Poster Art

Credits

Director: Stuart Simpson Starring: Nathaniel Kiwi, Laura Hesse, Peter Roberts, Hollie Kennedy Screenplay: Stuart Simpson Country: Australia Year: 2006 Duration: 86 minutes

The film, set in rural Victoria, is the tale of a young man who's moved to a small town in order to write his thesis. Shortly after the credits have rolled, though, he finds small town life isn't always quiet and tranquil, as a demon assaults his cats. Running away from the demon, he literally stumbles onto the site of another demon slaughter. Covered in the blood of the victims he's found, the man becomes the authority's prime suspect. The police begin tracking him, as he desperately attempts to make sense of the crazed situation. Meanwhile, an ad executive in Hollywood has been summoned back to Australia as a result of the murderous demon spree.

For a low budget film, the acting in Demonsamongus is surprisingly competent. There is some stilted dialogue, but there're also some amusing lines. The film is enhanced greatly by directorial flair, and starts off quite strongly. If The Evil Dead had been co-directed by David Lynch, it could easily have turned out like this. Unfortunately, Demonsamongus gets too meandery and surreal for my tastes, with excessive dream sequences, and drags during the final third. But if you're more a fan of Lynch than Sam Raimi, Demonsamongus could easily keep you enthralled. The demon and gore FX aren't great, but are passable given the low budget, and one scene effectively echoes Ringu with a demon standing in for everyone's favourite Japanese ghost.

Demonsamongus also has a few nasty things to say about the advertising world, and the way our culture has become saturated with logos and crap products. Unfortunately, I got a bit caught up in, "Hey, that guy's drinking Melbourne Bitter! Neat!" so it didn't always have the desired effect on me.

The film appears to have been shot on video then film looked, and is the best SOV I've seen since The Last Broadcast. Using the film looking process is better than just leaving a film looking like a home movie, but unfortunately Demonsamongus is also a bit too dark as a result, sometimes leaving things hard to make out. Not only that, but I often found myself startled by some horrendous apparition, only to realise it was my reflection on the mostly black TV screen. Some of the ADR is not fully synched, and the demon voices can be hard to understand, but these are minor quibbles.

If you like low budget gut munchers, this may not hold your attention all the way through, but if you're a fan of the more off kilter, arthouse fare, Demonsamongus is a solid offering.

Demonsamongus is due to get a DVD release shortly. The disc will have special features including deleted scenes, a behind the scenes featurette, trailers, and more. The disc will be available at a few Melbourne retailers, but also on the website. Hit www.demonsamongus.com for more information, including how to reserve your own copy.