Devil's Trail (2017) User Reviews

Survival guys showing you what never to do when hiking

[graham-tillotson · 2/10 · 2 January 2018]

OK, so those of us who hike put up with a fair bit of nonsense in movies, but this one is like a PSA on what not to do when out in October weather. At first I was rolling along with it and thought they were doing well with almost no budget. Sound and basic effects were pretty good. Ah but then the "WE ARE IN A SITUATION!" segment started. Let the eye rolling commence. They have a compass but no map. Water is stored in an olde time Clint Eastwood canteen. Fire steel but no fire starters or even a lighter. No tarps, sleeping bags, pads, or blankets. No shelter or tent. Day packs at best (with the obvious big puffy, empty compartments where the items above should be). No gloves. And so they pull off the miracle snoozing by a fire in cold/sleet/wet weather without hypothermia. And to make it even better the one guy decides to find food -- wait for it -- by standing in a freezing creek that is 3" deep and sticking his bare hands in the water to "noodle" for fish. Because, you know, when you can't get frostbite on accident you might as well get it on purpose.

As for the horror elements it was the checkbox-o-rama: dusty old legend (Jersey Devil), found footage and "shaky cam" scenes, weird witch ritual in the woods, frantic running and yelling and tripping in said woods, one of the guys slowly going to crazytown, naked women standing outside tents at night, abandoned campsites where previous victims had been, M. Night Shamalamadingdong plot twist (it was all a ruse!), then the DOUBLE plot twist that the Jersey devil is real! And the icing on the cake? Not one but BOTH of the dudes hitting the ground in front of the camera and being dragged off into the dark. Ugh. Avoid this thing.

Bad...

[mvike · 2/10 · 25 February 2019]

Bad, bad, BAD! Look, I don't need blood, and gore, I also don't mind slow horror. However, this film is beyond bad. I'll tell you now, absolutely NOTHING happens. Two guys get semi lost in the woods, the acting is pretty low quality. Oh, and the monster(s)? Yeah, ALL you see is red eyes. That's it. Yep, red eyes once or twice...and two guys lost in the woods. The acting gets noticbly bad once they start to argue and fight.

I'm the type that sees a 4/10 on IMDb it it's horror and think typically isn't bad at all...I think maybe of the 4-5 star films on IMDb should be like 6/7+! This however?? 4.1!? I would give it a -1 if I could. So why did I give it a 2? Well, the camera/film/budget look was DECENT quality...better than some low budget. That is the ONLY positive thing about this film. Please don't waste your time!

Ugh

[ohbebe-65844 · 2/10 · 9 April 2019]

It was just bad. It was like a Blair witch holding thw camera type movie with bits and pieces where the actors mention newer tv shows and such to try and sound modern. It's over all boring. Snooze fest and poor acting

Horrible. Just horrible.

[zamboni-36633 · 1/10 · 13 June 2022]

Nothing happens in this movie. Nothing. Some witches, and that plotline went nowhere. A red-eyed beast, whose eyes are all you ever see, and two "survival" guys who fight the entire time. Things change up in the final five minutes of this monstrosity. Seriously. I think the movie was written around those final five minutes. Not worth your time. It certainly wasn't worth mine.

You'll never get this time back.

[nicholasrolstad · 1/10 · 25 December 2017]

Think of all the ways a movie can be bad. This movie hits 80% of them. Think of all the ways a movie can be good. This movie hits 0% of them.

The worst scene is the one where they're walking through the woods (that look nothing like the pine barrens) and fighting with each other while complaining about the insane sleet (while there is almost zero precipitation). Oh wait, I just described every scene in this movie.

I've never watched a movie where less stuff happens. It's never remotely scary. The twist at the end is...I don't even know, there's no substance to twist so it's pointless. I can't overstate how awful this POS is.

Typical for a found footage indie

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 18 January 2018]

DEVIL'S TRAIL is your usual indie found footage horror flick that owes a great debt of inspiration to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. A couple of amateur filmmakers head off into the woods in search of the Jersey Devil, but instead they encounter witchcraft and more. An early encounter with three naked witches (pixelated, don't worry) promises some offbeat weirdness, but this soon descends into tedium, only springing into life for the mildly gruesome climax.

worst "survivalists" ever

[amymay-69916 · 3/10 · 20 September 2023]

Ok, so i the acting was decent--two bickering friends bickering rather well. But the PLOT?!?! Random naked witch chicks for no reason (i was not so lucky as to have seen the pixelated version--i got the uncensored, full frontal nudity version.) Survivalists with ZERO survival instinct. No gloves,no water, no alternate fire starting, no food. Even a day hiker will bring three energy bars and a bottle of water. NO ONE starts a hike with NOTHING! ( oh wait,one guy brought his SUNGLASSES). They find things---do they KEEP THEM for their own use?!?!? Nope! Use it and abandon it as if it won't come in handy later. Because leaving equipment and wandering off unprepared AGAIN is good survival advice. And that "monster"?!?!? Glowing LED eyes and mechanical shrieking made it seem like home depot outdoor halloween animatronics. Nothing scary about it at all. Oh,and they didn't FORAGE, or even follow any of their own "survival" advice and mark anything. Way too much energy for freezing,starving,thirsty lost hikers. End kind of explained why, but by then it was too late, i already wishing for their demise.

Devil's Trail (2017)

[SashaDarko · 5/10 · 4 January 2018]

Pretty decent and captivating found footage movie about two men filming an episode for "survival in the wilderness" TV show, which was pretty much believable up until the ending. It's very, very similar to "Blair Witch" (even uses the same plot tropes and elements), but it's good enough not to be called a cheap rip-off. The chemistry between characters feels natural and the script is solid.

As for the ending...while the idea they used for the ending is interesting, the execution is extremely poor. So poor that if it wasn't there I'd rate the movie a solid 7/10, but it pretty much ruins the whole movie.

Pretty Forgettable Found Footage Survival Horror

[Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi · 4/10 · 16 June 2023]

DEVIL's TRAIL tackles the lore of the Jersey Devil, a cryptid in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey, said to be a biped with hooves and wings and a mythology going back to the 1700s. Two survival show streamers go there to search for it within the framework of a 21-day survival challenge. Early on, they encounter a coven of witches and from then on their endeavor seems to be jinxed.

Other than the cryptid in question, this movie offers little that hasn't been in done countless other found footage movies before.

On the positive side, the Dallas character did do a fairly good job of portraying an awkward introvert who almost cracks under pressure. Also, there was some interesting information about outdoor survival (for example, prior to this movie, I had never heard of a Steripen), even though these two seem to still have done many survivalist faux pas that even I can recognize e.g. Not bringing gloves, maps or lighters.

The ending, which presents two twists back-to-back, is especially poorly executed. The first twist did not give enough information about exactly what was fake and what was real, and the second twist shows a horror scene exactly in the same style of the horror scene before the first twist. This seems like an amateur error in film-making: if you want to convince the audience that things are different now, show them differently!

So, I learned about the Jersey Devil and some basic aspects of survivalism (and that is why I did not rate the film lower), but everything else about this film is forgettable.

Reality show style horror film.

[DarylJGittings · 5/10 · 4 August 2023]

A couple of buddies go out to the woods in search of the Jersey Devil. Dallas (John Hambrick) and Hank (Henrique Couto), try pronouncing his name. I'd fail miserably. Anyway, they go out into the woods to shoot a reality show of their search for the Jersey Devil.

Early in their journey, the encounter three witches, one of which tells them to get out of the woods. They do not heed her warning they choose to continue with their journey.

We get the back-and-forth banter and teasing that guys do with their buddies. Insulting each other and jokes at one another's expense. Bets on who can find found first, etc. The film gives off that survival show type vibe. We have the guys talking to the cameras and showing us how to catch fish.

The guys do, unfortunately, find what they are looking for. They've got motion cameras set up at their camp that show us the viewer what is going on.

Not bad for what it is. A little slow moving.

Found footage horror done right

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 3 May 2018]

This tight and tense little 73-minute entry in the ever-popular found footage horror genre serves as a sturdy example of how to do this particular sub-genre right. For starters, you need a couple of well-drawn main characters whose bantering and bickering proves to be pretty amusing and fun to watch, which is exactly what we get here in with reality TV show stars Dallas (likeable John Bradley Hambrick) and Hank (the equally amiable Henrique Couto, who also directed) who both profess to be experts at surviving in the wilderness getting in way over their heads when they decide to venture into the Pine Barrens in search of the fabled Jersey Devil. Secondly, Couto builds tension in a subtle manner and lets the horror kind of sneak in through the back door which in turn enables the surprise twist ending to pack quite a chilling punch. It also helps that said twist ending isn't one that you can spot from a mile away. Moreover, it's genuinely unsettling to see Dallas and Hank slowly, but surely unravel as they find themselves hopelessly lost in the woods. Joni Durian, Erin R. Ryan, and Rachael Redolfi provide some much-appreciated bare female skin as a trio of topless witches. A nifty little fright flick.

Not bad compared to other found footages but bad ending

[nooriintikhab · 6/10 · 24 December 2017]

No spoilers

Compared to other recent found footages which as horror fans we know they've been shit, this started off somewhat interesting and had some jokes in it but the ending sucks. Better than most low budget horrors these days but certainly won't be missing much by not watching this also. At least the director can gain experience from this film and make better ones in the future, already seems to be better than most small time horror directors.

Great Acting/Good Film!

[xheidanwade · 10/10 · 18 July 2022]

As a HORROR FANATIC, I watch A LOT of FILMS that most people have never heard of or maybe not even give a chance. This HORROR MOVIE has two great actors that I feel could progress into stars of the genre or beyond! I felt the dialogue stayed on point and kept a level of humor. Hank is the character everyone would love to hang with while the other is the uptight one, yet the one with all the KNOWLEDGE OF THE OUTDOORS or at least the amount to get them out of this terrible situation! I thought the movie flowed, and the "first ending" made the cheesy effects make "sense." I also liked the REAL ENDING. I think the film is worth the time and the run time is not some huge time investment anyhow. I would be interested in seeing the Director/ACTOR's other works as well as the ones he has in the future.

Good if you like this kinda thing. Bad if you don't.

[goldenarrow-99823 · 6/10 · 29 March 2018]

Not exactly groundbreaking but certainly enjoyable - as long as you don't mind found-footage films.

This does well to build the growing sense of paranoia and doubt (which leads on to mistrust and accusations) between the two leads, while not forcing in too much shaky-camerawork.

Minor gripe: the glaring red eyes of the 'devil' are just too bright. Too clearly seen. What made Blair Witch so enjoyable for me was that you could never quite say categorically what the peculiar noises in the woods sounded like. Here the sounds emanating from the sinister entity dwelling in the woods sounds very much like the grumbling of a territorial lion and the eyes/lights are just too clear - and clearly not a crane.

Ive seek positive and negative reviews of the ending. For me it felt tagged on and rushed, so I was slightly puzzled at it, but overall a satisfying outing.

It's just a shame they didn't run into a drunk Glaswegian terrorising the Scottish Highlands during their hiking trip there - now THAT would be truly terrifying.