Daimon
Hellstrom, the Son of Satan is a major Marvel superhero, but they have yet to
figure out how to use him in their film and TV business. Instead, we get Damien
Seryph. He has a similar name and the same basic bloodline. He too is a scion of
Lucifer, but unlike Hellstrom, he has not exactly turned against the big man
downstairs. In this case, Lucifer is not nearly as bad as the four rogue
horseman demons out unleash chaos everywhere in J.M. Stelly’s The Demonologist (trailer here), which releases
today on VOD.
Seryph
has suppressed most memories of his backstory, so he is unaware of the
supernatural powers he inherited from his mortal and supernatural fathers.
However, the New Orleans cop has a knack for solving occult-related cases, so
he is often called in on sicko ritualistic crimes, like the murder he and his
partner are working. A tarot card was left at the scene, so you know there are
some bad vibes going on.
The
stakes really start to rise when Seryph’s would-have-been future mother-in-law
becomes one of the victims. However, the department wants him off the case, because
that is obviously the professional course of action. His faithful partner is also
very concerned over Seryph’s sleeping habits. Regardless, there is a demonic
war breaking out—and Seryph is involved, whether he likes it or not.
Frankly,
Demonologist’s big twist is so
blatantly telegraphed, it would have been far more shocking and cleverer if
Stelly never sprung it on us. This film also takes its sweet time to get going
and is fully stocked with banal chit-chat. Plus, the title is rather
misleading, implying the protagonist has some sort of scholarly and maybe even
scientistic (not scientific) credentials, like Van Helsing or Dr. Peter Venkman
in Ghostbusters. Instead, he has
latent inherited demon-busting powers that obviously will not be tapped until late
in the third act.
Brian
Krause from the original Charmed is a
solid genre actor. He was terrific in the shockingly good Plan 9 remake/reboot and helped elevate the workaday Be Afraid. Unfortunately, he appears bored
by the lackluster material in Demonologist
(nobody is blaming him). Even the villains are bland. Only Thomas Francis
Murphy shows any willingness to chomp down on the scenery as the priest who
advises Seryph on messed-up occult esoterica.
Even
though Demonologist is set in and around
New Orleans, it never includes any funky NOLA music in the soundtrack. Would it
kill them to throw a little work to the local musicians? It would have helped
distract from the many slow patches. Not recommended, The Demonologist releases today (1/1) via On Demand.