Devon

While I had never heard about the 2024 horror movie "Devon", from writer and director Jenni Farley, it was of course a movie I would sit down to watch, given my love of the horror genre.

Right, well had I known that the movie "Devon" was a movie that was shot almost exclusively on handheld camera, I would never have glanced at it twice. I absolutely loathe movies that are filmed with laughable, questionable handheld camera, it does not feel professional at all when it is something anyone could just do, and it absolutely removes from the overall enjoyment of the movie for me.

The storyline in the movie was nothing outstanding. Writer Jenni Farley didn't bring anything new to the horror genre. And truth be told, I was not the least bit entertained throughout the 72 minutes of sheer boredom that was the handheld garbage heap known as "Devon". Sure, if you enjoy movies such as "The Blair Witch Project", which I obviously don't, then you might actually find some enjoyment in "Devon".

The movie has a very small cast ensemble, and it was entirely actors and actresses that I had never seen before. While that is usually something I enjoy when I watch a movie, it just didn't really work in "Devon", as I just couldn't take the movie serious, given the pathetic handheld camera style.

"Devon" is not a movie that I will ever watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend you to waste your time, money or effort on. Some of us suffered through this dumpster fire of a movie, so you don't have to; you're quite welcome.

Visually, then you're not in for anything grand, in terms of special effects. And unless you consider handheld, shaky camera and questionable camera angles as a work of art, then don't get your hopes up.

How this movie could land a staggering 3.9 rating, its rating right now as I am reviewing the movie, is simply beyond me.

The movie's cover was actually the best thing about the entire ordeal.

My rating of writer and director Jenni Farley's 2024 movie "Devon" lands on a two out of ten stars. This rating is based mostly on the fact that they mustered to actually piece a movie together, and there was some ambition to the storyline, just a shame that the camera thing ruined everything.

Let me start by saying that it's clear from the other reviews which people hate Jenni Farley and which people love Jersey Shore so much that they would love this movie if it was nothing more than a blank screen for the entire run-time. There's no way this film is a 9 or 10, but there also no way it's a 1 or 2.

I myself am an indie filmmaker, and I also run a film festival, and I am a judge for a few others, so I watch A LOT of movies, and this one is not terrible for someone who is writing and directing their first film.

Yes, it has a lot of flaws, but I can excuse some of them because again, first time filmmaker with what is clearly a limited budget.

The location is awesome because, let's face it, there are few things creeper than an abandoned asylum. The problem is that the film is always poorly lit. I understand that part of this is due to the found footage style of filmmaking, but there are times when it's very hard to keep up with who were following and where everyone is.

The acting level is exactly what I thought it would be and it's not nearly as bad as some of the reviews said. I've seen far worse in other indie films, some of which had much larger budgets. A couple of the cast members were actually standouts and did a good job with the material.

As far as the plot, it's fairly basic, with some turns that quite frankly I could see coming, but that's OK because the movie is not trying to be anything other than what it is.

I give Jenni Farley a lot of credit for wanting to expand beyond "Jersey Shore" with this film, and I think it's a good first step. I look forward to seeing her next project.

I would have given one star if I wasn't already a fan of JWOWW. Maybe that's wrong and maybe I will be more generous with new filmmakers in the future. She is a first time writer and director with a limited budget. But she managed to get some pretty decent talent and seems to have done ok at directing their acting. How much do light bulbs cost? They needed to figure that into the budget. Most of the movie is a black screen. There is literally nothing to see. It's not a bad story and the conversation is pretty realistic. Maybe too realistic in the sense that every word doesn't need to be heard. It needs tightening up. I am looking forward to Jenny's next project.

Good lord, the stench of this movie. I am a sucker for a good found footage movie. I'll wade through bad ones by the dozen to find a gem. This is not that gem. It is also not your average bad one. This film belongs to a very special group: one of the worst of all time. It works hard to earn that spot. It is so derivative that every frame seems stolen from a better movie. We have the Blair Witch "if I don't make it" speech, Hell House LLC style jump cuts, Grave Encounters pretty much everything. Then there's the alleged acting... I didn't notice until after I finished the movie that JWow from Jersey Store directed this. Let's hope that's a one time thing. This is atrocious and no one should be subjected to it.

While I approached this movie with modest expectations, I certainly didn't anticipate it being quite this disappointing. The film relies heavily on loud screams rather than delivering a compelling plot or storyline. Although we get a glimpse of the characters' backgrounds, the development is minimal, leaving much to be desired. The lack of jump scares and genuine suspense makes it far from terrifying. Additionally, the excessive camera movement, coupled with the constant screaming, ultimately overshadows any potential the film might have had. The acting leaves much to be desired, which is somewhat expected from a low-budget production. Overall, this film fell short of my hopes, and I had anticipated a more engaging experience.