The Devil Lives Here

Director - Rodrigo Gasparini (ABC's of Death 2.5) and Dante Vescio (O Dia do Comelo)
Starring - Pedro Caetano (Disparos), Pedro Carvalho (Snuff Said: Morte em Video), and Mariana Cortines (Young Hearts)
Release Date 2015
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I've been lucky lately in regards to the films I've reviewed.  I recently got to check out Suddenly in the Dark from Mondo Macabro and loved it.  It was beautifully shot and very stylish which is something I don't see a lot of.  The next film I watched was the horror flick Pet.  Aside from looking like a generic torture porn, it was actually pretty entertaining and had one hell of a cast.  I would love to see more horror films like it show up in my mail box.  I wanted to keep the momentum going so I went over to my review pile and the next film up to bat was the Artsploitation release of The Devil Lives Here.  This one looked like a bloody Evil Dead clone which I am fine with.  Evil Dead II is one of my favorite films so any film that pays tribute or is inspired by is ok in my book.  Thank you Artsploitation for sending this one my way!

     The film follows four twenty-somethings who return to the home of one of them as park of a prank and an urban legend.  The house was once owned by a slave owner who performed evil magic on his slaves.  The young boy, Apolo, made an agreement with the descendants of the slaves to stay out of the house during certain times as to not raise the evil locked in the basement.  Apolo did not listen and freed the evil.  Now the descendants must stop the evil before it kills them all.

     I was looking forward to this film and had the impression that it was going to be bloody as hell.  Sadly, it was not but that doesn't mean it's a bad film.  No at all.  The movie was actually very entertaining but I was a little let down by the lack of practical effects and gore.  The acting in this one is very convincing and fits the film perfectly.  The characters are not that well written but the cast is able to knock it out of the park.  Some characters have are a little more complex than others and the cast does a great job at showing their depth and their connection to the story.  The story for this one is very well written and very dark.  The characters needed more to them but the film gives us a tremendous amount of backstory.  With that being said, it wasn't as brooding and atmospheric as I was hoping for.  It was dark, don't get me wrong, but I was expecting something brutal and claustrophobic which it is not.  Finally, if you want gore then look elsewhere.  The film is not as bloody as I was hoping.  A movie with type of story would normally be filled with gore and practical effects but this film misses out.  We do get some kills and blood but nowhere near the amount one would expect.  Overall, The Devil Lives Here was a fun experience.  The film looks good and has some awesome horror moments but there was some room for improvement.  It more than deserves your attention so check it out.