Succubus

If you thought this movie will be full of sexy demon scenes, you are dead wrong. Half of the movie is this guy going to Tinder while getting a separation from his wife and feeling guilty about it. There are some funny interactions there, but that's not the subject of the movie. Instead it's this demon lady who has an obsession with him, and which also influences people through screens. Meanwhile, the one who knows most about the demon is Ron Perlman, who mostly talks to our hero... you guessed it... via video chat. Yes, people on screens making films about people on screens which you watch on a screen. Human experience in a nutshell.

Trust me, stay away from this.

This intense and visceral horror film about the dangerous and obviously seductive succubus (a female demon that preys on men) takes its material seriously. It is a slow burn of authentic plot design that portrays an estranged husband whose descent into terror is believable and realistic. This sinister movie has a credible message about temptation and its consequences using even some echoes from films such as John Cusack's superior occult horror 1408 (2007) and as well as his bizarre role in the highly rated Being John Malkovich (1999). The low IMDb rating could be attributable to the overall creepy and insidious nature of the succubus as depicted in this movie which would repulse women and terrify men. However, this movie by its end has both a bitter yet sweet ending of sorts and the excellent special effects and the creeping horror of its believable plot outline is worth remembering for anyone who lives on the edge of instability and wanton desire.

Chris is in a strained marriage. His friend Eddie is divorced. The two of them chance upon an online dating site where they become helplessly enamored of an irresistibly seductive young woman who nurtures their deepest desires.

Unfortunately, appearances are terribly deceiving....

A professor knows the gruesome truth and tries desperately to intervene before it's too late.

Let's stipulate that this movie would go nowhere without a spectacularly beautiful siren to addle the minds of its principal characters. Her acting isn't exactly Shakespearean, but, really, who cares? The rest of the cast steps up reasonably well to backstop the homewrecker; hence, the movie's still an entertaining take on demonically induced, all too palpable mirages and their effect on stressed out family men.

All that's missing is a public service announcement.

I liked this movie quite a bit. I know nothing about dating apps - but the use if a dating app and the uses of chat and the computer/social media in general was very effective. My guess is that no dating app has women as young and attractive as most of those in whatever app Chris was using. And probably that not many women that young and attractive are very interested in going out with a father in the middle of a separation with a very young child, but what do I know?

If you get past that - and suspend belief that said father would not be suspicious about a woman who looked like Rachel Cook oozing over him - the movie is very much fun. Ron Perlman is not going to win an Academy Award for his performance, but the character was fun - I spent a lot of the movies trying to figure out whose side he was really on.

The succubus mythology was interesting and the final ending both surprising and foreshadowed.

An altogether competent bit of fun.

The Plot: A new father struggling with fatigue, emotional insecurities, and a failing marriage joins a dating app, only to swipe right on what may be an inhuman presence.

This is perhaps the WORST movie made in 2024. Perhaps in the past ten full years. There is nothing to recommend it so I am shocked by the "ten" ratings saying this is a classic.

It's downright horrible on every level.

The direction is less than mediocre. The dude who directed this trash should never work again. The pace is literally slower than pouring honey in a glass.

You will find yourself saying -- can we get to the point already?

Plus, the script is way sub-par and the acting is mediocre at best.