Decent plot idea but poorly written and the acting is equivalent to a high school play
41 Reviews
Horrible Acting
robertemonaghan10 February 2019
What on earth!
chameleonaram11 December 2017
Don't know what's up with these so called horror movies these days. I don't usually rate this low but this one earned it by far. From the moment the movie starts I feel the b-movie effect lol. The priest is by far the worst actor I've seen. He's actually able to scream at someone who's like within 1 meter like they're miles away lol. Overacting, boring from 50 minutes on and unrealistic in every part. You never see the actors actually feel some kind of emotion. Hell, you can write it in a script and let one act by it, but how come the actor doesn't transfer his emotions to the viewers? Like it never happened it seems, life your role I would say. But in this movie its far from it.
Skip this movie if you are a horror fan like me, hack, skip it if you love to watch any sort of movie!
Skip this movie if you are a horror fan like me, hack, skip it if you love to watch any sort of movie!
The bad acting is the worst I've ever seen, save yourself
MovieQween-3362217 March 2019
Please save yourself from this terrible movie, if you want to call it that. These must all be first time actors or everyone's just really bad. I'm happy I caught it on showtime and didn't spend actual money or effort renting this. I would have been mad. I'm someone who can overlook a little bit of bad acting but this, this is the worst acting I've ever seen. Save yourself and skip please. Plus the mom is more concerned about getting a boyfriend than anything else, it's desperate and hard to watch.
Another dreadful possession flick
Leofwine_draca10 July 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A DEMON WITHIN is another tired and predictable EXORCIST clone, made on an indie budget in Illinois. There's no FX to speak of here and virtually no horror content, just endless tedium with a few cheesy moments added to the mix. This generic movie rips off all and sundry and has a real tiredness and lethargy on the part of the crew. Who can blame them?
There's not enough space to discuss horrible acting
vmcdevitt-3901421 May 2019
I'll I can say is my wife and I learned to appreciate really good acting after watching the horrible acting in this movie, but since we bought it on-line, we had to watch the whole thing. Painful! However, it's our first runner up for the Mystery Science Theater Show where the robot and his side kick make fun of the movie when they watch it.
Feeding on souls
TheLittleSongbird8 August 2018
'A Demon Within' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an oddly interesting but very potentially silly premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive as well as the low rating and poor reviews.
It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films have are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'A Demon Within' is an utter mess, with so many enormous problems. Hardly anything is good here and pretty much everything is wrong in a bad to appalling way.
Lets start with the couple of positives. The lighting is sometimes atmospheric and spooky. Likewise with the setting.
Unfortunately, they are not done justice by the rather direct to video schlocky way it's shot and edited and the drab colour palette, so much so it was hard to appreciate it, it was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm.
Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy, very shallow and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.
Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into The sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions and dreadfully recorded), the music is needlessly melodramatic and it's best not mentioning the lumbering and histrionic acting that shows a huge indifference to the situation and what is going on as well veering into overwrought melodrama. The priest's acting especially is dreadfully overdone that it's embarrassing.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés, and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about and useless padding, never recovering. This wouldn't have mattered quite as much if the character development was present or engaging, instead nowhere near enough is learnt about the characters, and the few attempts to do so are neither interesting or illuminating, actually dragging things down. Found too many of the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or unsettling and the supposedly sense of dread dreary. Due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations when attempted, the excessive melodrama and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way), if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both very poorly done.
A lot of 'A Demon Within' has a lot of undercooked moments lacking in any development or depyj and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you shocked are far from creative or nail-biting and are pretty tame and easily foreseeable straight off the bat. The ending didn't satisfy and instead came over as dumb and the whole thing felt like an over-stretched-to-beyond-breaking-point short film.
There is not enough threat, and what there is of it tends to be used poorly and so laughably done it doesn't frighten at all. The film is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, with ridiculousness and implausibility being taken to the maximum extremes. Everything here is neither creative, suspenseful or nail-biting. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden and like their heart was not in it or ill at ease, with the chemistry between the characters and actors coming over as constantly random and shallow. Suspense and creativity are zero, just non-stop predictability, monotony and dullness.
Overall, really poor. 2/10 Bethany Cox
It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films have are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'A Demon Within' is an utter mess, with so many enormous problems. Hardly anything is good here and pretty much everything is wrong in a bad to appalling way.
Lets start with the couple of positives. The lighting is sometimes atmospheric and spooky. Likewise with the setting.
Unfortunately, they are not done justice by the rather direct to video schlocky way it's shot and edited and the drab colour palette, so much so it was hard to appreciate it, it was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm.
Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy, very shallow and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.
Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into The sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions and dreadfully recorded), the music is needlessly melodramatic and it's best not mentioning the lumbering and histrionic acting that shows a huge indifference to the situation and what is going on as well veering into overwrought melodrama. The priest's acting especially is dreadfully overdone that it's embarrassing.
Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés, and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about and useless padding, never recovering. This wouldn't have mattered quite as much if the character development was present or engaging, instead nowhere near enough is learnt about the characters, and the few attempts to do so are neither interesting or illuminating, actually dragging things down. Found too many of the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or unsettling and the supposedly sense of dread dreary. Due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations when attempted, the excessive melodrama and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way), if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both very poorly done.
A lot of 'A Demon Within' has a lot of undercooked moments lacking in any development or depyj and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you shocked are far from creative or nail-biting and are pretty tame and easily foreseeable straight off the bat. The ending didn't satisfy and instead came over as dumb and the whole thing felt like an over-stretched-to-beyond-breaking-point short film.
There is not enough threat, and what there is of it tends to be used poorly and so laughably done it doesn't frighten at all. The film is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, with ridiculousness and implausibility being taken to the maximum extremes. Everything here is neither creative, suspenseful or nail-biting. Some badly sagging momentum too. The direction is leaden and like their heart was not in it or ill at ease, with the chemistry between the characters and actors coming over as constantly random and shallow. Suspense and creativity are zero, just non-stop predictability, monotony and dullness.
Overall, really poor. 2/10 Bethany Cox
Pretty lame.
Gunnar_R_Ingibjargarson25 February 2018
A Doctor who's recently lost a daughter and a wife, befrienda
a young woman and her teenage daughter, after moving
into his old house, short afterward a strange things begin to
happened. A very Amateuric horror film which give us a fine
acting though but the storyline is so familiar, and so overdone.
Someone should be in jail for this movie.
harold_calderon17 September 2019
I was changing channels with my father and my grandmother and I don't know why we stopped in that channel, the movie is painful bad, never seen anything like that since the avengers(1998), the one with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman, the acting is like a competition of who does the worst job and of course it's a tie. My God my eyes! I have to stop writing this review, I'm starting to feel depressed, the director should be prosecuted for this.
Ugh
trishthunderroads6 February 2019
The only thing that qualifies this as a horror film is just how horrible a film it is! Slow, tropey, awful acting and plot holes galore. Never have I cared less for any of the characters in a film: even the tittular demon was a weiner! I feel bad for the cast and crew who likely hoped they might make money or film cred based on their time involved. Once you read the plot synopsis on line, you're all done and saved yourself 90 minutes or so. Like the review title says, "ugh".
The only thing that makes this a Horror movie is the acting!
kennedyshannon23 February 2019
This movie, had my eyes rolled the entire time. The acting is horridly bad! Whoever did the editing needs to find another career and the person who hired that editor needs to be fired.. matter of fact, all involved needs to be fired! The only movie worse then this is Netflix's "Open House" , which is saying something.....
This horror will send shivers down your spine
manleymadison14 February 2018
A Demon Within is a chilling, petrifying, terrorizing movie that you won't be able to take your eyes off of! Justin LaReav and Ayush Banker do an excellent job of portraying the demonic possession of a young women who now needs the help of a priest, a doctor, and her loving mother in order to escape the demon that lurks within her. There are some humorous parts of the movie, but Charlotte, played by Patricia Ashley, does a tremendous job of acting out the actual exorcism. I suggest this film to the horror-movie lovers out there and those who are interested in demonic possession and exorcism. I wouldn't miss out on this movie if I were you!
Not too shabby
ant36au24 December 2017
The only other reviewer who calls himself a horror fan, at the time of my writing this rated it low,but at the same time rated one of the worst horror movies of 2017 a 9 out of ten,nuff said for that reviewer.There is some not so good acting in this offering,mainly from the priest and the doctor,but over all it isn't too bad,and the acting from the the two main female characters is fairly good.The storyline suffers from a little slowness now and again but for me this sometimes added to the tension.The story is tried and true possession but if you don't mind that,then this is a not too shabby movie for an evening in,not great by any means,but it could be worse,and I've seen plenty that are.
Terrible acting
stuss-1304517 March 2019
acting so bad
benbauer-483-91398911 June 2019
You know when some acting is bad you can get a cult film out of it? This is so bad you cant finish watching it.I like watching some bad horror movies once and awhile this was just so bad the acting, music ,camera shots that Imade this the first review on imd
Terrible acting
Grvyrdmama23 June 2019
Worst exorcist based movie ever!
rememberthe17 April 2021
I would really like the hour and 31 minutes I lost watching this " horror " movie.... Seriously, had I been in a theater, I would not have left without full reimbursement! Including any snacks. THIS MOVIE SUCKED!! ONLY THING THAT WAS CONVINCING WAS THE SHERIFF'S PATROL CAR!
Tonight's Episode: The Writer's Barely-Disguised Fetish
natnightly2 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Demon that specifically possessed ' young, vulnerable, women ' - zero coincidence that everyone involved in the creative process has an involvement in bizarre shorts that have questionable titles and descriptions.
Inside this blatant fetish film, it depicts a young lady and her mother, portrayed by actors that appear to be paid too little to care. Nothing happens in this movie until the daughter gets vacuumed into the attic and comes back sleep deprived.
Turns out the doctor had a wife and kid, the child is subject to the possession. Kid dies after daddio decides not to try the Jesus method, mom caps herself.
I guess there's a whole intro with the demon, but it never comes up again so don't worry.
Anyway, daughter starts being edgy, kills three people, all the whole doing the exact cliches you've seen in every other possession flick.
Ends with the mom getting possessed by the ex wife, apparently no one noticing.
Nothing new, nothing fun, nothing good. I was mostly joking about the fetish part, but I seriously think that's what this film is.
Pass.
Inside this blatant fetish film, it depicts a young lady and her mother, portrayed by actors that appear to be paid too little to care. Nothing happens in this movie until the daughter gets vacuumed into the attic and comes back sleep deprived.
Turns out the doctor had a wife and kid, the child is subject to the possession. Kid dies after daddio decides not to try the Jesus method, mom caps herself.
I guess there's a whole intro with the demon, but it never comes up again so don't worry.
Anyway, daughter starts being edgy, kills three people, all the whole doing the exact cliches you've seen in every other possession flick.
Ends with the mom getting possessed by the ex wife, apparently no one noticing.
Nothing new, nothing fun, nothing good. I was mostly joking about the fetish part, but I seriously think that's what this film is.
Pass.
Simply Bad and Incomplete
cjstanford-650974 November 2022
I didn't read any of the reviews. My error. Make no mistake this is a sub-par film. Yes, it has the bad acting you expect in a B movie, but oddly, it has some good acting too. But mostly the lines are delivered are stiff, feel unrehearsed and "script-like". The special effects are poor and unnecessary. The overarching bad element is an incomplete film. I waited to the end, with a liberal use of my FF control, only to be disappointed. I thought it said based in a true story, if so, then it's a complete loser. Disappointed because elements that are clear, like if someone lives or dies- basic stuff. And I couldn't tell you. Like the majority of horror films there's a dangler at the end. This dangler can't be interpreted. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.
So bad we laughed all the way through it
rickrooster22 May 2021
A demon within is hands down one of the worst movies ever made. The acting was hilariously bad. Ed Wood would have enjoyed this film. There are plot holes everywhere. The direction is non existent and the set design, beyond pathetic. The film begins by saying it is based on a true story. The DVD credits state this film is fictitious. About as bad a film as yo are ever likely to see however if you want a good laugh, check it out. It's a lesson on how not to make a film.
Indie horror at its finest
ponderthis-216666 February 2018
As a horror movie buff, I struggle to find modern horror films that are novel and engaging. Too often they recycle the same tired formulas and rely on cheap tactics like jump scares and gratuitous gore. At first glance, A Demon Within appears destined to fall into the same trap. The premise-a demonic possession threatens a family after they move into a new house-has been done before. But the beauty of A Demon Within is the gusto with which it treads this well-worn ground. Directors Ayush Banker and Justin LaReau have created a masterpiece of indie horror, fraught with tension and the eerie ambiance that only small-town America can provide. This gives Nefas, the film's titular demon, a terrifying presence even when it is not on screen, most felt in the lethargy and alcoholic depression of Dr. Jeremy Miller, whose family was previously victimized by the demon. The film features some very strong performances despite an inexperienced cast and a surprisingly thorough original score. I would strongly recommend it to any horror fans looking for something captivatingly terrifying. Just make sure you leave the lights on.
A watchable if by-the-numbers exorcism effort
kannibalcorpsegrinder4 April 2020
Moving to a new house in a small town, a woman and her daughter strike up a friendship with a doctor who just moved into town himself forced to confront his personal demons when it becomes apparent the daughter is possessed like his child and must try to save her to save himself.
This was a decent enough if unspectacular possession effort. When this one works is due to the rather enjoyable is when it details the various elements that signal the daughters' growing possession. Starting with the discovery of the rash and her strange dreams of figures from the past, this one manages to generate a rather creepy subtle atmosphere that gets enhanced even more by the possession sequence which is cheesy fun. Due to the start with the power outage while she's on the call with her friend, the computer freezing up and the stalking camera following her after the earthquake strikes as well as following her re-entry into the house up into the attic in a nice shock scare. As well, the later scenes here following the possession where her obviously changed behavior starts to signal the change in her state are fine if nothing special. Hitting all the usual standbys of a disruptive sleeping pattern, moody and aggressive outbursts and a dismissive attitude to everything around her, things get much more obvious about what's going on. That everything comes together into the finale with all the usual high-energy hysterics found in usual possession film as the final exorcism attempt is where most of the usual fun and highlights come from. These here are where the film works the best as there are a few issues to be had with this one. Among it's bigger faults is the rather contrived and unnecessarily overlong romance angle that erupts between the two, which is absolutely not needed in the film. The setup is seen coming from a mile away with them being both single and the meet-ute of them coming together because she almost runs him over just makes it worse. The idea of cliche enough with the fact that there's nothing interesting happening here and just comes off as time-wasting. On top of that, the rest of the film is really just a never-ending series of cliches and rehashed sequences that are part of every genre effort. The fallen religious-believer who no longer has any ties to his faith but comes back together with the help of a priest that restores it all to help save him from his demons creates a boring and generally familiar setup that's at play here. When done in conjunction with the other ideas in play from the disbelieving family and manner of possession that occurs here, this one feels way too familiar and drawn out resulting in a rather routine and formulaic approach that can be incredibly off-putting, resulting in the film's biggest issue that holds it back the most.
Rated Unrated/R: Language and Violence.
This was a decent enough if unspectacular possession effort. When this one works is due to the rather enjoyable is when it details the various elements that signal the daughters' growing possession. Starting with the discovery of the rash and her strange dreams of figures from the past, this one manages to generate a rather creepy subtle atmosphere that gets enhanced even more by the possession sequence which is cheesy fun. Due to the start with the power outage while she's on the call with her friend, the computer freezing up and the stalking camera following her after the earthquake strikes as well as following her re-entry into the house up into the attic in a nice shock scare. As well, the later scenes here following the possession where her obviously changed behavior starts to signal the change in her state are fine if nothing special. Hitting all the usual standbys of a disruptive sleeping pattern, moody and aggressive outbursts and a dismissive attitude to everything around her, things get much more obvious about what's going on. That everything comes together into the finale with all the usual high-energy hysterics found in usual possession film as the final exorcism attempt is where most of the usual fun and highlights come from. These here are where the film works the best as there are a few issues to be had with this one. Among it's bigger faults is the rather contrived and unnecessarily overlong romance angle that erupts between the two, which is absolutely not needed in the film. The setup is seen coming from a mile away with them being both single and the meet-ute of them coming together because she almost runs him over just makes it worse. The idea of cliche enough with the fact that there's nothing interesting happening here and just comes off as time-wasting. On top of that, the rest of the film is really just a never-ending series of cliches and rehashed sequences that are part of every genre effort. The fallen religious-believer who no longer has any ties to his faith but comes back together with the help of a priest that restores it all to help save him from his demons creates a boring and generally familiar setup that's at play here. When done in conjunction with the other ideas in play from the disbelieving family and manner of possession that occurs here, this one feels way too familiar and drawn out resulting in a rather routine and formulaic approach that can be incredibly off-putting, resulting in the film's biggest issue that holds it back the most.
Rated Unrated/R: Language and Violence.
These people are NOT actors!
troytheisen30 March 2022
What we have here is a group of people who wanted to go to Hollywood to "make it big" but simply can't act their way out of a paper bag. It's so bad that it's embarrassing, and they need to go home and chase another dream, because this one is nothing more than a self-created nightmare.
The people who don't fall into that category must have been found at the local mall next to the initial filming site shopping for knick-knacks. They can act better than the "actors," but they suck too. To every single "actor" or person who played some part in this movie ... GO HOME!
The people who don't fall into that category must have been found at the local mall next to the initial filming site shopping for knick-knacks. They can act better than the "actors," but they suck too. To every single "actor" or person who played some part in this movie ... GO HOME!
You might just want to leave this demon within and watch something else...
paul_haakonsen7 February 2020
Well, you shouldn't get your knickers in a bundle in excitement to watch the 2017 movie "A Demon Within", because it was a fairly weak and boring horror movie, to be bluntly honest.
I sat down to watch "A Demon Within" from directors Ayush Banker and Justin LaReau without knowing what the movie was about, nor whom was in it. The only thing I knew was that it was apparently a horror movie. And that was essentially all I needed to know, because I do enjoy horror movies.
Turns out that "A Demon Within" wasn't a particularly thrilling or entertaining movie in any way. In fact, it was actually rather mundane, boring and downright generic. It offered nothing to the horror genre that a seasoned horror fan as myself haven't already seen countless times in other movies.
The acting in the movie was adequate, although there wasn't any particular performance that was memorable or outstanding. I am not saying that the actors and actresses didn't perform adequately, because they did, but I am saying that there was nothing memorable to behold here.
For a horror movie, then "A Demon Within" was frightfully devoid of anything even remotely scary. There were a few commonly-used horror effects here and there, but nothing grand or extraordinary.
I am rating "A Demon Within" a mere three out of ten stars, because this wasn't an enjoyable movie.
I sat down to watch "A Demon Within" from directors Ayush Banker and Justin LaReau without knowing what the movie was about, nor whom was in it. The only thing I knew was that it was apparently a horror movie. And that was essentially all I needed to know, because I do enjoy horror movies.
Turns out that "A Demon Within" wasn't a particularly thrilling or entertaining movie in any way. In fact, it was actually rather mundane, boring and downright generic. It offered nothing to the horror genre that a seasoned horror fan as myself haven't already seen countless times in other movies.
The acting in the movie was adequate, although there wasn't any particular performance that was memorable or outstanding. I am not saying that the actors and actresses didn't perform adequately, because they did, but I am saying that there was nothing memorable to behold here.
For a horror movie, then "A Demon Within" was frightfully devoid of anything even remotely scary. There were a few commonly-used horror effects here and there, but nothing grand or extraordinary.
I am rating "A Demon Within" a mere three out of ten stars, because this wasn't an enjoyable movie.
WOW, this is time you will never get back....
ermahof23 January 2020
I absolutely LOVE horror movies, all kinds. I've seen many B movies. But this one holy moly, takes the cake, and burns it down. The acting is horrifying, the plot is good, but terribly never given proper attention. It's not just one actor that's bad, it's the whole cast, and the man who plays the "priest" like I said.. WOW this is an hour and whatever I'll never get back... skip this movie.. it's not even good campy, or good anything.. WOW
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
