Rent Demonic (2021)

Demonic (aka The Unlocked/Horror / Untitled Neill Blomkamp/Horror Film) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Demonic is the type of film that makes you want to think back to those films of the 1980s and 1990s that seemed to rely exclusively on their tech as a gimmick. I’m talking films like Young Sherlock Holmes with its CGI battle or TRON with its backlit characters in a virtual environment. Demonic seems to fall into that category considering the tech placed upon it. It starts as a sci-fi thriller where virtual reality is used to explore the minds of those who may not be there. Unfortunately, this film has little else to hold this premise and turns into a routine snooze-fest of horror pictures that twists in some dark and unimpressive action.

Carly is a woman is struggling to move beyond the problems of her mother Angela, especially since Angela was convicted of murdering over twenty people. Nightmares continue to haunt Carly about the violence spree of her mother and how she ended up arrested and placed in a catatonic state. She then meets a team of scientists who say they’re trying out a new form of virtual reality that will allow Carly to speak with Angela in her own mind. Carly is semi-curious about confronting the demons of her family and agrees to take a dive into new territory.

Carly’s adventure into her mother’s mind has this blocky yet believable aspect to how she is rendered in such an environment. It feels blocky and messy yet has this weird painterly feel to the world she visits. It’s also perfectly suited for plenty of creepiness in how her mother can climb walls and distort gravity in her own mind. It’s an odd yet fascinating start to what could be an intriguing psychological thriller.

Sadly, the film takes a depressingly dreary turn when the true intent of the technology is revealed. The scientists investigating this technology and Angela are only doing so because they believe that the mind is where ghosts and demons may lie, possessing Angela to commit such murders. When I found this out in the plot, I wanted there to be some bigger twist. I wanted there to be some change where there really wasn’t a demon and that Angela’s state was more of her own doing that others would not accept. It’s not that I can’t dig a movie about demons and possessions but a film such as this goes nowhere interesting with this scenario.

After much melodrama and a real snoozefest of Carly trying to piece her life together, the third act resolves for a lackluster demon hunt. The hunt for the demon goes beyond the virtual world and enters into our own, giving the scientists an excuse to put on some armor and fire guns at the demon, trying to kill it. Worst of all, this film doesn’t even commit to such a sight. Most of the third act only drops in after the action has passed. Carly arrives at the scene of Angela’s latest crime far too late, where all of the pursuing task force is slaughtered. Would’ve been neat to see. I reminded me of one of my favorite lines from Mystery Science Theater 3000: “It would have been nice to see that shot of the monster, but you’ll just have to trust us; it was really scary.”

Demonic is such a tiring picture that even if you can stay awake through the boring aspects of the first reel, there’s nothing all that compelling in the second. It’s shocking that such a tedious picture comes from director Neill Blomkamp, usually known for pictures that are at least entertaining if never all that divergent. Blomkamp proves with this picture that he’s better suited for visual effects than writing and directing an entire picture that wants to be equal parts sci-fi and horror.