The Devil’s Well Review – All’s Not Well That Ends Well In This Well
Starring Bryan Manley Davis, Chris Viemeister, David Alexander
Directed by Kurtis M. Spieler
Before I even got started writing up this particular review for Kurtis M. Spieler’s film The Devil’s Well, I sifted back through the endless glut of found-footage movie lambastings that I’ve put out for the masses (not quite) to peruse, simply in the hopes that I wouldn’t come off too repetitive in my wording…and after some moderate detective work, I’m going to spit out some fairly repetitious terms to rake this one over the coals as well.
Effort employed in these films in order to vary them from the assembly-line distribution they receive normally needs to have some blood-curdling moments, a somewhat cohesive storyline, and characters that you don’t want to open-handed swat after listening to them babble on for 10 minutes at a time. I truly wish my hopes had shined through for this one – perhaps on the next FF debacle…I mean “presentation.” The movie acts as a sort of mockumentary, and follows the hunt for paranormal investigator Karla Marks, who after a husband and wife jaunt to scenic Connecticut to check out a supposed portal to hell, Karla disappeared once her hubby’s back was turned…likely story – sounds like a divorce claim gone wrong, but I don’t work for the courts so there’s that. Anyhow, after a year or so timeframe-wise (and a litany of humdrum interviews), Karla’s husband returns to the scene of her disappearance with a team of ghost-hunters to hopefully find out what happened to his bride.
Now while the interview segments are tedious and drag the film to a damn-near dead stop, I’ll give credit where it’s due, as the performers are believable in their conveyance and emotion…see, it ain’t all THAT bad! There are differences between the “search team” which makes for a mildly interesting rift in the plot, but there’s just really not much to fall back into once the bickering stops – I honestly had hoped for something scary to happen, because you know, this is technically a horror film? Anyone out there listening? Okay then, let’s get down to brass tacks with this one: bereft of frights, heavy on sleep-inducing dialogue, and in the end of it all, a paint-by-numbers piece of construction when you look back on it (if you choose to, that is), all adding up to a film that echoes so many spit out before it – different title, same damned result. My advice is to sit in the dark and listen for some noises – might offer up a better scare than this lame duck.
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Film
Summary
This reservoir has quite the deep drop, and one giant thud at the end of it.
Categorized:Reviews
