After years of tragedy, a family of women tries to pull the pieces of their lives back together without tearing each other apart in Paige B. Alston‘s thriller, The Devil Is a Liar.
After coming off a stint in rehab for self-harm, Regina (Zakiyyah BG) is “forced” to go on a family trip with her sister, Cassie (Ameerah Garrison), and their mother, Carol (Juliette Fairley), to the old lake house. This is the last place she wants to be, especially with her family, but Carol has something important to tell her kids.
Old family issues resurface quickly. Regina is smart, guarded, and still carrying around the damage from what happened to her as a kid. She blames her mother for the mental state she’s in, and she resents Cassie for being her mother’s favorite. The lake house also stirs up one truly awful memory. She thought she could forget it, but that memory is what sent her to rehab in the first place.
Meanwhile, there is a serial killer on the loose. By day, he runs the local liquor store and serves the community as its sheriff, and by night, he acts as prosecutor, jury, and executioner for women who, in his mind, have committed crimes. It doesn’t help that Regina may have gone to school with our killer.
A silhouetted man braces himself against a chair in a dusty, light-filled basement in The Devil Is a Liar.
“She blames her mother for the mental state she’s in, and she resents Cassie for being her mother’s favorite.”
I love a good old-fashioned indie thriller. I love how it explores themes that have stood the test of time. The title alone says it all: The Devil Is a Liar. There are all sorts of lies in the world: the lies we tell ourselves that keep us in a constant state of depression, the lies we tell the world about how our lives are just fine and dandy, and the lies we’re told for our own protection. This is the story of Regina, Cassie, and Carol. All their lives, they’ve held back, and on this family trip, the truth is exposed, and it all falls apart. It all works thanks to great performances by Zakiyyah BG, Ameerah Garrison, and Juliette Fairley. It’s really easy to believe they are family and that they don’t like each other. Filmmaker Paige B. Alston then spices it all up with a serial killer. The true devil, who lives a double life.
What stands out to me is the intricate story Alston tells. It centers on these three women, then spins in so many directions involving Carol’s brother, Cassie’s husband, and the sisters’ younger brother. Any details about them would definitely be spoilers. I’ll just say that I love its super-creepy ending.
I will beat this drum until the cows come home: stories like The Devil Is a Liar are simple yet sophisticated. This one is raw and gritty, and films like it must stay out of Hollywood studios’ hands. Writer/director Paige B. Alston was given the chance to stay true to the story as she conceived it, untainted by studio notes—as it should be.
For screening information, visit the The Devil Is a Liar official website.
"…Meanwhile, there is a serial killer on the loose."
