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Reviews
Devil (2010)
Just like the "Close Door" button, Devil fails in every way
I feel that Devil never established what kind of genre it was. By the looks of the previews, people expected it to be a horror/suspenseful movie. Upon watching it, this movie was neither.
Devil is not scary nor does it leave any impact. Like every cheap horror film made in the past 15 years, it contains a few jump scares accompanied by loud noise. I don't even recall flinching throughout the entire movie. As seen in the previews, malicious actions occur inside the elevator. However, these scenes are unwatchable because it literally becomes a black screen with the noise in the background. I don't know what effect they were going for with this but it came off as lazy and cheap in terms of production.
Devil is the kind of movie that prides itself on suspense as well. Half way through the film I was kind of hoping the elevator would just come crashing down and result with all the passenger's deaths and the credits rolling. If you begin to feel suspense of anxiety during this film, you may want to see a doctor because this movie is groan-fest that shouldn't worry someone.
One reason, I believe, for the total lack of caring were the characters. Every single character in this movie is unlikable and if you can somehow relate to them or show pity, you are probably an evil person. BUT WAIT! That might have something to do with the plot or the "Twist" you have been waiting for the moment you saw that Shyamalan was related to this film. All I can say is, don't get your hopes.
To sum it up, Devil is a boring film that offers little to no suspense and even less "horror" with an unenjoyable cast and plot. While the elevator may have been stuck twenty stories in the air, this movie came crashing down.
The Possession (2012)
What would possess someone to watch?
The Possession is nothing more than your run-of-the-mill, "based on a true story" horror film. This means that It has its moments but ultimately fails to provide any scares or lasting effect.
The story involves a split family with two daughters. After exposure to a demonic box, one of the little girls becomes possessed by a demon (I wonder where we have seen that before?)
If you are watching it in hopes of a fright-fest, prepare for disappointment. The movie offers more backstory and character development than supernatural struggle. However, the scenes that are "frightening" are made using cheap, jump scares. Everyone reacts differently to jump scares but I did not even flinch during this film; it was more of a groan and a "really?"
By the end of the film, I felt unsatisfied and knew that I could have devoted my time to something worth watching. From start to finish, this movie is filled with clichés and plot holes. I will admit, plot holes in horror films shouldn't matter but rather the "scare" element. It is too bad that The Possession fails that both.
Stalled (2013)
Stalled
Bathrooms... our most vulnerable state. Stalled's premise is clever however, it failed to take off.
The very first minute will let you know that this is an incredibly low-budget. The lighting is awful, the sound is poorly executed, and the crew seems to have forgotten tripods exist. The lighting changes so often and the shaky camera made this movie very hard to watch.
As for the plot, Stalled can hardly be labeled as a zombie film. 1/4 of the movie is zombie survival while the other 3/4 is filled with Dan Palmer's back-story/revelations and crude jokes. Speaking of jokes, I guess you can label Stalled as a Horror-comedy. It is mainly toilet humor (both figuratively and literally) but it does have a few jokes (pop-culture references) where you may smile or chuckle however, it is not enough to save it.
Honestly, Stalled has no redeeming qualities. If, for some reason, you are interested in low budget, "indie" film with zombies, I do not recommend Stalled.