The Demon Disorder is an Australian horror film directed by Steven Boyle, and the cast includes John Noble, Tobie Webster, Christian Willis, Charles Cottier, Dirk Hunter, Michael Tuahine, Amy Ingram and Liam Wallace.
I finally got around to watching The Demon Disorder on Shudder and have been looking forward to watching it since watching the trailer, so, it is worth a watch?
This Australian demonic family drama centers on Graham, a man haunted by his past since the death of his father and the estrangement from his two brothers.
Jake, the middle brother, contacts Graham claiming that something is horribly wrong: their youngest brother Phillip is possessed by their deceased father and Graham reluctantly agrees to go and see for himself.
The Demon Disorder is quite a dark horror film with a creepy setting to tell a supernatural story about a troubled family.
Director Steven Boyle’s strong focus just feels a bit too familiar though, and while it’s well-made and there are certain things to like about the film, I did find it a bit of a slog to get through as well.
I loved the setting in the movie, a remote, rugged Australian landscape with a very isolated feel, and its all captured very beautifully and has a very eerie feel to it.
And the acting is pretty solid, with Christian Willis standing out as Graham, a man burdened by his past and unresolved family issues, and the brothers all perform pretty well truth be told and you can sense the strained dynamic between them all, despite them not having much to work with as characters.
If you love practical effects you will be very impressed with the film, as they bring the film’s gruesome gory moments to life, and it's no surprise that this aspect is done pretty well as Boyle has worked on makeup and effects before, so he knows how to make things look disgusting in the best way possible, and the film does a good job with that aspect, especially with the low budget he was working with.
But while that part is all good, it does have a been here seen that before feel to it as it never really brings much new to the table, and the biggest problem is the story and despite a strong setup and some deeper mental themes explored, the plot just doesn’t offer anything new and it doesn't really go deep enough to have any sort of impact either.
The first act is a bit of a drag, and while the 2nd and 3rd act pick up a bit once the horror elements kick in, the script just never really allows it to go anywhere interesting apart from it being a visual delight, and then you reach the ending, which I found to be quite frustrating and that just annoyed me a bit more after all the slow build up the film has.
The Demon Disorder just doesn't have much to offer you beyond some great gore and special effects, which might be enough for some people, but I was disappointed with the story and how it 'developed', and saw it as a big missed opportunity, and is a film that is a little bit all over the place.
But if you like some strong gore and excellent effects, you might get something out of watching The Demon Disorder, but myself personally, despite some decent performances and the setting being strong, I felt like it was missing some things, in fact I felt like it was missing that core sense of danger, and for us, as the viewer, to actually give a shit about what was going on.
The film relies way too much on the visual gore effects, that while impressive, can't make a film interesting on its own, and that's where The Demon Disorder falls flat.
Oh, and FYI, there is a mid-end credits sequence.
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