PLOT: Set in Tijuana, Mexico, a troubled married couple lose their children in the nearby caves. When the children are found, their behavior suggests the children may have been exposed to a world of evil.
Adrian Garcia Bogliano delivers a stylized Spanish horror piece that pays an homage to 70s Italian horror. Though creepy kid and demonic possession subgenera are stale, Here Comes the Devil is a fresh slice of ecstasy in a sea of exhausted rigmarole that attempts to tackle life, death, and copulation as the central theme. The film received mixed reviews with viewer’s careless accusations towards the director as attention seeking and controversial. While the graphic sex scenes may be controversial, I feel the director is only trying to balance both of the components, sex and death. The opening scene alone had my full attention with full frontal lesbian scissoring that is not the least bit offensive. I found the scene to be passionately accurate. A conflicting conversation about morals ensues after the love making but is interrupted by a crazed maniac who chops off one of the girl’s fingers. We’re off to a great start!
Then we meet the family of four that’s portrayed in the creepiest of fashion. This shifted my mood and left me feeling uneasy. Though it had me asking how often these actions occur in a middle-class home. Sol (Laura Caro) and her husband Felix (Francisco Barreiro) just had the awkward menstruation talk with their daughter Sara (Michele Garcia.) Regardless of this painfully unpleasant event in Sara’s life, she and her brother Adolfo (Alan Martinez) want to explore the vagina shaped caves while their parents get a little sweaty sexy time in their vehicle before passing out for several hours. The kids never return.
Adolfo and Sara are eventually found by police the following day. The children’s behavior is out of the ordinary and after examination, Sara’s hymen appears to be absent which indicates that something awful must have happened in that cave, Additional clues point to possible child rape or something far more sinister could be behind the incident. (Spoiler free) The climax may be predictable for some but I did not see that coming nor did I know what to expect behind every turn. However, I do feel something is missing from this picture. I just cannot pin point it.
Here Comes the Devil isn’t soaked in buckets of blood but there’s one scene in particular that’s insanely graphic which should be enough for gore lovers. The scene is an obvious nod to Lucio Fulci. There’s heavy zoom action that was often used in Kun-fu and Western films. Quentin Tarantino also uses this technique. Julio Pillado’s score adds a distortion to the ominous atmosphere. It sets a heavy tone initially then creeps into your spine, tingling and raising hairs. There are very few movie scores that I own, It Follows being the last that I purchased. This score will be added to my collection, The storyline is straight forward and there are elements of incest mixed in that I’d rather not summarize because the subtext should be obvious. I am not familiar with the directors work but I intend to explore a little further into his world. As for the scare factor, I’m afraid he disappoints with levitation and cheap tactics. It’s still an effective supernatural with heart-ripping performances that will not leave you dissatisfied.
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A friend of the Dedman, Horror Society and the genre, Rebekah is an all world talent whether she is in front of or behind the camera. When she picks up the pen, she is even more deadly. Certainly one of the top genre writers, she manages to cover horror from a spectrum that fans of all aspects can appreciate and respect!
“Rebekah Herzberg has been living in Southeast Texas the majority of her life but has traveled to countries all over the world, including Israel where her parents do their work. Since she was a little girl, she has been exposed to cameras in her parents studio which is where her love for the camera began. Rebekah has been involved with ballet, jazz, tap, and acrobats since she was 2-years-old. In addition to dancing, she has stayed active in modeling and eventually worked her way up into the Indie horror scene after working on a couple of student films. Her film titles include; PRINCESS, STAY WITH ME, THE GOOD FRIEND, AND CIRCUS OF THE DEAD.
Rebekah was a host for Texas Frightmare Weekend in 2011 and continues to frequent conventions all over the US. She’s also the horror judge for the local Lagniappe Film & Music Festival based out of Beaumont, Tx and a Women in Horror Month Ambassador.”
In her downtime Rebekah is the VHS Vixen for Wicked Channel and True Crime Writer for Dreamin’ Demon. Collecting VHS is a passion for Rebekah and she currently owns 2, 000 horror films on VHS. Roller derby is another passion of hers with “Jewn Cleaver” being her nickname.”
The Calling Hours Horror Podcast Ep. 18: WIHM Ambassador Rebekah Herzberg, Tiffany Shepis and more!