Reviewed by Allie Schembra
You won't see him coming when the Devil May Call arrives on Digital HD and On Demand February 24th and on DVD (plus Digital) March 10th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Starring Corri English (Unrest) and Tyler Mane (the Halloween franchise), the Devil May Call DVD includes a director's commentary, cast interviews, a "composing the score" featurette and a short film by the director Jason Cuadrado. Blinded in an accident, Sam (English) rebuilds her life by helping callers on a suicide hotline. When she informs an obsessive caller (Mane) that she's quitting, he takes the news personally-very personally. What begins as a quiet work shift becomes a frantic fight for survival against a relentless killer-and the darkest, deadliest night of Sam's life.
Film (2 out of 5 stars)
Sam answers phones for a crisis hotline. There is one particular caller, John, who will only talk to her. He is abusive toward the other people, calling them names, threatening them, but with Sam, he seems to accept her as his counselor. But what he doesn’t know is that the particular night is Sam’s last day on the job. She tries to tell him, but he hangs up before she has the chance. When he calls back, another counselor tells his on accident and he flies into a rage.
When the lights in the building go off – as what happens often in that building – the terror begins as John finds his way into the office and begins searching for Sam. One by one, John gets passed Sam’s friends and coworkers while he hunts for her. Once he catches her, he takes her to his house and ties her up. As Sam tries to figure out how to escape, or even if she can escape, John realizes that as he talks to her about not seeing him, she really doesn’t see him as she is blind.
Devil May Call was really deceiving. I expected a horror movie, what I got was some sad attempt at one. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t suspenseful and quite honestly, I’m not sure why the main character was even blind. The actors weren’t too bad, but it was nothing impressive or to write home about. It was good effort by the director, who I think, if given better material to work with, could be good.
Video (3 out of 5 stars)
The widescreen presentation of Devil May Call was average. The picture was clear and easily seen, but since most of the film occurred in the dark, it seemed a little bright. The color palette was muted, but accurate and the transition between scenes was seamless. It was a good straight-to-DVD movie.
Audio (2 out of 5 stars)
Devil May Call was presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio and was not great. The volume was really low and I had to turn the sound way up just to hear what was going on. When the volume was up, the dialogue was clear and the actors didn’t seem to mumble. English and Spanish subtitles are available if needed.
Extras (2 out of 5 stars)
The features included weren’t great. The most interesting one was the short film, but I was still disappointed with what was included.
- Directors Commentary
- “Monstrous Nature” Short Film – A 15-minute short film about a nun who is kidnapped one evening after prayers. When she wakes up, she’s in the middle of the woods with a man who isn’t sure if he’s going to kill her or not. As the day goes on, the nun realizes in order to escape; she just may need to kill him.
- Composing the Score with Nicholas Pike – Movie composer Nicholas Pike talks about how he composed the music for the film and why he chose the instruments he used in the movie.
- Devil May Call Trailer – The official trailer for the movie. Sometimes, the trailer for a not so good movie makes the movie seem better than it actually is… this one did not.
- Also from Lionsgate – A replay of the trailers form the beginning of the DVD.
Summary (2 out of 5 stars)
Devil May Call bored me. It was slow to start and not at all suspenseful. I didn’t find it entertaining; in fact, I found it to be a waste of an hour and a half of my time. It’s not a movie I will watch again, and I honestly can’t recommend it to others who may be looking for a scary movie to watch. If you see this one on the shelf, unless you want a movie that isn’t very good, it’s okay to pass on by.
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