The Devil Lives Here, 2015.
Directed by Rodrigo Gasparini and Dante Vescio
Starring Pedro Caetano, Pedro Carvalho, Mariana Cortines, and Felipe Frazo.
SYNOPSIS:
Three teenagers go visit a friend at his old farmhouse for the weekend. What they didn’t expect was to be stuck in the middle of a centenary war between good and evil.
A group of friends retreat to an old farmhouse for a weekend of fun and games. However, they soon find themselves caught up in the middle of an annual ceremony that threatens the lives of the friends, and finds them caught up in a story connected to the sadistic actions of a vicious slave owner in the past, and the child he fathered with one of his slaves.
The country of Brazil is a one with a rich culture, a fascinating history and a legendary status in the world of football (that is when the Germans aren’t crushing them 7-1 but let’s not dwell on that). Although, the horror film is something that they haven’t tackled often, with the legendary Coffin Joe series being it’s most famous horror creation. So you can imagine my excitement to be watching The Devil Lives Here, a supernatural a horror film that hails from this vibrant South American nation, it’s just a shame it isn’t very good.
The acting from the cast is fine but not much to write home about with the main cast members essentially being your standard band of horror film teenagers. My favourite character though is easily the film’s villain “The Honey Baron”, a sadistic slave owner from the past who, to me at least, somewhat resembles an evil Will Forte. Part of what makes him so enjoyable is the fact that the actor is clearly having a ball playing such a villainous character, with his enthusiasm being somewhat infectious to the point that you find yourself looking forward to him reappearing.
I hope you can try to figure out the plot of this film from my synopsis above because that’s the best I can do after having watched it because The Devil Lives Here is easily one of the most confusing horror films I’ve seen in some time.
While the film starts off seeming like it will be a simple “kids go to the old house and bad stuff happens” type movie, at about the 45 minute it just devolves into a confusing mess, with the finale ultimately becoming an increasingly incomprehensible series of events, some of which just baffle the mind. Like when, for some reason, with all hope seemingly lost, two characters decide to have sex and, judging by the dramatic music and intercutting with other events, it’s somehow important to the outcome of the story, like them screwing is going to decide the fate of the universe.
The confusing presentation doesn’t exactly help things when the plot actually does try to get moving and our heroes finally come under threat, but it all comes far too late in proceedings to really add any enjoyment to things.
Like how, even though we are treated to flashbacks throughout showing us the cruelty of “The Honey Baron” when he was alive, he doesn’t come back to life to terrorise our teenage victims until I kid you not, the last 20 bloody minutes of the runtime. I understand building up your villain to give them an ominous presence, but the way this film operates is really taking the piss in my view.
The confusing nature of the film is only made worse by the fact that for a film as short as this, a rather short 75 minutes, it really drags. I tell no word of a lie when I say that I almost feel asleep as the film neared its end. I had no idea what the hell was going on, and by the time it ended I really didn’t care, I just wanted it to be done.
The Devil Lives Here is a film with a great deal of potential and it does get off to a good start, with an intriguing story of generational rituals and the dark past of slavery serving as its backbone. But its painfully slow pace and confusing presentation squander this potential, leaving us with a contrived and dull mess of a film, with only a somewhat enjoyable villain being the one bright spot, and the only reason this film is getting the rating it has.
If you wish to check out horror output from Brazil, maybe watch the Coffin Joe films, or better yet watch other Brazilian films like the iconic crime drama City of God if you want to see what this country can bring us when its film industry is firing on all cylinders.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Graeme Robertson
Originally published November 26, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
