This week brings the second found footage horror film of the month (following Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones). Devil’s Due, an updated take on Rosemary’s Baby, shows some proficiency but feels like another forced exercise in this tired sub-genre. Truthfully, there’s no reason why this story would benefit from using this type of visual approach. Most of the time, its use cripples and confuses the story, presenting gaping plot holes.
Samantha (Allison Miller) and Zach (Zach Gilford) are newlyweds on their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Zach invests in a high-definition camcorder, determined to capture their entire lives for posterity (and presumably, to bore the heck out of their future children). However, not long after the vacation, Samantha finds herself pregnant and extremely irritable. Her odd behavior is captured on camera; these actions include threatening relatives and violently carving up the floorboards, between instances in which her Satanic offspring moves and stretches her belly in unnatural ways. By the end of the term, a terrified Zach suspects that she may be about to give birth to the Antichrist. Of course, the film’s biggest mystery is why it takes him eight months to look at any of the footage (which includes some revealing video as to how and when she was impregnated).
As one might imagine in reading the synopsis, plot holes abound. Creating a compelling narrative with found footage is tough and the story continually necessitates the use of tricks to get the job done. Beyond Zach’s obsessive compulsive recording habits, the film must resort to random cuts of security camera footage and other people’s videos. There are even a couple of instances where it’s difficult to determine what the actual source is. And at one point, when it seems that much is about to come to light to the characters, footage disappears (which should create some confusion among audience members who have just watched all the vanished elements). As a result, the format and the tale itself begins to become more and more strained. Even more questions are raised by the inclusion of a group of intimidating followers in the couple’s lives. How the suspicious group manage to hide their presence in society seems comically absurd.
Regardless of the dopey plot, the cast is decent. The video as photographed looks incredibly sharp – this is one high quality home video recorder. Filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (V/H/S) also display great technical skills. There’s some interesting camerawork when a character is launched into the air while recording and some convincing effects work during the lengthy take used to depict the climax. The final sequence is somewhat tense and there are a few fake jump scares along the way… but on the whole the movie is never truly engaging.
Sure, Devil’s Due shows some visual punch – but that doesn’t make it frightening. The found footage approach isn’t convincing and the weak screenplay lacks any evidence of significant meaning or even satire to justify its existence. It feels more like a technical exercise, and one that fails to absorb on an emotional level. The last judgment on this movie may have it going down in flames, but perhaps the filmmakers will heed the warning and attach themselves to a better script next time out.