The Demoness, written and directed by Andrew de Burgh, begins with Jack (Xander Bailey) and Sarah (Bella Glanville) asleep in their room. Shadowy hands encroach on the married couple’s slumber, only for the Demoness (Sydney Culbertson) to manifest and screw Jack’s brains out. He thinks it is all some strange dream, but Sarah discovers the next day and kills her husband. The supernatural evil instigator then takes the wife’s life. The act gives the Demoness a taste for blood. To that end, she makes a deal with Satan (Mark Pontarelli), who gives the Demoness a mortal form so that she may infiltrate and murder indiscriminately.
The biggest issue with this horror-thriller is the first 25 or so minutes. There is an absurd amount of time given to the daily existence of Jack and Sarah, who are two of the most unlikable people in recent film history. They have no chemistry, and there is no baseline for how their marriage was before the Demoness chose them. Did she pick this couple because they were already on the rocks? Who knows? A prologue should be 10 minutes, tops, but this drags on for close to a third of the runtime and is unpleasant.
“…[Satan] gives the Demoness a mortal form so that she may infiltrate and murder indiscriminately.”
However, there are some positives in the opening. For starters, that first shot that tracks the shadowy hands is atmospheric as hell. Culbertson goes all in, being very physical and menacing, even under the special effects makeup. Speaking of, the demonic design of the Demoness is cool and effectively brought to life by Brittany Jamison-Lackey and her team. Plus, Bailey and Glanville are good for how their roles are written; it is not the actors’ fault that their roles are poorly written.
Happily, those positives carry over into the main narrative of The Demoness. There is a twisted fun in seeing the Demoness, disguised as a bombshell redhead, seduce and then kill shallow ne’er-do-wells. The transitions from human to demon are handled well, and even though the audience knows they are coming, de Burgh still manages to make them intriguing and creepy. The cast of victims ranges from decent to really good, especially Bruce Clifford, who gets a chance to go crazy later on and nails it.
The Demoness would be a slam dunk if the beginning were better. Maybe the answer is to add to it so audiences better understand the marriage. Perhaps trimming down so it does not feel so padded would do the trick. Either way, if any viewer can get through those initial 25 minutes, the rest of the 93-minute runtime offers up a fun, twisted time with solid effects and good acting.
For more information, visit the official The Demoness site.
"…solid effects and good acting."
