First of all, don't read anything about the story's content - it may ruin the experience for you.
What do the gender-themed Hollywood thrillers "Basic Instinct", "Fatal Attraction" and "Disclosure" have in common? 1. they all star Michael Douglas, 2. the female lead is the root of all evil. Whenever Hollywood takes gender struggle to bloody extremes, there's an irritating tendency to overly sympathize with the male - probably because the film industry is still pretty much a man's world, with the first female director winning an Academy Award coming around only last year.
In that light, "Bedevilled" - from an equally male-dominated media environment - is a different, surprising film which manages to convey a social message while delivering gruesome - and at times gory - entertainment. What we have here is a social drama/ slasher crossover with excellent production values and top-notch cinematography.
No wonder that the story often feels grossly exaggerated. The entertainment values somewhat linger in the background of an ever-growing tension in the first hour, and then dominate the finale. Therefore the psychological premise - unusually well-established for a mere shocker - appears constructed in the course of the ensuing rampage. Those who expect horror, however, may feel somewhat bored during the exposition, simply because it's so much better and less formulaic than usual for genre movies.
"Bedevilled" is a brilliant piece of entertainment if judged for what it is trying to achieve, pretty much on a par with the testosterone-driven "I saw the Devil". But it's not trying to please as much as the latter. So if you're looking for new angles on old formulas, this one is for you; if you'd rather have a good idea about what you're going to see, you may feel confused.
