The Devil Below

I wanted to like this movie, but it was just ok. The acting is solid and some great atmospheric moments. The story is not all too original but still intriguing. Where the movie fails for me is in two spots. First, yes I know it is mostly at night, but parts are just too dark for the human eye. Second, the whole film is based around the monsters that we hardly get to see enough of. Worth a watch but keep your expectations low.

The trailer wasn't bad but the movie sucked. If Will Patton wasn't in it I never would of watched it. All this movie consists of is people running around in the darkness. There was also no clear explanation on what the monsters were. And they never show you a clear shot of what they look like. All you get from whatever these creatures are is a bunch of annoying moaning & groaning. Movie was a waste of time. 4 stars.

It might have been a good film but I will never know, it was filmed in stygian darkness, who was doing what to who and why will remain a mystery, as I could not make out what was going on, and why did they not call in the US Army to deal with whatever it was? filming great parts of films in darkness seems to be a trend lately, does it save money on sets? or Lighting? I don't know but it is tiresome.

As soon as I saw that the main character is a supermodel European giving tours of redneck America I knew it was gonna be bad. Not to mention they try to make her seem tough as nails, but she looks like she's never gone a day without a spa treatment. The movie isn't much better, but the main character tips the hand as to how bad this is.

'The Devil Below' is also known as 'Shookum Hills'. Like many other horror films, this one starts off interesting and mysterious, and then plummets to all too familiar, cliched ground.

The sub-standard visual effects makes it hard to believe 'The Devil Below' was made in 2021. Even some 80's films incorporating demons or devils have better monster effects. The film's first half was eerie and ominous, but I must admit I never really cared about any of the stereotypical characters. Alicia Sanz tried so hard to act all macho as the film's heroin Arianne, but I didn't really buy it. And as for Schuttmann (Will Patton) who saves the day, this character was only there when he was needed. He didn't really contribute much to the film, despite him harboring a grudge against the creatures.

The film gave me a sense of 'Silent Hill' vs 'The Descent', only not nearly as good as any of these. The last few minutes are also too weird, and badly photographed.

Would I watch it again? No.