Inner Demons

INNER DEMONS tells the story of teenager Carson, who has become a heroin junkie. Her devout parents have agreed to let her get treatment within the framework of a reality show that follows the rehabilitation of addicts. Eventually, it turns out that her problem is more than just a drug addiction.

This found footage film connects two subjects which, in retrospect, are such a natural fit that it seems strange that they were not combined before in horror (to my knowledge): substance addiction and demonic possession. Thus, the brilliantly chosen title attains both a metaphorical and a literal meaning.

There are several good found footage horror movies dealing with demonic possession or exorcism, such as THE LAST EXORCISM (2010), THE POSSESSION OF MICHAEL KING (2014) and THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY (2018).

Part of what makes these movies so good is that each successfully finds a novel angle by which to approach a well-worn familiar subject. DEMONS joins this eclectic group by means of a novel premise, one according to which a woman becomes a substance user not to get high but to keep a literal demon inside her at bay.

The framing of the story within a reality show provides the justification for the found footage format. Technically, this movie is executed well: the acting is convincing, the production values good, the pace just right and the cinematography appropriate to the format.

Once the demonic aspect comes to the fore, there are a few cliché CGI effects to convince us that the demon is real, but I found them altogether unnecessary if not cheapening. Other than that, the movie proceeds quite well until the end of the second act.

At that point, Carson gets expelled from her treatment center and the cameraman who tries to help her gets fired, and from then on the movie becomes increasingly more implausible on several fronts.

One implausibility concerns the justification for filming, since the reality show crew reason is no longer operable. But I tend to be forgiving of that because I would rather be able to see what happens than be constrained by realism on that point.

Another implausibility concerns the character arc of the cameraman: his actions late in the movie reflect a person so different from the way he is presented at the beginning that it becomes unconvincing.

Finally, the "twist" which reveals how Carson got possessed requires a bit of suspension of disbelief. Moreover, it raises the question of why she herself never told anyone about earlier.

The movie ends on a note of true horror which, I suspect, only because it was preceded by a weak third act, has turned off a lot of critics. I believe that the same ending with a strong third act, one that somehow overcame the plausibility problems, would have been received well.

Although this falls short of being a good film, found footage fans and those who like possession movies might still enjoy it.

Possession movies have been big now for a while. There have been sooooo many over the years since The Excorsist. Then found footage was introduced and Found footage/Possession movies started popping up like crazy. It's a genre that is hard to do without being like every other movie. Inner Demons actually manages to pull off this genre in a new and interesting way.

So Inner Demons plays out like you are watching an episode of "Intervention" with demons, this was a nice touch and moved the movie along well. We are introduced to Carson who is a drug addict who uses drugs to hide something evil. She is actually a fairly interesting character, a little dull but sweet and you actually care for her. The supporting characters are also pretty well done.

Things don't exactly move very fast in the movie, but I was still entertained throughout. The first 45 minutes sets things up well with interviews from the characters and banter between the TV Show crew. Once things do start to pick up and get crazy it isn't exactly anything you haven't seen before but does make for a few jump scares. The finale however, is pretty nuts and a lot of fun.

Overall this actually a pretty entertaining found footage flick. It's not all original, and you will see some things you have seen done before, but it does add in some new elements to make it it's own movie and a fun ride.

7/10

First off, the whole rehab thing is so wrong. No rehab works in the way they filmed. Nobody in detox goes to group or has contact with family or anyone except the facility staff. So the whole film is kind of wrong from the onset. Some creep stuff for sure, but all in all this one failed.

Another horror movie, another found footage thing. The German cover is quite misleading by the way, just in case you saw that. This is kind of by the numbers (if there is such a thing with exorcism rituals). You may like it a bit better than I did, but I didn't really feel there was much to it.

That being said, there have been worse Found Footage and exorcism movies. So this isn't really super bad (no pun intended), but it just doesn't quite make the cut. Predictable and kind of stretching out, this does offer a couple of scares at certain places. Not enough in either direction, so if you are in need of more horror, you could do worse than watch this. But if your time is valuable, maybe skip it

Inner Demons is a new and interesting take on the demon possession genre of horror.

Inner Demons is told in the vein of an unaired reality show episode similar to Intervention, called "Step Inside Recovery". It is season eight and the producers are pretty disillusioned and are just trying to get a shocking backstory and footage to keep ratings. Producers get what they asked for when the featured addict Carson says she's possessed by a demon and that's what is causing her addiction.

Yes, Inner Demons is technically unoriginal because once again we have a possession horror film. There are so many different versions released by now that how can anyone matter to add something new to the genre? Writer Glenn Gers manages to do just that by rethinking the idea of addiction. Every drug addict has a reason, always trying to dull the pain that lurks underneath and figuratively kill the darkness inside but Gers reinvents the causation of drug addiction to be literal. It is quite surprising this has never been thought of before, to my knowledge, and is an intelligent choice.

Carson is played by Lara Vosburgh who does a really wonderful job playing a demon possessed drug addled heroin/Oxycontin addict. Morgan McClellan is Jason, the new PA and camera operator who takes to Carson, believing her story, and trying to save her from the darkness. Both are sincere in their portrayal and provide surprisingly well acted roles in Inner Demons.

Seth Grossman provides the direction to Glenn Gers's witty and realistic dialogue. Nothing is sacred as the production crew insensitively and bluntly discuss their subject Carson with zero empathy.

Once Inner Demons focuses more on the demonic possession of Carson the film becomes more formulaic and expected and lacks the sinister gore typical of a person consumed by evil.

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