The Demon’s Rook (2013)

I often find it hard to judge an independent film, when you have something that is very ambitious – perhaps more so than it should be – it’s hard to fault someone for trying. Utilizing what they have to their abilities to make the best film the can is an admirable feat and sometimes; the rewards are plentiful as a diamond in the rough is born. Then of course there are other times where the best you can muster is, “Well, they tried.” And at least there is that, someone tried – somewhere, and a conscious effort was made.

There is of course also the other side of the coin where you can tell someone was like, “Well, I’ve got my tax return back and I just bought this sweet camera and so-in-so can do make up, my girlfriend/wife has always wanted to be an actress, her aunt has this great piece of property – let’s make a movie!” This is an instance where you feel like a film was made as a series of events made it convenient to do so and little effort may have been put into place. Those are generally easy to spot as they feature little to no plot, may have main crew, i.e. producers, writers, directors, starring in the film with lead roles and may also have a few technical issues as well.

This film most definitely feels like one of the latter kind of indie films.

The plot, as loosely as one can use that term, is about a young boy who disappears only to reemerge years later as a Rob Zombie look alike. Unfortunately he brings three very slimy demons with him who begin terrorizing the locals with various methods including possession, gut munching, raising the dead, and pestilence.

Whereas the plot is somewhat original – one can’t help but feel this feature length film would have been better served as a short or an episode of some warped TV show. The main cast is mostly compiled of two leads – one of which is the director/writer and the other is his wife – while the rest of the cast is mostly random hillbillies or partying residents who are dispatched almost as soon as they are placed on the screen.

That is really the biggest issue with this film; it’s beyond random and barely follows the lead characters in their plight but instead favors random scenes of random people we’ve never seen before getting killed. Each death scene feels like it’s a part of another film because it’s just so out of left field. One minute we’re hanging with the two leads – who do arguably have an interesting story to tell – then the next we’re introduced to a random group of friends who are visited by one of the three demons to meet their grizzly demise.

The lighting is reminiscent of a SOV flick from the late 80s, the score sounds like it was entirely composed on a Casio, and it’s very amateurishly shot. On a technical level; this film fails to impress.

The acting ranges from decent to less than a fifth grade stage play – I’m sure what little material was given to anyone was utilized as best as it could be. Then again, there isn’t much to work with unless getting killed is much of a feat in the acting department. If that’s the case, then gold star – everyone dies realistically and pulls off remaining dead quite well, so there’s that.

Where in almost every aspect this film just doesn’t work, the makeup in this film must be praised as that is one thing that everyone involved managed to get right. The demons are gruesome, the zombies are effective and the gags are certainly elaborate enough to keep any gore aficionado satisfied. However, when that is really the only thing this film has going for it – you have to wonder who you can recommend this to sans a group of friends at some kind of get together looking for something mindless for background noise.

Well, if that’s a void in your life you’re looking to fill – this film has it, in abundance. You could literally drop into this film at any point and have as much of an idea as to what’s going on as if you watched it from the beginning. You have nothing to worry about missing if you take a bathroom break unless you’re in it strictly for the gags/death scenes – then tap the pause button and go take a potty break, because those are plentiful and will be missed if you walk away.

This film really is a mess unfortunately. If not for the above average make up this one would fall flat on its face and have little to offer anyone. There is virtually no plot, no character development, little to no sense involved, they don’t even opt for humor which also may have helped elevate things a bit. It’s played perfectly straight; nothing is too over the top, it’s mostly grounded. If not for the entire use of practical effects for the whole film, I can’t imagine many would have paid attention to this. Even with that being the strongest attribute, it’s hard to understand why any really are. There are far better films made for lesser money with all practical effects, which also worked with far less at their disposal, that manage to exceed this film in every possible way.

In this day and age, it’s hard to justify any excuses for a film of this quality made as poorly as it is. There was definitely something here, something that could have been utilized to make a fairly decent if not fantastic indie film that may have endured throughout the years as a new cult classic. Unfortunately what we’ve ended up with is a film that’s about as memorable as those lame trips to the grocery store when you were a kid – when all you really wanted to do was go to the toy store and grab your new favorite toy. This is the grocery store. The toy store is still too far away, and dinner needs to be ready at 5, you won’t make it to the toy store today Timmy, you’re just going to have to wait for another day. This is film leaves you with that familiar feeling, nothing but anticipation and the disconcerting notion of what could have been.

Directed by: James Sizemore
Starring: James Sizemore, Ashleigh Jo Sizemore, John Chatham

THE DEMON’S ROOK is is currently available to rent via VOD, Amazon Instant Watch, iTunes and DVD available Feb 3^rd, pre-order here.