The Devil's Rock

source: The Devil's Rock

A commando infiltrates an isolated SS bunker on the eve of D-Day, only to find the threat from within is even more demonic than expected. Well, I had high hopes for this. It opens very well - really atmospheric seascape, then a tense mine-field scene, a fateful choice by the hero to divert from the mission, a creepy labyrinth to smother all hope, and a promising two-handed drama that switches hunter and prey. But it swoons into Hammer-style cheesiness. There were some really sharp points to be made here about war as the ultimate horror, and this story failed to make a connection, instead collapsing into goodies v baddies. Also it always amazes me how Anglo-Saxon horror is so coy about sexual images. So the story ends up really stunted, visually and dramatically. What a pity. I wonder if the funding system is effectively censoring films like this. It is well shot, the actors are good - although delivery of lines was often a bit hard to make out - and the music and dialogue start with good restraint but fail to break out. Overall, bright start but becomes dull.

Nothing – not even crap movie logic – annoys me as much as an actor who thinks that mumbling is the hallmark of great thespianism. For most of the movie I struggled hard to understand what that moron was saying. Sunderland pretty much talks like a ventriloquist for the duration. It's as if his mouth had been sewn shut by a Clive Barker cenobite; you can barely see it move. Pity this wasn't a Hellraiser movie, because I would have enjoyed seeing him torn to pieces, even if it'd just be make-believe. Worse yet, this cretin talks in a very low volume. Heavy-duty mumbling + low-volume slurring = a very unhappy viewer To make matters worse, Sunderland is part of nearly every scene after the first 15 or so minutes, and ALL of the movie's exposition comes through his barely-moving lips, so if you can't understand what he is saying you're basically screwed. If the time has come for English-speaking viewers to have to hunt down English subtitles for English-speaking movies, then it's time to EJECT A FEW ACTORS AND DIRECTORS PERMANENTLY from show-biz. I hope this guy never works again, at least until he learns the BASICS of performing in a movie, i.e. BEING FRIGGIN' UNDERSTOOD. Until then, flipping burgers is the best application I can envision for him. Perhaps rolling hot potatoes in his mouth could prove as useful practice; might teach him to separate the upper and lower jaws on occasion. As for the plot, it's pretty straight-forward. Two Ally soldiers find a German post dripping in blood, with nearly all the Nazis hacked and butchered. The rest of the movie is one big pull-and-push between the Nazi and the New Zealander, in what is supposed to be a great battle of wits. In the end, the Nazi snuffs it and the Ally soldier opts not to send the succubus back to Hell. He thinks it wise to use it as a weapon against the Nazis, not realizing that such a creature can do more harm than good in the long run. That's what you get when you let Kiwi peasants make crucial decision, I guess. So what's the point here? That a New Zealand farmer won D-Day for the Allies because he didn't send a succubus back to Hell? While it does evoke memories of "Outpost", it is fairly original with its single setting, just two men, and a female demon whose sole tactic is sex. TDR manages to remain interesting in spite of its limited setting, just three characters, and a deranged mumbler. The fact that both soldiers were wounded and badly beat up on several occasions, yet STILL managed to talk, walk and function was a quite on the absurd side. Plus, I didn't understand the entire plot – but I have that to thank Sunderland for. Nice job, moron!

It's been a long time since I saw a horror film like this. By that I mean one that has a coherent and well thought out story told through believable dialogue. I've read a few bizarrely negative reviews here. When I say bizarre I mean some of the reasons for giving it low marks. Here are my two favourites: It's not going to make money – This is honestly the first time I've seen a film marked down on cost/benefit analysis. There's only three people in it – Really don't know what to say to that. Maybe Australia would be more up this person's street; I hear there's loads of people in it. Anyway, here are my positives: Well acted. Sets and setting looked great – stark, grotty and bloody. Everything a growing horror film needs. Didn't rely on cheap window rattling and supernatural wind 'Scares'. Made what the Nazi soldiers were doing more believable somehow. Resisted the modern-day urge to crowbar humour into the dialogue. The demon was played by a real person in makeup. Looked great as a result. You just know that a big budget film would have made it a ridiculous CGI creature with wild, over the top magic powers. It's a bit of a beef I have with modern films but I just think that actual people put in much more real and believable performances than computer graphics. And of course they look like they're actually there in the set, because they are. And the negatives: German soldier didn't have a German accent? I know the jury is kind of out on that one. Some people think that context is enough and an accent can be in poor taste or whatever. I sort of agree sometimes because I'm from Belfast and I've heard some really shocking attempts at the accent over the years. Maybe it's because I'm not German but I think I would have liked an accent in this instance. The gunshot wound – Now I know it might seem silly to question the plausibility of something like this in a film about a captive demon on a Nazi held island, but unlike the accent issue this one is all about context. In the context of the film all the occult elements make sense, but the Nazi soldier seemed to get a lot better after the bullet was pulled out. I mean I'm not a doctor but it just appeared that the bullet was the real source of pain and suffering, and not the gaping wound it created. Gina Varela looked fantastic as the demon but I would have liked to see more of her. She was naked and painted red and I think it would have added something to the disturbing nature of such a demon if we had seen more of her very fine body beneath the demon's face. This isn't some sad need to see T & A; I could have just watched some mindless rubbish like the new piranha film for that. I found it really got under my skin that she was still attractive as the demon. Could have made more of that perhaps. Overall: Loved this film. Really good example of what can be achieved in the horror genre by just doing old skool film making well. Unlike others who enjoyed this film I've given it ten out of ten, not because of the disproportionate negative reviews, but because it was just right up my street.