It
starts with a gratuitous sex scene, closely followed by a generous helping of
gratuitous violence. Obviously, there is no call for subtlety here. Whether or not it really is Old Scratch
stirring up mischief or the demonic spirit of a notorious serial killer hardly
matters. Either way there will be big
trouble in Adrián García Bogliano’s Here
Comes the Devil (trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York.
In
time, the prologue will make more sense, as is often the case with good
prologues. For the time being, our story revolves around Sol and Félix, two
reasonably humdrum parents on holiday with their adolescent son and daughter. To squeeze in some adult quality time, they
let Sara and Adolfo go explore a nearby craggy hill. When they are not back by the appointed time,
panic and recriminations replace passion. Making matters worse, this particular
corner of northern Mexico seems to have some sort of sinister history.
When
the kids suddenly turn up the next morning, everything seems to be okay. Yet,
they now seem strangely distant. Initially,
Sol and Félix fear something might have happened with the slow-witted man they
caught suspiciously eying Sara at the gas station at the foot of the hill.
However, it becomes increasingly difficult to rationalize away all the uncanny
incidents occurring around the house.
Devil is sort of like
a throwback to 1980’s horror films, but with a taste for post-2000 excess. Ironically, it probably has more sex than
blood, but it still definitely is not for the squeamish. Regardless, Bogliano creates a profoundly
creepy atmosphere, nicely building off the somewhat confused but still
intriguing backstory.
Mexican
pop idol Laura Caro makes a surprisingly strong horror movie mom and Francisco Barreiro
(also seen in the original We Are What We Are) is at least sufficient to the task as the more passive Felix. Befitting its genre status, Devil also features several small but
memorably colorful supporting turns, such as Enrique Saint Martin as the
severe-looking gas station manager, who might know only too well just what is
going on here.
Devil’s
midsection
actually boasts some rather inspired developments that definitely set it
apart from the field. Bogliano makes the
most of his ominous yet seemingly everyday locales (filmed in Tijuana and neighboring
Tecate), maintaining the effectively portentous vibe. Well crafted by horror industry standards, Here Comes the Devil is recommended for
mature genre fans when it opens this Friday (12/13) in New York at the Cinema
Village, just in time to help us get in the holiday spirit.
