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Review: Devil Makes Work

 

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Every time a filmmaker sends me their film to review obviously they are very passionate about their product and talk it up a lot. Such was the case with Devil Makes Work and I was like, “Yeah, ok, buddy. Let me see what you got!” I’ve always been on the fence of the horror genre’s use of The Devil, bones and goat heads as the easy representation of something dark and sinister so I went into my viewing not expecting anything too spectacular. But, boy, was I wrong! I was wrong as all Hell! It’s my pleasure to introduce to you… my first perfect score of 2015.

Devil Makes Work is written and directed by Guy Soulsby. Cast members include Duncan Meadows, Sebastian Canciglia, Wreh-Asha Walton, Oliver Scott, Georgina Morrell, Michael English, Bridget Wood, Matthew Greenhough and Shaun Dooley as The Devil. This seven minute short film was produced by Soulsby, Pete Ryan and Tom Webb and features cinematography from Nicholas Bennett.

 

Usually at this point in my reviews I give you guys an overview of the plot. Well, I am currently unable to do so because I was so enthralled by everything else going on. Shaun Dooley is one Hell of a fine actor. You may recognize him from the British soap opera “EastEnders,” or from horror films such as The Awakening, The Woman in Black and Eden Lake. He doesn’t do much in Devil Makes Work besides sit on a thrown of old tires…but his voice, his performance is so enthralling. He was absolutely the best man to play The Devil and with his aura and charisma, I could see how many people would turn to evil to follow him. I wasn’t comprehending the words he was saying though he was well spoken because my senses were obliterated and I wanted to know more.

Everything about Devil Makes Work is so professional, so high class that I can’t believe that this is Guy Soulsby’s first go as writer and director. He is so talented and, based on his work with this short film, if he ever chooses to do a feature film it’s going to be one of biggest releases of that year. He is easily thee most talented up and coming director, hands down and folks seem to agree as Devil Makes Work has already won ten awards in the film festival circuit including “Best Director,” “Best Cinematography” and “Best Special Effects.” All of these elements truly came together to make a short film that pleases all of your five senses as a human being and suits all of your needs as a horror film viewer. You don’t need a huge group of friends or mind altering substances to enjoy this one. All you need to do is press play.

 

I swear, Devil Makes Work looks like it was made with a million bucks. Every production and technical aspect is perfect and stands to rival some of the best in Hollywood. I don’t normally name so many people, but I need to acknowledge some of the crew members that helped to make this title a reality: James Paul HattSmith and Terry Tsang on visual effects, Robbie Drake on special effects make-up, production manager Hollie Forsyth, production designer Noam Piper, casting directors Thomas Adams and Andrew Mann, Nick Armstrong as editor and Seb Juviler as composer. Every once and a while people are in the right place at the right time and they make magic happen. Devil Makes Work proves that point. Phenomenal. This is easily the best independent short film I’ve seen so far this year.

Final Score: 10 out of 10

Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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