Succubus, Co-Starring Ron Perlman

Critics like to ding 1980s slashers for their alleged puritanical punishment of promiscuity. Yet, modern horror movies are little different whenever sexting or booty-call apps are involved. The randy and unfaithful typical face swift and violent chastisement. In most cases, the age-old principle—if it seems too good to be true—also usually applies. That is certainly the case for Chris, who knows his app match is way out of his league, but he keeps video-chatting her anyway in R.J. Daniel Hanna’s Succubus, which releases today on VOD.

Newly separated, Chris feels like a loser, but this is one of nights the depressed father has custody of his little baby. That probably ought to be the focus of his concentration, but he lets his overbearing dude-bro buddy Eddie talk him into opening a hook-up account and starting “swiping” women. Awkwardly, he accidentally swipes one of his (technically still) wife’s friends. He also swipes on Adra, who keeps her features shrouded, but her body makes Eddie drool like a dog.

Weirdly, Adra seems very interesting in Chris and eager to meet in person. However, he must come to her. Implying some vague peril, Adra insists she cannot take off her dark glasses, due to some unexplained injury. Somehow, disgraced academic Dr. Orion Zephyr urgently sends him warnings not to trust her, having somehow detected their contact. However, Chris is in no mood to talk to an older guy who looks like Ron Perlman.

It is no secret, except to Chris and Eddie, that Adra is something very demonically different from what she presents herself to be (its titled Succubus, after all). Despite their thick-headedness, the film is a surprisingly suspenseful supernatural variation on Unfriended-style online horror.

There is a lot of “ScreenLife”-ish scenes, but there is enough real time action to alleviate the potential staginess. Perlman’s entrance as the questionable Zephyr, who is not exactly the cavalry, is also a highly effective de-stabilizing development.

Perlman is enormously entertaining portraying arguably the worst Van Helsing-figure ever. Derek Smith is also consistently amusing as Eddie the hornier, less scrupulous horndog. Chris is a complete tool, but Brendan Bradley plays him like a poor sad sack that you still sort of root for. Even though she often sounds like an AI, Rachel Cook makes an appropriately sinister (and demonic) femme fatale.

Succubus marks a radical departure from Hanna’s previous feature, the uplifting school voucher drama, Miss Virginia, but he skillfully builds tension from the Spartan setting. It is one of the more successful horror films with significant computer screentime since Rob Savage’s Host. Recommended for genre fans, Succubus releases today (9/24) on VOD.