|
|
|
Here Comes the Devil
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Magnolia Pictures Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (9th March 2014). |
|
The Film
 Horror goes through many cycles, arguably more so than any other genre. A filmmaker latches onto some concept that turns white hot, a film becomes a hit, and in nearly no time at all the market is flooded with imitators. This isn’t always a bad thing. Recently, some horror directors have begun making their films as homages to the great genre films of the 1970's. Ti West’s “House of the Devil” (2009) is a perfect example of this done on a small budget, while last year’s “The Conjuring” (2013) shows how that style is being emulated in productions with a higher profile. Gory horror is, frankly, mostly stale and boring by this point. After the messy days of the new millennium, splatter flicks are being replaced by concepts more psychological in nature. And this is because gore alone isn’t scary. It takes some real talent to craft a yarn that can draw an audience in and scare them without relying on dead horse gags like cats jumping out of a cabinet, or the old faithful “mirror closes, see the killer” bit. These films aren’t coming exclusively from America, either, thanks to writer/director Adrián García Bogliano’s “Here Comes the Devil” (2012). The film dominated at the Fantastic Fest 2012 awards, taking home the top prizes in horror. Bogliano’s film is steeped in homage and reverence to the golden age of Hollywood horror from the 70's. Your enjoyment, however, depends entirely on how slow-burn you like your horror, because “Here Comes the Devil” presents a mystery that slowly unfolds before reaching a satisfying, yet still unconventional, conclusion. The film opens with a pair of beautiful women intensely grinding into each other, deeply embroiled in a hot situation. When there’s a knock at the door, one of the women goes to answer it and shortly thereafter the girl upstairs hears a struggle. She heads down to find a man viciously beating her girlfriend to a pulp before pulling out a machete and cutting her fingers off. She strikes the man with an implement before he runs off into the hills, stripping off his clothes and writhing on the ground, which we see is full of bloody fingers. Cut to main title. Felix (Francisco Barreiro) and his wife, Sol (Laura Caro), are enjoying a hot, sunny day in the sand with their kids – Adolfo (Alan Martinez) and Sara (Michele Garcia) – when playtime is interrupted by Sara’s inaugural crimson river. The family packs up and heads to a local truck stop, where they decide to rest up a bit while the kids do some exploring in a familiar rocky, cavernous hill nearby. Mom and dad have a hot little sexy time before passing out and waking up hours later to find the kids have not returned. The police are called, they get a motel for the night, but the next morning they’re found and returned. Relief soon turns to concern when the children begin displaying weird behavior, and their new psychologist suggests they may have been sexually assaulted. That’s when Felix and Sol recall seeing a weird, Hispanic Crispin Glover type of guy who had spied on Sol and Sara in the restroom earlier. The parents decide he’s responsible and go to his trailer, tying him up and eventually getting him to confess he stole Sara’s missing period panties. They convict him right then and there, brutally ending his life with extreme prejudice. The next day, the cop that had helped find their kids returns to question them about Lucio (David Arturo Cabezud), the man they killed. It seems he was certainly a total weirdo, but he also felt that hill he lived near was a place full of spirits unclean. Sol thinks the kids are still acting off, so she follows them to school one morning and finds them boarding another bus. A bus taking them back to the hills in which they disappeared. Sol follows them to the mouth of a small cave, where they just stand and stare at… nothing. She returns the next day to investigate on her own, discovering something that shakes her to the core and confirms her worst suspicions – what, exactly, are her children? To say any more would be to spoil the film. Suffice it to say, Bogliano succeeds in drawing us in with a twisted premise, leaving viewers hanging on each scene hoping to decode the mystery of what’s really happening. Even once we do figure it out, things are intentionally left ambiguous. That’s the beauty of psychological horror – your mind is constantly questioning what it saw and how it fits into the bigger picture the film is presenting. Bogliano hides clues throughout the picture, leaving it up the viewers to piece it all together. Nearly every major film feels the need to spell everything out to audiences – sometimes literally, if they must – but movies on the indie circuit can afford to leave more to the imagination once the credits roll.
Video
Lots of post-production work looks to have been done on the film’s 2.35:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image. After an opening scene that looks overly grainy and washed out, the film exhibits many de-saturated hues and a muted palette. The only color that seems to stand out much: red. Detail in typically excellent in facial closeups and clothing textures. Much of the film takes place in bright, well-lit locations, allowing the image to show off as much as possible. Black levels are acceptable, though since everything else looks washed out it’s no surprise black levels are on the anemic side. I am quite sure the image appears as the filmmakers intended, however, and for maintaining that consistency in aesthetic this is a fine image.
Audio
The track you want to listen to is the Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound (48kHz/24-bit) track. There’s an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 dubbing available, but what sort of soulless person wants to hear that? The Spanish track has a robust presence, with a dynamic range that provides an immersive sonic experience. I was a big fan of Julio Pillado’s score, which is an eclectic mix of styles making it difficult to fully categorize. His music takes full advantage of the surround mix, amping up the tension when required. Dialogue and effects play nicely in the mix, never fighting for supremacy. At times the action sounds a bit confined, though not for long stretches. Rears come into play only sporadically; this is mostly a front-driven track. Subtitles are available in English, English narrative, English for the hearing impaired, and French. Hmmm, no Spanish subtitles for a Mexican film?
Extras
Magnet is good to their Blu-ray buyers, usually packing their discs with as much extra material as possible. This disc includes an audio commentary, featurettes, an extended scene, a photo gallery, and trailers. The audio commentary with director Adrián García Bogliano is energetic and full of demystifying information if you want to know more about the film. Bogliano has many influences in cinema and he spends a lot of time pointing out all of the various homages to his idols. He has a real enthusiasm for his work, making this a track worth your time. Extended nightmare scene (1080p) is exactly what it sounds like, running for 1 minute and 32 seconds. “Behind the Scenes Comparisons” (1080p) is a featurette that runs for 6 minutes and 26 seconds. Footage of the actors blocking out shots on set are shown while a small picture-in-picture window shows how the shots look in the finished film. “Rehearsals” (1080i) is a featurette reel of the actors running over their lines, which runs for 9 minutes and 34 seconds. “Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery” (1080p) featurette is a series of shots from set, running for 7 minutes and 23 seconds. “AXS TV: A Look at the Here Comes the Devil” (1080i) is a featurette that runs for 2 minutes and 55 seconds. Director Bogliano and the cast talk about the film’s plot, some of its meanings and hit the expected marks in this EPK. Finally, bonus trailers (1080p) are included for the following: - “The Last Days on Mars” runs for 2 minutes and 29 seconds. - “Beyond Outrage” runs for 2 minutes and 1 second. - “How I Live Now” runs for 2 minutes and 13 seconds. - “Big Bad Wolves” runs for 1 minute and 43 seconds. - “AXS TV promo” runs for 32 seconds. The disc is also enabled with a bookmarks feature, as well as a BD-Live link.
Packaging
What’s this?! Magnet, long the bearer of standard Blu-ray keep cases, has now switched over to the collector’s worst nightmare: the eco-case. It was a good run, I suppose.
Overall
If you’ve got patience and an affinity for throwback horror with a slowly unfolding storyline, this should hold some appeal. Bogliano’s film doesn’t build up to something utterly grand, but once the credits roll I think most horror fans will want to revisit it with the commentary track on to learn the secrets contained within.
|
|||||
|