THE DEVIL’S CANDY
***
Directed by Sean Byrne.
Starring Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Pruitt Taylor Vince.
Horror, USA, 79 mins, Certificate 15.
Released on Limited and Standard Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray in the UK on 25th May by Second Sight Films
Heavy metal and horror have always been compatible bedfellows, ever since four working class Brummies decided to change the name of their band to that of a Boris Karloff movie, because people paid to be scared by movies so they’ll pay to be scared by music, right?
However, despite their aesthetic similarities there hasn’t been that many movies that have successfully captured lightning in a bottle when it comes to hitting that sweet spot where loud, crushing riffs meet with gore, violence and/or shocks to create something other than novelty value. Yes, there’s TRICK OR TREAT from 1986 (which featured none other than Ozzy Osbourne himself) and more recent fare like DEATHGASM that came close, but one cannot help the feeling that the mickey was being taken just a little in those movies.
In THE DEVIL’S CANDY, struggling artist Jesse Hellman (Ethan Embry) and his family - wife Astrid (Shiri Appleby) and teenage daughter Zooey (Kiara Glasco) - move into their dream house, which is on the market for a knock-down price because there were two deaths in there previously.
No, it isn’t the Amityville house but instead the house belonged to Ray Smilie (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a man with issues who lived there with his parents, who are the deceased people the Hellman’s were told about. Smilie plays an electric guitar very loudly as he receives instructions on how to dispatch people, and he returns to his old home one night where the Metallica-worshipping Zooey answers the door. In the meantime, Jesse is creating art in the basement, but he is unaware of where his inspiration is coming from as he cannot remember painting any of the weird images. Is he hearing the same voices as Ray?
A bit hard to tell really, as THE DEVIL’S CANDY is very vague with its plot - such as it is - and never really gels into a satisfying narrative with a clear intention. Ray heard voices, Jesse hears voices - hell, even we hear the voices - but one is a killer and the other... again, very unclear, even when you get to the final shot. You’ll get the point of what has happened, but not really why.
The big sell with this movie is that it has a heavy metal edge to it, but it never really feels a part of the story and is just bolted on to give the main characters some sort of dimension to them. There are tracks by Cavalera Conspiracy, Queens of the Stone Age, Pantera, Slayer and Metallica (which probably took a lot of the budget, as the songs by the other bands are deeper, lesser known album tracks) on the soundtrack, but aside from Zooey saying she’s a fan of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and nerds out whilst strumming Ray’s Flying V guitar, there is no real pay-off for the metal connection.
As always, Second Sight’s presentation of THE DEVIL’S CANDY is faultless, coming in a rigid slipcase featuring appropriately fiery artwork - which looks more realistic than the CGI fire in the movie - art cards and collector’s book. Extras come in the form of cast and crew interviews, plus some short films by director Sean Byrne which won’t change your world but are a nice bonus for fans.
Despite the immaculate presentation, THE DEVIL’S CANDY is not a great horror movie but rather a very average one at best. It tries hard to echo the satanic cult movies of the 1970s, as well as haunted house movies - THE AMITYVILLE HORROR being the obvious reference point - but there just isn’t enough there under the fake tattoos, unconvincing wigs and nods to Metallica to make a cohesive and exciting story. It isn’t totally terrible, as everyone in the movie seems to be giving it their all, the soundtrack is great and there is some striking imagery - the paintings Jesse creates are quite something to look at - but maybe Sean Byrne should have made this into another short rather than stretching it out for 79 minutes without including 79 minutes worth of story in it.
Chris Ward