The Devil's Work

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.

Arriving at a remote cottage, a couple's attempts at building their relationship in seclusion are upended by a revelation that one of their siblings' psychotic tendencies are coming to the forefront in an unexpected way when they follow the couple to the cottage and set about trying to ruin the night.

Overall, this was a pretty solid if troubling genre thriller. The main thing that works here is the solid starting point that offers not just a means of getting the couple to the house but plays well with the idea of mental insanity and isolation. The main point of the first half to set up the couple and their relationship together by showing them arrive at the location and go about getting into the mindset of their forgotten sister trailing them comes about quite nicely overall. Focusing on introducing it so subtly against the rest of the material featuring the marital quirks or general issues with each other slowly turns into a series of exposes on how the sister is so mentally challenged and unhinged that everything going on is quite built up quite well. Even the scenes later on showing the invasion and attempts at rectifying a perceived wrong come together well. With this setting the payoff of the trauma we've gotten until then makes this section of the film descends into a strikingly tense and thrilling series of setpieces that are even more impressive given the one-shot nature of how this plays out, everything here is rather fun. The fact that it's just immensely slow and not that interesting due to the excruciatingly slow pace and tempo of everything as there's so little energy or urgency to anything going on it just sucks the life out of the material. Regardless of how fun everything is and how it all comes together, the lethargic action just undoes everything positive to the point of draining this one completely for its detrimental factors.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Violence.

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.

Saw The Devils Work by Ursula Dabrowski in Adelaide. It was my first time watching a Dabrowski film and after seeing this it left me wanting to see all of her work. I LOVED IT! I'm not much into to gore but love a suspenseful thriller and this film delivered. The balance was perfect and done in a way which made it feel authentic and believable, fully immersing me in the script. I thought the music was fantastic, heightening the suspense and the acting was excellent.

After the screening during the Q&A Ursula revealed that The Devils Work was shot in just four days, on a very low budget and in one location. Incredible talent to pull off such a feat. Highly recommend!

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!