The Devil's Well (2018) User Reviews

Two different films

[yuzuruizawa · 4/10 · 13 May 2018]

The first half of the movie is a fake documentary and is pretty solid

the second half is found footage. It begins well, but the team carries two obvious liabilities for no reason 1 - the husband, that the team don´t trust 2 - a medium that clearly doesn´t help with the claims of "finding uncontroversial proof" and is obviously going to be possessed

In the last half hour the team that was working well suddenly starts acting stupid. There is no more protocol. Before they were exploring in groups, but now everybody walk into the darkness alone. when obnoxious sceptic guy see a man in the camera, he asks by radio that an unarmed little woman "go check to see if we are alone"

the first 70 minutes were interesting and it would deserve a better evaluation, but in the ending it seems everybody took the Cabin in the woodspheromone that reduces intelligence

Redundant

[bhsfacebook · 3/10 · 25 February 2019]

Another forgettable flick in the "paranormal investigation gone awry" subgenre. You'll forget it half an hour after you've seen it.

They're already here.

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 23 February 2018]

Paranormal investigator Karla Marks (Anne-Marie Mueschke) goes missing while investigating "The Devils Well" located in the basement of an old house in Woodsfield, Connecticut. Her husband Bryan (Bryan Manley Davis) is the main suspect. After the police let him go, Mark uses the services of another paranormal team to investigate the well.

Bunch of hand held footage. Nothing spectacular. Special effects nonexistent. Acting and dialogue was dry, not overly bad. The beginning repeats itself for some reason.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Have been looking forward to this but doesn't deliver...at all

[derekjager · 2/10 · 23 February 2018]

I read about this film back when it was called "The Unexplained Disappearance of Karla Marks." Now titled "The Devil's Well" it suffers from poor pacing, like of a developed mythology and a really horrendous ending.

The opening is people talking about what happened to Karla and most of the characters are trying to push a spooky, paranormal explanation, but since we have no idea of the circumstances surrounding her vanishing, it sounds more like the actors pushing the idea, not the plot itself. And it goes on much too long, so there's no tension.

Then it jumps a year later and a paranormal group is going to investigate what happened. Now, that fine--but again, all we know from the police, news reports, etc. is that she disappeared. An unsolved crime, but they keep blaming the spooks. Where the film falls apart is they spend so little time on the mythology. Supposedly there's a well in a cellar of a home built in the 1700s. A young girl jumped to her death in the well. Okay. And? And? That's about it. It's not like it happened every 50 years or so. Just once. Yet someone, it's called the devil's well and the property (an old text tile mill) is haunted. Really? Based on that? When the camera crew visits the town, they talk to residents a la BLAIR WITCH. But while BLAIR used these interviews to expand on the mythology, these interviews lead no where. "Don't go there--it's an unholy place!" "My friend felt sick to his stomach but when he went outside, he felt better." That's about all we get.

The rest of the film is found footage based on their investigation. There is an eerie soundtrack added to the footage, which is really annoying unless the music was playing during the investigation. The acting throughout is okay, but really, the film is terribly padded. There are a couple, "OMG! Did you see that?" but even though they say they caught on camera other people in the building, we're never shown anything. The actors just wander in the darkness, chatting with one another so we get their backstories. But we don't care.

And then (SPOILERS) Karla shows up at the well, dazed and confused. Then some thugs show up wearing silly "scary" masks (just for us, the audience) and kill everyone. Then Karla and the thugs all hold hands around the well, ready to serve him. Hmmm. Really? Why'd the little girl jump in the well back in the 1700s? She was never found again so if Karla is like the little girl, why is Karla found again and now part of the group of well wishers? None of this makes sense, the film is not at all scary, and it makes you wonder why they didn't bother to tie in the mythology with the disappearance of Karla. Skip it.

I like found footage movies...

[iceman88869 · 2/10 · 18 July 2018]

But this is one of the worst found footage movies I have ever seen. The first 30 minutes is spent doing obviously fake interviews with misc people. About 33 minutes in, the movie actually starts and a team moves to the location they have been discussing. Then you really get to see how bad the actors are and watch the movie just fall apart.

I watched this movie all the way through, hoping it would get better. At a point, I almost had hope for it, but it fell apart and just became a waste of time. Terrible actors, terrible script, terrible ending. Just all around bad. Probably the second worst found footage movie I have watched ever.

Devils under the surface

[TheLittleSongbird · 1/10 · 4 October 2018]

Was drawn into seeing 'The Devil's Well', with a creepy poster/cover, a fine premise and as someone with a general appreciation for the genre it fits under. 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 (though there are decent to good ones as well), made me though apprehensive.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws present in those films are here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'The Devil's Well' is really quite awful, with so many huge flaws and doesn't do anything with any potential it had. There is nothing good here in 'The Devil's Well', amateur hour all round.

Going on to the negatives, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it comes over as vague and under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less unsettled and never gaining momentum. All the characters are too sketchy and with cardboard thin and colourless personalities and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. The chemistry is bland and unfocused.

The sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions), the effects are shoddy and nearly all of the acting is lacking severely on the whole, that's actually an understatement as the worst of it is horrendous. There is no sense of horror or engagement with the awful predicament they're in, and no connecting with the character, it just reeks of indifference and complete blankness which makes the viewer not care less too.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace and film drags on forever, apparent from the very start, never recovering that interest is lost fast. The final third is stupid beyond belief. Found too many of the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Thrills are none, thanks to stodginess and excessive over-familiarity, and found myself never invested in the drama, which tended to be indifferently acted, interminably paced and statically directed.

A lot of 'The Devil's Well' has really dull and going nowhere plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you shocked are far from creative or unsettling. It all feels rather tame while the threat completely lacks menace and looks terrible.

Nothing freaky or interesting, no development and too derivative, while everything is unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show any sense of dread. There is nothing interesting or illuminating with what the film was trying to do and the drama is overwrought with no momentum and a lot of weirdness. The direction is barely there and disorganised and the music is ill-fitting. 'The Devil's Well' is very amateurish visually, too drearily lit and shows no care in the way it's shot. The camera work is one of the film's biggest flaws in fact, the worst of it an eyesore.

Overall, terrible. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Terrible

[spammer-08884 · 1/10 · 16 July 2018]

This film is just a mess.

Part interview documentary (yawn) and part bad camera found footage ( bigger yawn). It doesn't know what it wants to be. The actors are boring and the action at the end is quite frankly garbage and not scary at all.

Why are these films being made. We know the iPhone has a great camera. Pity about the quality of what is being filmed.

Don't bother with this chicken dropping of a movie.

An hour and a half of your life you will never get back!!! Do waste it on this

[killurselftoday · 1/10 · 17 July 2018]

Horrible found footage movie ... if the guys from slipknot went on a murder spree.

Boring and dumb

[cocherdumas · 17 July 2018]

Don't waste your time watching this movie. I wish I would have read the reviews before watching this stupid movie!

First half kinda interesting, second half losing interest, last 10 minutes *sigh*

[daarness · 7/10 · 1 March 2021]

The first half established the story, was done well, the second half, or rather when the movie actually started as in the paranormal team started investigating, it started well. Shortly after, it just started feeling disjointed, people made decisions they wouldn't actually make, and come the last 10(maybe 15 minutes or so I guess) it finished in an expected, predictable way. Well, if you've seen your fair share of these types of movies that is.

Overall, I did enjoy it, the acting was fairly decent in comparison to many others in the same genre. I would suggest watching Grave Encounters if you haven't seen it yet.

This was a decent movie for the most part until nearing the end, but I've definitely seen far worse movies. If you're a horror junkie, you've seen far worse movies and shouldn't feel too robbed of your time with this one.

Worth a watch on a lazy day

[groody5 · 5/10 · 19 September 2019]

I think the film has a bad rap, mainly due to the disappointing end as it's never fully explained is it solely cult activity or is there something mixed with the Devil, mainly as at the end the whole group disappeared in seconds.

I believe the first part was relatively well done the documentary sequence, which seems to be a trend in a lot of found footage such as Hell House LLC and Delivery. They seemed to flesh the story enough in the documentary sequence explaining how the interviewees were linked to the couple. Bryan and Karla's relationship, goals, passions, future hopes for a child and the animosity her father had towards Bryan due to his closed mind opinions, and how he blamed Bryan for their lifestyle even though it was Karla's idea and her eventual disappearance.

Some of the SIGNS crew were relatively ok characters but they fleshed out the most in the credits where they explained past experiences and how they came to SIGNS. None of the characters are outright badly written, however Dennis is really annoying.

I know in paranormal groups and TV they usually have parapsychologist who usually are sceptical and will give non paranormal rationals but he is just plain annoying he comes across as the person who always has to feel he's the smartest person in the room even when he's not, and although the idea of a sceptic is good to ground ideas I think the Devil could have appeared out of the Well in blast of Hellfire and prove his powers Dennis still wouldn't believe.

I think Lynn was a bit naughty it's suggested that the spirits maybe of Mary the first Well victim maybe led her out, maybe by putting in a trance or possessing which ok that might explain but if she was just warned it was bit nasty not to try save her brother and friends.

Overall it's an ok film that with a bit more thought at the end maybe would have greatly improved the overall experience, it's worth a watch of having a sick or lazy duvet day.

She's Back...!

[richardadams-21320 · 9/10 · 15 March 2018]

I actually found this to be a decent watch. First, I'd like to address one of the issues someone else mentioned in their review - this reappearance by the well only happening once, not every 50 years or whatever...

It did happen before!!! Recall, the cop who got stabbed and shot one of the Satanists. He mentioned the spooky scared girl (did he say she was naked? Or was it wearing a white dress - I can't recall that.). But anyways, this happened what, 30 years ago? The exact same deal - Satanists and a girl. Clearly, the girl was similarly disappeared and reappeared, before disappearing yet again. So the point is that this does indeed happen in the past, and Karla is not the first one.

You know, for what it was it was decent enough. Bunch of Paranormal Investigators go and try to help out Bryan, whose wife disappeared a year before. He was accused of killing her, and even arrested for it! This investigation is done in order to clear his name once and for all. Then... She's back! The film goes nutso, as they get locked in and subsequently murdered by four Satanists, as Karla ultimately slits Bryan's neck and then they all disappear, off to Hell, apparently.

My one issue: The Satanists all used knives or machetes. I expected, as they made q big deal of one of the Investigators having a firearm/gun, that this would be something of a issue for our Satanists killers. Instead... The Satanist assigned to that dude has a shotgun or automatic rifle, blowing him away as he shoots helplessly and uselessly. Wow, what luck! The one Satanist assigned to him also had a firearm. They had no way of knowing about his gun, as a big deal was made about it being a concealed firearm. They ended up just using a scripting crutch, having the miraculous luck of the one armed Satanist having encountered our armed protagonist.

No real special effects were used. It was filmed decently enough. I felt it was worth a watch: The film just goes so gaga in the last 10-15 minutes, taking such a freakishly wild turn, that it captivates your attention and you can't turn away, wondering just what the holy hell is going on. As it turned out, with a proper sacrifice and a bizarrely possessed and missing/in Hell itself, it was a Portal to Hell, indeed!

There are a lot of low budget, Indy horror films out there. And the paranormal investigator shtick has been used and used some more. But I ended up liking this one, as the concluding few minutes came out of nowhere -you could have never guessed what was coming, even when Karla suddenly reappeared- and thus it ended up making the film a worthwhile time investment. Try it, stick around until the end, and you just might like it!

Another interminable 'paranormal investigation' movie

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 30 January 2018]

THE DEVIL'S WELL is another one of those interminable 'paranormal investigation' movies shot on an indie budget. The whole thing is dragged out ad infinitum and follows the same old predictable template. A team of researchers head off to a supposedly haunted location to look for a missing woman, but not before the viewer must sit through half an hour of the most boring interview segments ever. Before long we get to the usual scenes of characters lurking around in the gloom and pretending to be scared. It's not very convincing, but it is very boring.

Doc - Found Footage Combo

[chad-61313 · 5/10 · 16 October 2020]

What I try to do with these types of films is to pretend it's real. When it's a combo - documentary/found footage film, you need that storyline to build the plot. Some feel this is boring. With this film, I feel they did a decent job to prepare you for what comes next. What came next started off rather well imo, but as it neared the end of the film, it all fell apart. Intelligent people suddenly turned stupid, no true fear factor, and I suddenly found myself predicting the rest of the movie. One thing I will say, there were no annoying characters that you pray die half way into the flick. If you have time to spare, give it a go. You may like it or maybe not lol

A Roller Coaster Ride of Lost Opportunity

[marc-21778 · 2/10 · 16 February 2024]

Premise: not unusual but fun and serviceable Acting: Tolerable to good.

Script: Okay, then terrible, then decent, then awful, then sorta interesting, and at the end, idiotic.

Lighting: Well designed for the most part.

Editing: Like it was done by a kid with a hatchet and chopsticks taped to his fingers.

All of bad reviews are right, the ending makes no sense and the characters all appear to have taken goofballs right before beginning of the last act. The writer needs to be severely beaten and taught not to take audiences for granted. It could have been a decent supernatural movie, it could have been a decent hoax "there's always a logical explanation" movie. Instead it is both so it is neither.

Started off Strong.... Ended on its Face...

[clinderman-45541 · 1/10 · 24 March 2024]

The film started out strong... great concept, great structure and well filmed character building was great, Storyline was well fleshed out, charactes believeable and on point .... however in the last 20 minutes... it broke down, Faded out and was nothing short of lame and uninspired... so disappointed... director and writers let this whole thing down with thier shotty ending and unbelievable twist... too bad cause this could have been a really great story... what a shame.... should have listened to other comments and reviewers... should not have wasted my time... change the ending and you might have a winner....

It's not that bad for a found footage fan

[WubbaLubbaDubDub · 5/10 · 4 June 2022]

As someone else said first half is documentary style then switches to found footage. I love found footage so I seek these out. This is currently on Tubi. Enjoyed the acting, characters weren't annoying af, setting was cool, no jump scares but it was spooky, def horror and quality generally speaking was well-done. The story isn't anything too unique but I did want to see where things went. Imo the climax left me a bit wanting and that's where I get the impression budget was an issue. It isn't awful but I likely won't watch it a second time. However if you're a FF fan like myself it is worth your time. We have seen far worse.

Worth a watch....not cheesy until the end

[jmariehamilton · 9/10 · 6 April 2021]

In lockdown times we all need films and have to scrape the barrel. This is better than many I've seen and only gets a bit cheesy at the end but worth watching.