Director – Ted Nicolaou (Subspecies, TerrorVision)
Starring – Kelly Curran (Murderers: A Family Film, Purgatory), Lorin Doctor (Lucky Bastard, American Crime Story), and Cole Pendery (Criminal Minds, Famous)
Release Date – 2021
Rating – 3.5/5
Ted Nicolaou’s contributions to Full Moon and Empire is legendary. Many of us genre fans grew up on his films Subspecies, Vampire Journals, TerrorVision, Dragonworld, and so many more. His work helped shape the taste for many of us and his films are still in heavy rotation in many of our homes.
Several months back I started seeing artwork for the film Don’t Let Her In with the tagline “A new shocker from the director of Subspecies.” That is one hell of a tagline if you ask me. When Full Moon announced the blu release of the film I was quick to rush to MVD to request a copy. I’m glad I did because this was one of the better Full Moon releases of recent years.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a young couple who bring in a new roommate who is a bit usual. She is an artist that makes pieces for clients using crystals and essential oils. The young couple is reluctant at first but when she pays for several months up front they let her stay. Soon their fortune turns as he is signed to an indie rock label and she starts getting gigs for art shows. However, things are not as they seem as their new roommate seduces them one by one and when he is out of town touring with his band she discovers she is pregnant. Torn with what to do, she soon discovers that their new roommate is much more than just an eccentric artist. **Spoiler Alert**
Don’t Let Her In marks the return of Full Moon from the gimmick filled little creature monster movies that they’ve seemed to perfect to the moody and story driven horror tales that Nicolaou is known for. The film has great atmosphere, an effective story, and the characters are very well written.
The acting in this one is solid. The cast was given some great characters to bring to life and they do a fantastic job with that. The film has a fairly small cast and everyone compliments each other perfectly on screen while delivering characters that mesh so well with the story. It’s so common for indie productions to have characters that blend into the background but the cast here does a fantastic job with their roles. I seriously hope to see this cast return in a follow up.
The story for this one is simple and right at home with the Full Moon films from the mid-90s. Nicolaou replaces the gothic settings and locations with gothic fashion and storylines which works for a modern horror film. The small cast and simple story works for a production filmed during the pandemic. I liked the demon possession angle and the film sets itself up for so many possibilities in the future.
Finally, the film has some fun make-up effects for the most part but the demon’s face does change from scene to scene. It’s not very consistent. Also, there is some questionable visual effects that just didn’t fit the film. They felt rushed and extremely out of place. Overall, Don’t Let Her In is one of the better Full Moon releases of the last 5 years. I thoroughly enjoyed it but there is some room for improvements. Fans of Full Moon and Nicolaou will want to see this.
