Devious Beings (2002) User Reviews

Wrap this movie up in Christmas Boxes :)

[zach77 · 2/10 · 15 April 2003]

No artful writeup here because it doesn't deserve one. Not an art film. Not even one of those 'hidden' gems. You know, like those movies you hear about through a friend who saw this amazing movie downtown where they show all the good independents and art films.

Just pack it into the christmas boxes, and dispose of quickly.

Thuggish Direction

[tedg · 22 January 2003]

Spoilers herein.

These sorts of films appear rough, but in fact are pretty delicate in their construction. They are hard to pull off, with the mechanic of thuggish energetic randomness on the surface and a constructed order underneath (usually by a conspiring character). In keeping with this genre, Devious advertises itself as a cross between `Go' and `Snatch.'

`Snatch' solved the formula by focusing on the snappy energy of the confounding front-story. `Go' (and `Salton Sea') took the complementary route, focusing on the geometric perfection of the understory. This project fails to do either. As the supposedly rough and random front-story we have actors as dumb as their characters. As the supposedly clever understory, we have the most manipulated character as the manipulator, shades of `Nine Queens.' But none of this is prepared in the story. Despite the fact that it is unclever, the writer doesn't play fair.

The only convincing element here is that the fat actor convincingly plays a fat character.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 4: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

so, so

[U_KNOW · 5/10 · 10 December 2005]

All in all wasn't that bad of a movie once you can get past the boom that somehow seems to be in every scene. You would think you would catch that in editing. It basically tries a little pulp fiction approach. Also along the lines of every other drug type movie now a days.Friends get themselves in trouble with a deal gone wrong and have to fix it, meanwhile which a couple are being blackmailed by a crooked cop. Typically you knew what was gonna happen throughout most of the movie with only a few shocks. Jackson (Patrick Van Horn) basically is the whole movie. With a cameo by Maria Celedonio(Maria) one of my favorite unknown actresses(Freeyway 2, The substitute)which mad the film a little more bearable. All in all if you feel like wasting a couple hours of your life then pick this movie up.

pretty decent.

[nhenderson77 · 5/10 · 30 April 2008]

pretty decent flick. Good acting and solid script. But whats up with the boom in every shot!?? that got quite annoying at time. Patrick van horn was awesome as arrow. Total scene stealer. too bad hes not in anymore stuff..whats up with that?

The rave scene was cool and original. Only other time I've seen this in a flick was in GO....

Over all..decent flick worth watching. Just annoyed off that everyone dies in the end! poor guy..who thinks of chopping that little smurf up and throwing him in some Christmas presents. LOL...classic. I bought this flick off of amazon and its made a nice addition to my indie collection.

A great movie which reveals the dark underworld of America's rave scene.

[opentrack · 9/10 · 11 July 2000]

Devious Beings is a movie that was inspired by the underground rave scene of America (drugs, music, mindlessness). Three youths who were raised in far less than perfect homes, grow to become ecstasy drug runners in their adolescence. When a buyer dies in the midst of a deal, the trio's quick thinking gets them into trouble, and leads to a chain reaction of bad decisions, problems and consequences between family and friends.

This movie, which was co-written and directed by Chris Mazzei accurately portrays what is going on in America behind the glamorous image that many have created for us to believe. With a strong script and fresh cast, it is indeed a Pulp Fiction for this generation of youths.

BTW, this is an unbiased critique done by someone who never worked on the movie and didn't get "let go" from it.

Surprisingly strong

[cellarpoet2000 · 7/10 · 26 November 2005]

I picked this DVD up at Wal-Mart for 2 bucks, hoping it would kill 2 hours of Saturday afternoon boredom. I knew nothing about it and had no preconceived notion as to what it was about, the actors involved, or the material about to be shown. I was rather surprised and impressed by the movie.

Andre B. Blake (Jackson) carries the weight of nearly the entire movie on his shoulders and does so very competently (with Patrick Van Horn (Arrow)chiming in a strong performance of his own...a little spastic comedy relief), the direction and camera work was well done with a limited soundtrack befitting the situations. The script was extremely well written with pop-culture references, humour, and irony. It was of a caliber that should have gotten more attention (a more "Hollywood" cast could have made this movie what it strived to be). The one MAJOR downfall or distraction was the boom that seem to be in the shot more than out (the boom operator should perhaps find another line of work).

The DVD synopsis puts it in a league with "Go" and "Pulp Fiction", now I wouldn't place it at this level, but there was enough twisting action to keep me interested for an hour and thirty seven minutes. Worth checking out, if even a little curious.

Not that great.....but that makes it great!!

[sc41344 · 9/10 · 9 July 2003]

This movie was your regular low budget, run of the mill "oops, i lost your drugs" kind of movie. But it had really good qualities about it. First off, if you listen carefully during some of the biggest scenes in the movie, christmas music plays as the soundtrack. I thought that was down right hilarious. The movie is serious but really never takes itself too seriously if that makes any sense at all. Definitely a dark comedy though those people who go into it thinking its a serious drama will definitely be disappointed. For those of you like me who just find randomness funny and have a real sick dry sense of humor, you'll probably love this movie. Some of the lines in this movie are classic and just come out of nowhere. The wrapping present scene is just too funny for words.

Basically without giving anything away (because it does have a few twists), the story is based around 3 childhood friends who are now dealing ecstasy between groups, mafia, etc. One of them has a mother who supposedly has a criminal record a mile long. So in order to keep his mother out of jail, he is blackmailed by a undercover detective that wants him to turn in his two friends and lead them to the head guy behind the dealing. So now he has to make his decision. Like I said, run of the mill storyline. There are a few moments in the movie that drag but they are followed by some great scenes. Don't rent it expecting oscar award winning acting. It's just a good ol' movie to sit down with a beer in one hand and relax to. Good stuff :)

Not too Shabby, pretty entertaining for what it was.

[moviestud47 · 9/10 · 27 January 2003]

I rented this movie and thought it was pretty good. I really enjoyed the colors they used. If you can look past the boom shots, it is a tight little story. It reminded me of "Narc" but without the money for the bigger named actors.

I was Amazed!!!

[moviestud47 · 9/10 · 24 January 2003]

I picked this movie up not knowing what it was. The DVD cover looked cool. I decided to rent it. After watching it I was amazed and ended up getting a late fee because my room-mates kept wanting to watch it. Worth it though...

Very entertaining and keeps you Guessing

[christian.burton · 8/10 · 11 July 2000]

Devious Beings is a great title for a movie and what originally attracted me to watch this Independent film. The film seemed to keep you guessing what might happen next and you really dont know until the end, which I personally liked. I thought the writing and especially the acting was a plus for this film. I would hope that more Independent Filmakers will strive to bring all varieties of films for years to come like this one by Red Bear Films. If your looking for a new interesting film with a great storieline Devious Beings is what I recommend.

drugs are everywhere

[me-1010 · 9/10 · 26 January 2003]

if you want to know what's really going on in american rave underground see this film

Are there people who actually live like this?

[saicalum · 10 October 2004]

Chris Mazzei's Devious Beings turns on itself like a Moebius strip-the story arc is actually a series of orbits. Think of each character as an electron circling a dense nucleus in which self- preservation vibrates the whole. All the performances are strong and discrete-Mazzei somehow manages to navigate his actors through a complex, violent landscape that's dark all day long. It's not absolutely perfect, but he takes two or three movies worth of typical Hollywood clichés and stacks them with both style and skill. Andre B. Blake is the conflicted protagonist who plays and gets paid, but Robert Gossett is the main reason to check out this movie. His performance as the villain Damone is diabolical.