Devil Beneath

If I had known Devil Beneath was from the same film maker as Red Billabong, I would have not bothered watching it. I actually did not realise that until I came to do my IMDB review, now looking back over Devil Beneath you can blatantly see Luke Sparkle's film style.

Now what can I say about Devil Beneath?

It could have been something. The story idea was there buried beneath a whole lot of stale, robotic acting and bad visual effects. I understand budgets can place a limit on what a film maker can afford, so work within your budget and tailor your script to suit that budget so you can have the best film possible.

I thought that would have been realised after Red Billabong, but obviously not.

The idea that these kind of films keep going out to an international audience is the only thing scary about them.

Get better actors! Or do more rehearsals. Somethings got to give.

What a waste of time this was the actors in this believe we're completely stupid, completely dumb acting and overall the worst of all BJ was the worst. Actor of them are some punk spoiled kid, but what a waste of time although the movie did have some good action in it, but it was still a stupid I will not watch this ever again whoever does watch to stay away from it. Watch something else don't spend your money watching this I would rather watch Power Rangers than this stupid movie. At least I know Power Rangers would be a little bit more action than this. On another note don't even waste your time watching the trailer it's not worth it.

Unlike other reviews here aka Destiny_west that obviously didn't watch the movie because they would have realised that Red Billabong and Devil Beneath are the exact same movie re-released for the America's but then again by the sounds of it they have some type of axe to grind regarding the director....and the writers...and the effects team and probably everyone associated with the production. Its a typical Aussie horror flick that pokes fun at itself but also reveals the political undertones associated with certain Australian history. That being said its just a fun little production so don't watch it if your expecting oscar worthy credentials but at least watch it before passing judgement...top tip don't review movies if you haven't seen them rookie.

Plot

Two estranged brothers come together and discover old family secrets after inheriting their grandfather's property. As their friends start to go missing, they fear they are being stalked by a creature lurking in the shadows.

Cast

Made by the same chap who made the highly meh Occupation (2018).

Verdict

First of all let me clarify this is the movie Red Billabong (2016) re released for some reason.

The tale of two brothers torn between money and their fathers withes and between a peaceful life and being ripped apart by something nasty in the woods. As you can probably work out they have friends who conveniently join them as no horror movie is complete without a bit of cannon fodder.

The trouble is the film is so devastatingly boring, I found myself drifting off multiple times due to a combination of nothing of note happening and it being so generic when it did.

Combine that with some very poor CGI and phoned in performances and this is a very underwhelming effort.

Rants

I remember about a decade ago Australia went through a phase of delivering wall to wall fantastic films such as Wyrmwood and John Doe: Vigilante. It was a great time to be a world cinema fan, it was title after title then suddenly the quality flatlined and we were back to inconsistency again. I've often wondered why that was? A new set of writers who came and went? Law of averages? Or were they just trolling us? Either way, I'd love a repeat.

Breakdown

Poor CGI Weak characters It's all so incredibly generic.

If there was an award for ticking every horror movie cliche box going then 'Devil Beneath' would clean up at the ceremony. Apparently, it was made in 2023 and yet felt like if it was released in the eighties it would feel old-fashioned and outdated.

Two brothers meet up at their family farm in Australia, only to find themselves falling foul to a local beastie. Add a van-load of generic teenagers who you won't care about, let alone remember any of their names, then stamp them with the typical 'jock one' and the 'slutty one' and the 'virginal one' and you can easily figure out each one's fate. There are some bad humans too who you won't care about (guess what happens to them?!) and some locals who have a secret knowledge of what's really happening and you're left wondering who actually green lit this film to begin with.

Not much happens in the first half and by the time the monster shows up (and I use the term 'shows up' loosely) you won't see that much of it because it's shot in a way where you can't really get a good look at it because the budget clearly wasn't high enough for anything more than a so-so computer-generated creature.

In some ways there's absolutely nothing wrong with this film - in horror terms. It certainly ticks all the boxes, but it's biggest fault is just being so generic that there's equally nothing to remember about any of it or offer anything that any seasoned horror fan hasn't already witnessed a hundred times and done better. About the only way you'll really think it's amazing is if you've never watched a monster movie before and aren't aware of every plot contrivance that goes with the genre. Watch it if you like, but I'll wager you won't remember a thing about it in a day's time.