At the Devil's Door Haunts the Soul: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: an Blu-ray screener of this film was provided by IFC Films.

**there are spoilers here.

Director/writer: Nicholas McCarthy.

Cast: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Naya Rivera, Ashley Rickards and Mark Steger.

At the Devil's Door is the first film of the year to send real chills up this viewer's spine. Director and writer Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact) delivers another memorable and frightening tale. The film's central plot involves the birth of the Devil. This plot device has been used before in films like Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Devil's Due (2014) and many others. Here, McCarthy offers his own unique vision on the subject, which is most effectively delivered through the film's sound design. Horrifying visuals are minimized, while unsettling sounds and music are maximized, to terrifying effect. Well shot, At the Devil's Door is a truly horrifying viewing experience.

In the story, Hannah (Ashley Rickards), unwittingly, makes a deal with the Devil. She sells her soul for a few hundred dollars, at a cursed grifter's game and becomes pregnant, shortly thereafter. Though, her child is not bred from her boyfriend, but from something more hellish. Hannah does not abort the child, but finds an even more tragic solution. Then, the story changes protagonists. Leigh (Catalina Sandino Moreno), a real estate agent, is introduced and then outroduced a few scenes later. She is not able to have children and disposed of by Satan, accordingly. Then, a third female protagonist is introduced. Vera (Naya Rivera) is Leigh's sister and she is the Devil's next choice for his demon spawn. A coma leaves Leigh vulnerable to the Devil's ungodly charms. A horrifying birthing sequence offers chills, by not showing the viewer what the Devil's child looks like; this viewer's overactive imagination filled in the horrifying blanks.

Hannah is being hounded by the Devil at this point.

All of the production elements are well done, here. McCarthy utilizes many tracking shots, which synchronizes well with the action on screen. The film's story utilizes several chase sequences, so the camera is constantly following one character or another around. Medium shots and close-ups are also used consistently, to show the character's emotions. While the character Vera is adept at showing no emotions, at all. As well, the medium shots sometime include the film's central villain, a horned demon. When this demon appears, it is often shown through reflective surfaces and shown indirectly. So, when the camera shifts from a close shot to a medium shot or vice-versa prepare yourself. Also, the director uses lots of darkened interiors, when characters conflict with the central villain. And when this demon holds it grounds, the results are often chilling and slightly masked by darkness. The change from a tracking shot to a closeup of a cupboard offers one of the film's darkest scares.

Much of the terror is created through the sound design. The sound design was developed by at least fifteen people. This team created a chilling soundtrack, which increases in intensity and loudness during Act III. While offering serene musical moments in earlier scenes, the soundtrack also often offers music with conflicting sounds, later on. The soundtrack is very unsettling, overall. As well, sounds, such as a brewing kettle or the sound of footsteps in an upstairs room, also offer thrills. The chilling track amplifies what is not seen onscreen. Instead of relying on visuals, the film relies on the sound design to distract and to create tension. And, the soundtrack goes into overdrive, once the Devil begins to show its darkened form. Fear is often best created by what is not seen but only heard, in horror and that is the case here.

At the Devil's Door is a terrifying film. This long time horror film critic has not been chilled by a horror feature, in quite awhile, since The Conjuring (2013). At the Devil's Door's Act III offers more and more terror as the Devil is birthed. Vera's birthing scene made this viewer squirm uncomfortably. As well, McCarthy offers a few jump scares. The cupboard scene is another which completely surprised this watcher. But, the true terror comes from a late confrontation between Vera and Satan. By this time, the soundtrack is in an up tempo state and it does net let up, until well into the credits. Meanwhile, the Devil has been appearing more and more often, leading up to a final confrontation. This viewer was hoping that the third protagonist would utilize a flamethrower on the Devil-child, because so much evil had taken place up to this point. Unfortunately, the physical form is often outmatched by a supernatural one, in horror titles.

This is the second film that this viewer has seen from McCarthy. Both, The Pact (2012) and At the Devil's Door offer true terror. There is no blending of genres in his latest release, like his first. Instead, the horror tone in At the Devil's Door is consistent and chilling. The film's central plot device is a bit of a trope, the birthing of the Devil or of its daughter. But, this McGuffin is delivered here with true menace, in the sound design. At the Devil's Door is an exceptional film, which should come with a warning: do not watch alone!

*this title will release on DVD and Blu-ray on December 16, 2014, through IFC Films.

Overall: 8 out of 10 (few films offer excitement like this one, good use of sound to create terror, horror visuals are relegated to a few CGI effects).

A trailer for the film is available here:

An At the Devil's Door Trailer on 28DLA


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