Devil’s Candy, The (2015)
Gareth Jones
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Starring Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Kiara Glasco, Pruitt Taylor Vince
Directed by Sean Byrne
Screened at Mayhem 2016
Tormented by a demonic voice that incessantly repeats an arcane phrase in his head, Ray (Vince) finds the best way to block these hellish messages is playing his Flying V guitar at extreme volume levels in the dead of night. When his mother confronts him about it and threatens to have him re-committed for treatment, Ray takes the only course of action he sees fit: murdering his parents.
Enter onto the scene the hard-rocking Hellman family: struggling artist Jesse (Embry), his wife Astrid (Appleby) and metalhead daughter Zooey (Glasco). With the house that Ray and his parents once lived in now up for sale at an astonishingly low price following the murders (or accident and suicide as the authorities see it), the Hellmans can’t believe their luck – but it isn’t long before Jesse begins to hear the same rasping voice, which leads him into trance-like nocturnal painting and inspires his artwork to become something more twisted: a reflection of suffering, agony and the fiery deaths of children.
Meanwhile, Ray can’t stay away from the property and quickly sets his sights on Zooey – first in friendship but later as a target for the insatiable bloodlust of whatever demonic force is driving him to abduct, murder and dismember the local youth.
A far cry, tonally, from Byrne’s breakout cult hit The Loved Ones, The Devil’s Candy is a gritty and vicious slice of horror, but it’s somewhat lost in what it wants to be – a possession film that isn’t quite a possession film, and a home invasion film that isn’t quite a home invasion film, either. Much of the mish-mash of ingredients it brings to the table feel relatively half baked, for example a metal theme that ultimately holds little relevance to the story beyond a few Metallica t-shirts and soundtrack ditties (and an easy method for excusing the disturbing nature of Jesse’s semi-possessed artwork), nothing by way of investigation into why certain residents of this abode hear the words of (what appears to be) Satan while others don’t, and even the none-too-subtle inclusion of an art dealer by the name of Belial – with the requisite Hollywood devil worshipper appearance – by whom Jesse is desperate to get his work accepted.
The allegory in the latter element is clear – especially given the circumstances under which the two men eventually meet – but feels at odds with Byrne’s more intimate, grounded approach to the rest of the horrific happenings. What isn’t half-baked, however, are the performances and character dynamics. Embry shines as Jesse – a loving but frustrated family man torn between taking hold of the success he’s fought so long for and letting it slip away to protect his family. Kiara Glasco is equally impressive as Zooey, a young social outcast whose world revolves around knowing her dad has her back. The repeated challenges this family faces put them through an increasingly dramatic wringer that feels rivetingly authentic.
Of note too, is Vince’s villain, Ray. Where it would be easy to turn this obviously damaged individual into a hulking, Terminator-esque killing machine driven by supernatural evil, Byrne lays down a number of layers and lets us peek into his psyche – one teeming with regret, doubt and guilt for his actions. This unpredictable nuance is carried markedly well by the actor, and plays toward a suspenseful, nail-biting final act that climaxes in a superbly crafted sequence where absolutely no-one is guaranteed safe passage.
And ultimately, this is where The Devil’s Candy manages to come out on top. Despite a narrative lull in the middle and a lack of fine-tuned cohesion in its parts, Byrne’s evident prowess as a filmmaker and a stellar cast manage to hold it together with enough conviction to make it work.
Creepy, shocking and suspenseful even if it is occasionally exasperating, The Devil’s Candy is well worth chewing on.
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Film
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