Sorry About the Demon

I am a horror person for sure but I also occasionally watch dark comedies. I wouldn't necessarily call this a dark comedy, but it's not exactly horror-comedy either, because there's very little about it that's actually scary. In some weird way it reminded me of 1980s silly parodies of other movies but I can't really put my finger on which one.

I laughed out loud several times, and I thought the ending was great. The main character is a lovable loser who actually has a lot of interesting hobbies which he's tried to turn into businesses, but his attempts at being an entrepreneur are met with defeat each time so he settles for working from home doing customer service calls for a terrible toothpaste that everyone hates. This aspect of his personality is very important because it sets up the narrative for the entire film.

When I sat down to watch the movie "Sorry About the Demon" from writer and director Emily Hagins, I had never heard about the movie. But the synopsis sounded interesting, and with it being a horror comedy that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to watch the movie.

However, "Sorry About the Demon" was somewhat a of a dud. While the synopsis had some promise to it, the end result movie was just not all that enticing or entertaining. Sure, it was a watchable movie, but it just fell short of being all that entertaining. And for me, it was because the movie was a tad too generic and mundane.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in "Sorry About the Demon", but I will say that they had some fair enough talents on the cast list. Just a shame that they didn't have a more fulfilling script and storyline to work with and bring to life on the screen.

Visually then "Sorry About the Demon" was an adequate enough movie. Sure, it wasn't a top notch over-the-top special effects galore, but the special effects and make-up effects in the movie worked well enough in favor of the movie.

"Sorry About the Demon" didn't impress me, and there are far better horror comedies out there. But I am sure that writer and director Emily Hagins movie here will find appeal with an audience, no doubt about it.

My rating of "Sorry About the Demon" lands on a four out of ten stars.

This isn't a bad film, it just doesn't have anything particularly interesting or memorable about it.

The premise for the story is quite good, but the writing doesn't make full use of it's potential and quickly becomes one-dimensional and stale in the middle. It does pick up a little at the end, but not enough to save it from being mediocre.

It lacks the punch it could have both in comedy and horror, there was plenty of leeway to develop both in harmony that would have made the film much more interesting and appealing.

However, it is watchable - just don't have any expectations of it and take it for what it is.

This is a movie that I decided to check out due to needing a 2023 release for my podcast, Journey with a Cinephile: A Horror Movie Podcast. It didn't make the greatest double feature, but being early in the year, it can be limited. I came into this one knowing that it was partially comedy. I also knew that involving possession and a haunted house.

Synopsis: a young man struggling with a broken heart learns that his new place is full of restless spirits.

We start this off in an older looking house. There is a family that lives there and I believe they think it is their dream home. The problem is that living there is a nightmare. The father is in real estate and his name is Ken Sellers (Dave Peniuk). His wife is Tammy (Sarah Cleveland). They also have two children, Jake (Jude Zappala) and Grace (Presley Allard). When the latter becomes possessed by a demon named Deomonous (voiced by Tony Vespe), the family makes a deal with it. They need to bring it a sacrifice.

The movie then shifts us over to Will (Jon Michael Simpson). He lives with his girlfriend, Amy (Paige Evans). Things seem to have soured between them. Will works from home as a customer service representative. Amy tests him with a question, wanting him to come with her. He doesn't answer and she leaves. They then break up.

Will ends up at the house of the Sellers. Staying there is quite cheap. They're leaving out the reason they want him to stay. He agrees to their terms. It doesn't take long before supernatural things start happening. The ghosts mess with him and then he finds a large cake created by Deomonous. Will gets a gut punch when the demon doesn't want to possess him, causing him to spiral even more.

Our lead isn't as alone as he thinks though. Amy still cares about him, but she needs more from him. Will has a friend of Patrick (Jeff McQuitty) who tries to help. Part of that is by setting him up with a co-worker, also named Aimee (Olivia Ducayen). They all end up back at his place when Deomonous sees opportunities with the guests. There is also a renewed purpose in Will's life that could change everything.

Now that is where I'm going to leave my recap for this movie as well as for the characters. Where I want to start is that I ended up liking this more than I was expecting. Part of it for me was the ability to connect with our lead, Will. I've been in a situation like him in the past. I've lived with a girlfriend who didn't think I would amount to much due to my circumstances at that time. Plus, I was content with where I was working. Looking at my life now and where I've ended up is quite interesting. Correlating back to the movie, I can see why Amy leaves him. In doing so, it forced him to reevaluate things.

With that established, I did see people not liking this since it didn't lean as much into the comedy. The comedy we get worked for me personally. This is a solid parody on possession and haunted house films that worked. It wasn't as scary as some. I think what they do with those elements are effective. This walks a fine line of being a scary movie with a bit of comedy or a comedy with scary aspects. I'm not sure it goes far enough into either to fully work.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this though. I had fun here. The characters of Will and Patrick are annoying, but they also felt real to me. I like that Aimee becomes our 'expert' on what to do. That was funny. The other Amy does have a change of heart that doesn't fully work, especially as someone who has been in this limbo type of relationship. I'm not sure enough time has passed for it work for me. It is also funny with the Sellers family and how they play into everything.

Since I've went over the characters, let me discuss the acting. I thought that Simpson works as our lead. There is a bit of me that feels bad for him, coming from my personal experiences. I can also see why he was dumped. Not sure we see enough change for me to fully buy in though. McQuitty is funny. Also, quite annoying. I liked Ducayen's performance. I've already said what didn't work with Evans, but she is fine as Amy. Peniuk, Cleveland, Allard and Zappala all work in their roles. Vespe has a great voice for the demon. Other than that, the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

The last things to go into would be with the filmmaking. I think the cinematography is good. The best part of it is setting the atmosphere. The outdated house adds to it. They also make it feel menacing which works for a haunted house. This has a combination of practical and CGI effects. The latter are hit and miss for me. Doesn't ruin it though. The look of the ghosts and those who are possessed were good. The climax gets odd, but I had fun there. Other than that, I'd say that the soundtrack fit for what was needed. I'll bring back up that the voice of Deomonous is creepy. That was solid.

In conclusion, this one I enjoyed, but I didn't love. It does good things. I like that they took the horror elements serious. They could have leaned in more to them though. There is comedy, but not all of that worked. I do think that the performances fit the characters as needed. This is well-made. Establishing the setting goes a long way here. I was pleasantly surprised here. This is one that I'd recommend if you like possession or haunted house films as I think this is better than most of the 'ghostlies' out there.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Sorry about the Demon (2023) was the first 2023 film I saw released to Shudder and I decided to finally watch it last week. The storyline follows a young man struggling to find his purpose in life which leads to him struggling in his relationships. After recently becoming single he decides to move and right into a house with ghosts and demons. When he feels he's become an expert on ghosts and demons he believes that maybe this have been his calling the entire time...

This movie is written and directed by Emily Hagins (One segment in Scare Package) and stars Jon Michael Simpson (Apartment 413), Jeff McQuitty (A Perfect Host), Sarah Cleveland (Mile High Escorts) and Paige Evans (Trapped with my Husband).

I didn't like much about this movie. The main character is super annoying. The writing, dialogue and comedic content was cheesy. The use of cakes 🎂 was pretty corny and not a topic worth having throughout the film. The reactions to various scenarios and circumstances weren't funny or realistic...the special effects and creation of the demons and ghosts were solid and the only worthwhile aspects of the movie.

Overall, this movie is bad and not really worth your time. I'd score this a 3/10 and recommend skipping it.