The Devil's Work

There's so much to love about this film. It's a taut, intensely suspenseful experience creating a strong and sustained sense of claustrophobic fear and dread. Directed by South Australian based horror movie maker Ursula Dabrowsky, the story is a clever, heightened and horrifying rendition of how the damage done by family dynamics in childhood can manifest later in life. The film creates a kind of dark, almost tactile feeling of the damaged psyche as a place one ends up feeling trapped. The talented actors, Cassandra Kane, Luca Sardelis, Mark Fantasia and Kerry Reid are well cast for bringing to life the sticky web of dark undercurrents that tie these characters together. For aspiring filmmakers in this genre, there is so much to learn from how cleverly, stylishly and elegantly this low budget horror story is crafted at all levels - from the story, the talented small cast, and using a singular location to great effect. Music composed by Michael Taylor, and the sound design by Tom Wroblewski both deserve a mention as the audio experience creates such beautiful tension and foreboding throughout the story, complementing the beautiful cinematography by Maxx Corkindale. There are some exquisite effects in make-up design by Dominique Keeley - stay until the end. Settle in to a nice cosy room in the dark and prepare to feel tense and anxious in all the right ways as you watch The Devil's Work ... but maybe don't invite any of your siblings to join you. Do pop this one on your Valentine's Day viewing list though!

Fantastic how Ursula Dabrowsky's The Devil's Work is filmed entirely in one shot and uses suspense instead of gore to rack up the non-stop tension. Super, super effective.

I particularly liked the music score by Mick Taylor and sound design by Tom Wroblewski. They are both outstanding.

It's a slow burn start, but I understand why Ursula Dabrowsky paced it that way and the tension holds through the set up scenes.

The last act really pays off.

I was at the Monster Fest screening and during the Q&A after the screening, the director told the audience that the film was shot in four nights. Incredible outcome by the cast and crew, particularly Maxx Corkindale, Cinematographer, given the schedule.

Great performances by Cassandra Kane and Luca Sardelis, who play two sisters, Charlie and Lindy. They have been brought up by a mother with serious mental health issues, and the film explores how this upbringing affects the women and their own relationship with each other in horrible ways.

Lindy's tragic flaw is that she has internalised the brunt of trauma for so long, the only way she can channel it is through mind games, manipulation, and a narcissistic rage that turns violent.

But rather than being exploitative, the film shifts POV and also shows a sad, poignant side of Lindy, where she is seen as a victim of her tragic circumstances.

In the end, The Devil's Work is an extended metaphor wrapped in a psychological horror film about what needs to be done when you have toxic family members who are making your life hell.

Ursula has done it again. Another gritty, tightly-scripted, wonderfully scary horror film shot entirely in South Australia. This female writer/director knows that the best horror of all is that which delves into the infinitely many ways in which a family can become unstuck, unhinged, and murderous. Delillo wrote something along the lines of 'family is that thing which twists you out of shape', and that certainly holds true here. Great acting from all, and the suspense grows relentlessly, leading up to a climax that gets rather messy. As they say, blood is thicker than water! It's great to see what an independent filmmaker, working with a very small budget, can pull off.

This it's not so much a review as a warning. The action in this movie could have been distilled into about 11 minutes. That 11 minutes would have been well done but you would have needed another 79 minutes to make a complete film. It must have been done for less than $2,000, and it was probably shot in less than a week. The camera work is very amateurish. It looks like it was shot with a cell phone. There are many lengthy and painful close-ups of characters doing nothing However, there is a quality to it that makes you stick with the film far longer than you should while you crave for some action that never comes. Don't bother with this.

Now having watched this last night and then reading the reviews on here after watching the movie, I have to a few conclusions: 1) most of these ratings must be from people who have a finger in the pie of this movie.

2) the one shot camera work was the best thing of the film.

3) this movie could have been a whole lot better if it had a bit more dialogue.

4) even though as a viewer we don't need to have our hand held and taken through what the movie is about but sometimes having a bit more back story seems to help the film and flesh the characters out more.

5) a four star rating, no more than that is a struggle to give. In fact I would give the one shot camera work three stars and the movie itself one star.

6) to anyone reading this review, if you give this film a miss, don't worry your not missing much.