The Device (I) (2014) User Reviews

Low key sci fi/horror is too low key.

[mac-ginty · 2/10 · 16 December 2014]

Two sisters and the husband of one of the women go to a cabin to help the younger sister overcome a past trauma. Whilst there they find an alien artifact and proceed to mess about with it because it might be worth some money. The older sister is then plagued by a dream in which an Alien interferes with her. The Alien itself is a man in a cheap Halloween mask.

Now at one point a character says this is like an X-files story but its not because the X-files was good. This is a three hander with adequate performances and is well shot but ultimately it is quite boring. There's no big sci fi questions posed and no horror either. Give it a miss.

Whose Baby Are You?

[bemyfriend-40184 · 3/10 · 10 May 2021]

Starts well, if slowly. And slow can be good. Builds to be a film about aliens implanting a seed into a human woman. The prosthetic alien costuming is very low budget. The aliens win.

Feeble motion picture filled with bewilderment

[jpgonc · 3/10 · 24 February 2015]

One thing that sums all up this movie: The trailer is so much better than the actual full length. Not kidding!

Cast: Not bad.

Music: Somewhat good.

Effects: Not good, but not awful either.

Plot: Three people encounter a strange device while in a secluded forest cabin. They touch it and ultimately they start to get feeling strange and deviated. (Humm...awkward)

The plot is very predictable, there are clichés everywhere, the pacing of the film blows away the narrative into an incoherent and confusing chaos.

The whole film seems an unfinished puzzle until the very end as if the viewer is meant to be thrown into a spiraling and awkward, ambiguous conclusion.

For fervent sci-fi fans this flick could be enjoying. For me it was just like watching a mundane and humdrum bizarre story to be rapidly forgotten as soon the movie rolls its ending credits.

Half of the action of the slowest X-files episode yet stretched to feature length

[vendettarwb · 1/10 · 17 December 2014]

Start off by saying I do not know the history of the group that made this film,The actors and actresses in this movie did a fairly good job if they were brand-new actors.

This story moved so slowly and there were so many clues given in the beginning of the episode that the storyline was super predictable, a colleague of mine called what was gonna happen throughout the entire movie about a half an hour before any of the events Took place. Almost everything in this movie was stereo typical of its genre and any appearances of beings were almost 100% what you would have in your head from 1950's era, very little about this movie surprised me other then the poor dialogue back-and-forth between the characters.

Just a black ball and a nightmare

[yohannym13 · 1/10 · 16 December 2014]

Let's start by saying this movie is really bad! The acting is poor, I was so upset.. None of the 3 main actors can't act! The whole script felt short! The cover of the movie has nothing to do with the context in it! The whole movie is about a black ball and a tall mucus looking alien that does nothing but bring lots of light in dreams .. I was waiting for something to happen but it never did! I don't understand how this is a horror movie! There is no horror at all not even comedy that's whats sad! The whole thing is about 2 sisters whom haven't seen or talk to each other in 12 years, go all the way to a cabin, find a black ball and weird dreams ! I actually fasforward the movie a couple of times, that's how bored it got!! Save yourself from this nightmare... This movie failed the alien theme... No alien at all just a black ball!

Boring!

[odinsrealm · 1/10 · 23 December 2014]

Looked interesting and sounded a promising storyline, however that's where it ended i'm afraid. Poor unconvincing acting, terrible story, laughable alien ( i mean really ) even with a low budget movie some half decent effects and make up could have made this half entertaining. No real energy or drama in the film. It just felt empty and left you wishing back the time you had wasted watching to the end with the hope of something good happening which sadly just doesn't come... Not familiar with the actors but the just didn't seem to really care or show much emotion nor do I feel concerned or worried about their well being or even think they deserved whats coming to them either!

My advice watch something else !

Behind the Eight Ball

[charliedias-15017 · 1/10 · 10 March 2021]

What a boring movie. It just drags along. It's one of those movies that the viewer CONSTANTLY checks the time to see how much more they have to watch.

As for the ENDING ? You'll get no spoiler about that from me. But I assure you, you'd leave a review like this one.

You'll get more enjoyment by holding a 2.5" Black Eight Ball for the length of this movie.

Went in Optomisitc, came out utterly bored.

[andrew-368-663870 · 1/10 · 20 December 2014]

This movie had a lot of potential for a unique storyline, however it skipped past all that and went straight to basic. I watched this movie because the premise of a random device being found seemed interesting, but that in the end was the only reason to watch. I just wanted to find out what exactly it was so I could stop watching.

Visually the movie was great, good shots good flow, great editing. Good music even. The acting wasn't amazing, but it wasn't exactly terrible either. The two sisters I felt were quite good.

Overall I would avoid this movie, between a super predictable plot and a slow moving story, this movie is a dull feature I would avoid.

Avoid at all costs!!! Boring alien abduction movie

[rajivness · 1/10 · 28 December 2014]

This is a real sleeper. Let me spare you the horror of wasting 90 minutes of your life and brain power watching this garbage.

Here's the gist of the movie: 2 estranged sisters reconnect after the death of their mother. They travel to their ancestral cabin in the woods where the younger sister suffered a trauma many years ago. What was thought as an abduction/rape by her then boyfriend is later revealed as alien abduction and impregnation. they stumble on crash site where they find curious looking black sphere. The black sphere (the device) is a beacon to tell the aliens (greys) their location - so they can come and collect the alien baby growing inside the host (the older sister).

I hope I've convinced you to avoid this.

Predictable, the same story told again.

[suzannthropology · 2/10 · 21 December 2014]

After reading the synopsis, if you can just imagine all of the other alien abduction films or stories that you have seen, then you've seen The Device. Nothing new, nothing chilling or frightening, just a replay of the same story with a few different visuals. Acting wasn't bad but they couldn't save the film.

"After reading the synopsis, if you can just imagine all of the other alien abduction films or stories that you have seen, then you've seen The Device. Nothing new, nothing chilling or frightening, just a replay of the same story with a few different visuals. Acting wasn't bad but they couldn't save the film."

Spooky little sci-fi/horror mystery thriller

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 4 February 2020]

Abby (a fine portrayal by Angela Di Marco) and her troubled sister Rebecca (a moving and credible performance by Kate Alden) venture to a remote cabin in the woods to patch up old wounds between them. However, the siblings find themselves in considerable jeopardy after they find a strange black sphere that belongs to a sinister race of evil aliens.

Director/co-writer Jeremy Berg relates the absorbing story at a deliberate pace, takes time to develop the characters, ably crafts a quietly foreboding and unsettling atmosphere, and concludes things on a chilling note. Moreover, the fraught relationship between Abby and Rebecca adds a substantial amount of depth and poignancy. Di Marco and Alden both do excellent work in their demanding roles, David S. Hogan lends sturdy support as Abby's nice guy boyfriend Calvin, and Russell Hodgkinson has a small, but memorable role as the rattled Dr. Mora. The alien looks genuinely creepy as well. Kudos are also in order for Berg's sharp widescreen cinematography and Joseph Molner's shivery score. Worth a watch.

An interesting concept

[fairlesssam · 6/10 · 29 May 2017]

I enjoyed this move and would describe it as a sci-fi mystery thriller rather than a sci-fi horror.

Two sisters (Abby and Rebecca) who are reunited to scatter the ashes of their dead mother come across a heavy, solid metal sphere, about the size of a tennis ball, in the mud. They have gone to a family cabin near the woods where something bad had happened to Rebecca many years ago which resulted in her having a termination of a pregnancy. Rebecca is not happy about the sphere and thinks they should leave it where it is but Abby is excited about it and takes it back to the cabin to show her boyfriend Calvin.

Calvin becomes obsessed with the sphere, Abby starts have increasingly disturbing nightmares and Rebecca has a feeling of impending doom.

I really like the dynamics of the relationships between the sisters and Calvin. There is no flirting between sister and sisters boyfriend which is refreshing.

It's obvious that the sphere is alien but as a viewer of the movie the mystery as to what it is and what it does is intriguing. The effect it has on Calvin is also interesting.

Although this isn't a 'fantastic' movie and could have done with more depth and development it still rates as a pretty good mystery sci- fi.

Worst film ever

[cormogram · 1/10 · 28 December 2014]

That's the worst film I've ever seen! It's terrible in all aspects.

A black ball (a cheap wood billiard ball covered with cheap acrylic black paint) is found and brings white plastic aliens that kill by making people bleed by their noses -- like not even a half cup of fake blood is spilled!

Don't waste your time with this piece of shizen!

It's not really a sci-fi movie. I bet it was made as a fake production intended to scam the sponsors -- probably from government funds.

Special effects? I think they've created a new category in the film industry: "C Movie" -- C for CRAP!

Write down this name "Jeremy Berg" and avoid it!

Student film garbage

[JoeB131 · 1/10 · 28 December 2014]

May Contain Spoilers if you actually are expecting anything to happen. IT doesn't.

This movie lures you in with a really cool cover that shows a possibly naked woman being assaulted by alien machinery.

And the real movie has nothing like that. We don't have any aliens show up until the last five minutes and the effect are really, really cheesy.

Now, okay, they had a limited budget, but frankly, spending 90 minutes fretting over a billiard ball like that is a real threat is kind of silly.

Then we can get to the "actors". The two actresses are kind of plain looking. You know, like they aren't really professional actresses. The actor who plays the boyfriend comes off as creepy even before he gets possessed by creepy aliens.

C'mon!

[jayeld · 4/10 · 30 April 2022]

This was a decent movie until the end, especially for a movie you can buy at Dollar Tree next to box office faves. The acting was good, scenes were shot well, story, script, efffects not bad... give us a Twilight Zone or X Files ending! Alien baby! 👶🏻👽

THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO BELIEVE

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 13 November 2018]

Contains a plot spoiler you will quickly figure out anyway if you ever watched a sci-fi anything.

Calvin (David S. Hogan) and his fiancee Abby (Angela DiMarco) pick up her sister Rebecca (Kate Alden) so they can scatter their mom's ashes at their old A-frame cabin, maintained quite well. We immediately find out about the secret incident that caused Rebecca to have psychological problems...or least the cover story as we pretty much know what is going on by the DVD cover as aliens are involved. Calvin finds a mysterious orb which he keeps with him...one that sticks both him and Abby.

This is basically a three person play which drags on as a low budget production of Rosemary's Alien. It has some of that 90's sci-fi sound track, as it starts out fairly decent building character, establishing the story, and then staying on the path of boredom.

Guide: F-bomb. Sex. No nudity.

Um........zzzzzzzz

[mcjensen-05924 · 1/10 · 28 July 2023]

The budget for this movie must've been around 200 bucks. Clearly they didn't bother much with casting, as there's no talent discernible in any of the characters. Cardboard cutouts. The husband of the one sister was particularly bland and lifeless. The premise for the movie wasn't even that great so there was lots of work to be done to overcome the silly and done to death idea to make the movie somehow work. That work wasn't done. Not even close. I'm not gonna delve into the details here as a general overview of the awful execution of everyone involved in this disasterpiece should suffice as sufficient warning.

What was up with the dumb sound effects?

[murphyclm · 1/10 · 28 October 2017]

Won't add much else to what's already been said other than the dumb sound effects throughout the movie just did not fit what was on screen. Supposed to make the movie spookier, I guess, but drove me nuts. Like somebody else said, at least an X-Files episode would have come to some conclusions and been entertaining. This was just low budget, silly and disappointing.

Not very much ado about nothing...

[cammeikle · 1/10 · 27 December 2019]

I dunno, I don't usually review, but this one just iritaed enough to make me think I might save others the same fate as me! Softly repeated nothing piano track repeated continuously ad nausium, while we are treated to a toyota prius slowly driving around, maddeningly stupid arguments between two stupid sisters and a stupid guy who mostly squirrels himself away in the basement staring at the stupid billiard ball, with a guest appearance by a stupid doctor (sorry, as actors, you did your job convincingly, you were simply just following the stupid script) and the ever present flat black billiard ball that serves as the one all- encompassing (spoiler alert!) all impregnating super special effect that this movie offers- other than- spoiler alert!!!! the obligatory gooey white rubber alien that only just stands there filmed in amazing tilto- shako- vision, he makes a few brief guest appearances during dream sequences that just flash his rubber suited majesty against the dark, then in the grand finally, he stands there doing nothing, saying nothing, just holding the billiard ball as yet another nosebleed ensues! Oh, and don't forget the complementary alien birth, to which new ma screams convincingly as we are treated to- nothing but a blanketed shape, not even a decent creepy alien baby shot here kids!!!! Oh,the terror! Lots of terrible nosebleeds ensue around the evil black billiard ball! After wasting about 1/2 hour watching the nothing beginning, I fast forwarded though this masterpiece of nothing to find nothing in the middle, and nothing at the end! I picked no for spoilers to a movie that nothing in it to spoilt!!!!! Oh, and I must add a thought I missed, --Don't be fooled by the quality movie poster that promises so much more movie than was delivered.

Nothing we haven't seen before

[Lucabrasisleeps · 4/10 · 8 March 2015]

This movie violates one of the main rules of horror movies. Don't show the monster too much. Or at least spend some more money to have some good special effects. This movie has some pretty corny looking aliens.

Since I have recently seen another movie with similar themes, I was pretty bored most of the time. The twists are predictable and the general direction that the movie takes can be seen a mile away if we have seen enough of these movies. The low budget is evident. The performances are not that bad but I thought the male lead was not really adequate. He looks creepy right from the beginning. The women are not that bad.

I don't understand how intelligent aliens can really lose track of someone just because the tracker has been removed or whatever. Seems they are very lazy aliens. But seriously alien abduction is such a tired and clichéd story and this movie doesn't give anything new to the usual story.

Overall it is quite boring and clichéd.

4/10

Beautiful

[lilpest9 · 7/10 · 22 April 2022]

A gripping brooding allegory about hard drug use and how it tears families apart. Two sisters(Abby and Rebecca) spread their mother's ashes at their childhood home. Rebecca used to do heroin and had an abortion after an old boyfriend who knocked her up died of an OD. This is why she's been estranged. During the grief trip Rebecca gets back on heroin and gets Abby and her husband Calvin on it too(this is what the black sphere they find represents). Calvin becomes rapidly obsesssed with "the sphere" and develops paranoia accusing Abby of infidelity when she reveals a pregnancy because he imagines himself infertile.

Most scenes are way too dark so you can't see well, but the woman beating scene is good though could be longer. Would be 8-9/10 if better lit and had more woman beating.

Was this a joke?

[ryleilove · 2/10 · 5 August 2023]

This movie was so boring and slow paced to build up to nothing. The acting was bad but not horrible especially from the fiancé. He was doing the most and the least. The alien suit was absolutely horrible like did the costume department really think that was a good choice? I get we think aliens are ugly but it wasn't necessarily ugly, you can just tell it was fake.

The script was weak and the characters flipped on each other at random moments especially the Abby flipping on Becca and the doctor flipping on Abby. It was just awkward. Editing was hilarious. When Abby was sitting at the table right before she called her aunt, it sounded like someone opened and closed a door. I was sure it was Calvin coming home. Then when Becca and the Calvin were in the living room when she asked where Abby was, there it was again even louder that time. I was sure Abby was "sneaking" in the back door, but surprise surprise, nope, no one except one of the film makers probably entering in or exiting out. Also when calling her aunt, it was so loud like whyyyy editors, why???

I get low budget but like I said in a previous view, that doesn't equate to poor script and poor editing. What a joke and a waste of time I'll never get back. Watch at your own discretion.

Low budget and slightly ponderous.

[parry_na · 4/10 · 9 February 2018]

This is a nicely acted film, basically a three-hander, featuring Abbey and Calvin (Angela DiMarco and David S. Hogan), a married couple and Abbey's sister Rebecca (Kate Alden). They characters are meeting up to scatter the ashes of the sisters' dead mother over a secluded lake, and also for them to build bridges following tragic events that are slowly revealed throughout. At the lakeside, Calvin discovers a black shiny ball that seems to contain strange properties. Following his study of the ball, Abbey begins to experience nightmares.

This a low budget and slightly ponderous story that requires the three otherwise likeable characters to earnestly try to 'understand each other.' The alien threat which slowly begins to manifest has caused 'The Device' to be compared to The X-Files, which is an understandable comparison. It is a quietly effective story, directed and co-written by Jeremy Berger, who slowly piles on the revelations and backstory in a measured way. Also, Calvin is of note in that he seems to alternate between trying to be rational, and acting downright suspiciously.

Little Black Ball

[cbak223 · 7/10 · 2 March 2016]

The Device-A thing created for a particular purpose. From the Indie label The October People comes The Device, written by Jeremy Berg and John Portanova, Berg coming off directing The Invoking, a 2013 horror. The reason I love this film is why I'm sure many love this film, yes, Angela DiMarco. I promised this young lady a review, I'm better for having seen The Device. Angela well on her way to being a household name, having 6 projects in the coming year of 2016. This film starts off with the introducing of the characters, Abby(Angela DiMarco), and her husband Calvin(David S Hogan) meeting up with her estranged sister so they can bury they're mothers ashes. Her sister Rebecca played by Kate Alden. After returning to there cabin, Abby finds her sister in the woods and discovers what seems to be plane wreckage, and a small black, round sphere, The Device. Rebecca is against having the sphere, but Calvin sees potential financial gain. They return home, bringing Rebecca along to stay for awhile, Calvin experiments with the sphere discovering it's not normal at all, defying gravity, and him, only him hearing voices. You soon learn the Device is of Alien Origin, Rebecca soon shares to Abby that 12 years ago the event of why they were estranged was a false story, she was actually in the presence of Aliens. All of this is compacted after discovering she is pregnant, but soon learns that the baby, is not Calvins, or hers. What holds this film in place is the acting, Angela and David being a husband and wife team on set is always great to work with, you will get good chemistry amongst your principals. The Directing was on par for the story written. With all of this said, this is an indie film, not a 50 million dollar blockbuster, I do wish there was a little more while leading up to the end, maybe showing more with Cakvins character having the black eyes, maybe blood coming out of his nose and ears well before the end. The dreams Abby had were good but needed to be slightly more horrific, all in all this a well directed, superbly acted film, 7-10