Rent A Demon Within (2016)

Nefas: The Wicked - A Demon Within review by NP

“First you call Priscilla a bitch, then you question me.”

This is a fairly dire experience, with lacklustre acting and absolutely no atmosphere or pacing. It doesn’t help that the pretty Mom is completely unaware of her daughter’s ridiculous change of personality, her attention sapped by attempting to seduce the equally pretty, and wooden, local doctor.

Mom’s not the only one who doesn’t notice anything strange about the girl’s demeanour, despite the actress trying her best to be ‘well creepy.’ The scenes where characters chat cheerfully with this unblinking, somnambulist are laughable. Only the vicar asks ‘Is something wrong?’

As the story rolls on, it gets less convincing, almost as if the cast and crew are themselves becoming demoralised by how half-hearted this all is, and how juvenile the scares are, although the music does its best to unsettle us.

When the plotline is spelt out so very blatantly to the audience, only for the characters to constantly lag several steps behind is deeply frustrating and sadly the whole thing is workmanlike and distinctly lacking as a horror.

Events echo some of those in The Exorcist but are played by (excepting mom) uninspired actors who behave very illogically. My score is 5 out of 10.