Demon’s Rook, The (2014)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring James Sizemore, Ashleigh Jo Sizemore, John Chatham
Directed by James Sizemore
Distributed by Tribeca Film
If The Demon’s Rook had one message that should be made abundantly clear to any and all parents that may have a child with an overactive imagination, it is when that particular child comes to you to tell you that a demon visits either him/her in their bedroom at night…get them some professional help IMMEDIATELY. The price that will be paid for brushing the child’s claim off as prolific supposition will be demons from Hell and beyond invading the Earth and laying waste to everyone and everything – or was that slightly too dramatic of an admonition?
The film, which was directed by and stars James Sizemore, comes off as one of those cheesy, low budgeted 1980’s VHS video store horror rental specials. For the most part it does work, but it’s not without its faults. The story begins with a small boy named Roscoe, who draws pictures of his nighttime pal, Dimwos (John Chatham) – you see, Dimwos is a demon that visits young Roscoe when the sun goes down, and Roscoe’s parents chalk the interaction up to simple inventiveness in a young one’s mind. After Mom and Dad pay dearly for their ignorance (picture being sizzled on your Sealy), Roscoe is lured down a hole in the backyard by Dimwos, where he is taken under his massive wing and raised as the incubus’ son. Resurfacing some 15 or so years later (looking like a disheveled Jesus Christ), Roscoe is fully trained in the dark arts and is the only hope of stopping a full-scale massacre on the planet’s inhabitants by an army of flesh-craving denizens of the underworld… Crazy, huh?
Roscoe and his childhood friend Eva (his real-life wife Ashleigh Jo) meet up after many lost years and band together against the crazed dwellers of Inferno Central and can only witness the destruction that is strewn out in front of them – beheadings, eviscerations and good old arterial sprays are just some of the gore carnival that we as the viewer get to eyeball on an up-close basis, and boy is it a beautiful sight indeed! Whoever doesn’t suffer an initial severing attack gets to languish through an even more painful punishment being possession.
For all of the impressive attributes that are to be seen here, there are some glaring downsides to the film – for instance, this is VERY low-budget. The dialogue is borderline atrocious, and the camera work is straight out of a high school A/V Club. Even though quite a bit of the gore looks store-bought, if it’s sheer volume that you’re looking for, then you are most assuredly in luck. Sizemore’s direction in his first go-around is commendable, and I can only hope that his future projects will continue on the same pathway as this film.
Fans of the fantasy genre will be able to sink their teeth into this as well (pun intently intended), with the lead demon and malevolent followers displayed in some excellent makeup FX. What is lost on set design and performances is gained in leaps and bounds in carnage and character presentation. We meet many unfortunate souls in different scenarios, only to have them physically dissected shortly afterwards.
When all is said and done, if you’re willing to overlook the negatives and simply focus on the creature visuals and prepare yourself to bathe in blood, then The Demon’s Rook is meant for you – I’m willing to recommend this solely based on the appreciable dosage of crimson overabundance, so watch, enjoy, and don’t forget your splash guards.
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Film
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