'Feed the Devil' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing and quite creative premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.
It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws present in them are here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Feed the Devil' is very weak, with a plethora of problems (fairly big ones too) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There are however a couple of decent, even good, qualities in 'Feed the Devil'.
Lets start with the positives. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky and there are some nice location shots.
It starts relatively promisingly too, it was the one part of the film that grabbed my attention and didn't bore or annoy me.
'Feed the Devil's' story does feel over-stretched and too much of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their irritating and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.
Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the uncomfortably stiff acting.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace goes to a standstill after the promising opening and drags on forever, never recovering. The second half is interminable. Found too many the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness and the complete lack of tension and suspense.
A lot of 'Feed the Devil' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you jump or shocked are far from creative or scary and are pretty tame. The ending makes the film finish on an incomplete and confused whimper.
There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, while everything is just so unimaginative and more odd than scary Some badly sagging momentum too, one feels they're going round in circles without being told anything and it is just dull. The direction is pretty leaden, got the sense their heart was not in it, and the music doesn't really fit.
Concluding, very weak and didn't just leave me hungry, it left me starved. 3/10 Bethany Cox
