Adolescence is rough, especially if you’re Lisa (played by Madi Vodane) in Jared Cohn’s Devil’s Domain. The popular girls at school are bullying you. Your grades are in the toilet and so is your head. You’re a closeted bisexual and your childhood crush just embarrassed you in front of the entire school. Your parents, though they try to help, are completely clueless. Then one day you get a bloody note passed to you in class that asks, “Don’t You Want Them All to Die,” before a whole string of supernatural events occur that give you the type of revenge you didn’t want. But, it’s too late. You already traded your soul with The Devil. Watch as Lisa’s life goes from bad to worse in writer/director Jared Cohn’s Devil’s Domain.
Devil’s Domain is a rock and roll bloodbath and a teen’s guide to making terrible decisions, produced by David S. Sterling and Kelly Erin Decker. It’s really a handbook of metaphors detailing with the trials and tribulations of growing up, all with an added dose of horror… as if being young and impressionable wasn’t scary enough! The log-line on the poster warns you, “Never Meet A Stranger Online,” which is true, but Devil’s Domain digs much deeper than that. Eating disorders, suicide, sex, bullying, lying, alcohol abusive, teen pregnancy – it’s all here. Imagine if schools showed this movie during sex ed? Basically the message would be something along the lines of be good to yourself and one another or get a chainsaw to the face.
Looking at the metaphors a little deeper, another overwhelming one is the feeling of power. How do you feel when you’re powerless? What would you do to get power? What would you do with that power? How do you feel when you’re made powerless again? Risky behavior feels good and instant gratification is a drug all on its own, but quick decisions and responses are just that… quick. Getting high on the thrill of ruining someone else only stays euphoric until it becomes repetitive or until it spirals out of control with a sexy, European she-devil that chops your friends into pieces. I never thought I’d see such a poignant, thematic, well thought out film in the guise of an occult scary movie! Jared Cohn gets it right once again, folks. And while Devil’s Domain went off the rails a little bit with the famous reality star subplot, this was still a magically dark and demented movie featuring cinematography from Josh Maas and editing by Rob Pallatina.
Linda Bella, Madi Vodane, Michael Madsen (The Hateful Eight, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs), Zack Kozlow, Kelly Erin Decker, Brenna Tucker, Desanka Julia Ilic, Ciara Muller and Jordan Matayoshi star in this horror-drama that impressed the Hell out of me the more and more I thought about it. It’s definitely on the independent side of things when it comes to production, so certain aspects due come off as a little low-budget, but Devil’s Domain is an incredibly impactful movie that also gives you the right amounts of sex, blood and rock and roll. It’s preachy without being preachy and it doesn’t have that feel good ending that most thematic/metaphoric movies finish with. It actually leaves the door open, with not a lot of hope in sight. Choices. We all make them, but the next wrong decision could land you in… the devil’s domain! Also, you know this one’s good if it’s got Michael Madsen in it and all I can talk about is the writing! Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.
