Director – Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones)
Starring – Ethan Embry (The Walking Dead, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), Shiri Appleby (Fear Itself, Roswell), and Pruitt Taylor Vince (Constantine, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Release Date – 2015
Rating – 4/5
I’m an odd duck when it comes to horror. This is something that has been commented on several of my reviews in the passed. People often think I’m paid off to give bad movies good reviews. This is the farthest from the fact. I like what I like and years of watching no budget horror films has shaped my taste in movies. That’s why I rarely rush out to buy a flick that most horror fans love. These films usually just let me down which is funny when you think about it. Horror fans are the most conceited fans there is. They mock and scoff at most horror films while pissing on each other about how the genre lacks originality anymore.
What I’m trying to say is most horror fans will bash a remake or sequel, even if its good, just because of what it is but most of these movies they like just because they are “original” usually sucks. When fans starting ranting and raving about The Devil’s Candy I had no desire to check it out. I assumed it was more hype than quality and decided to skip it. That changed after speaking with the folks over at Scream Factory. They were kind enough to send a review copy my way and I’m glad they did. The movie was fantastic.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows struggling artist Jess Hellman (Embry) who just purchased an old farmhouse in the Texas country for his family. He tries to start over and get somewhere with his work but something in the home is unnatural. He keeps hearing voices and continuously blacks out while painting to find dark imagery replacing his work. To make matters worse, the son of the elderly couple that lived their previously is now stalking his daughter and has been killing kids around town because the devil has been telling him to. Now Jesse must fight to protect his family from a madman while keeping the devil out of his own head.**Spoiler Alert**
I knew The Devil’s Candy was a horror film set against the backdrop of metal. Most of you know me and know my love of metal so this was cool. However, I was a little let down that the story itself didn’t have metal integrated more. Lets face it, the film would have worked if Ethan’s character was an account who was obsessed with Culture Club and only painted as a hobby. It was cool while we had it but it would have been better if it had a bigger role.
The acting in this one is fantastic. The stars of the show is easily Ethan Embry and Pruitt Vince. Both are fucking fantastic. I had no idea Embry was Jesse Hellman until the end credits rolled. He completely disappeared into character and blew my fucking mind. This mother fucker nailed it. I can’t say the same about Vince. As soon as I saw him I knew it was him but his performance made my fucking skin crawl. He was brilliant and his character gave this father chills. The supporting cast does a solid job but no one is on their level.
The story for this one is very effective and incorporates several fun elements that horror fans love. We have the metal angle that was underutilized. We then jump into the Satanic angle with the kid killer tossed in for good measure. All these come together to make a very unique experience that offers up something for every horror fan.
Finally, the film does have several deaths but most are done off screen due to the nature of the acts. The effects we do get to see on camera are fantastic. Some are very brutal and swift which brings about a great savage feel to the film. Overall, The Devil’s Candy lived up to the hype. The film was brutal and the cast was outstanding. This movie has to be seen.
