a massacre that occurred at a house (that’s haunted of course…) that 3 college students that are amateur ghost hunters break into. One survives and he becomes the basis of the interviews to try to piece together how all of this happened. This is also shown through the interlacing of found footage clips (which is the most tiring cliché these days) and they never do much to explain what is going on entirely because it feels like nothing is happening for the entirety of the movie.
There are some scenes that do utilize scare tactics that will be effective for those who do not commonly watch horror films. There are times when the film can feel unnerving, just because of the setting that you are supposed to be in and experience. With that said, most elements in the film were straight-forward and most things can be anticipated (Many horror movies embody these qualities so I can’t consider that a flaw). Even the twist at the end feels somewhat lacking (personal opinion) but it may shock others that participate in watching this film.
Collecting my final thoughts, I would say that this wasn’t one of my favorites on the extensive list of horror films I have watched. However, this may be a movie that can attract viewers because of the interesting idea that the plot displays and the non-traditional horror enthusiast may find the film to be quite tantalizing. Many works that have James Wan’s name attached to it are due to do some damage in the industry, but somehow, I just feel this fell flat. After watching this film, I feel like I watched Paranormal Activity for the 6th time which is an all too familiar feeling that I genuinely could pass on and with good reason.
