Slight Spoilers

Not all miracles come from God.

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

aka The Baby

Reviewed by Deep Red

Being a fan of found-footage films since I first saw The Blair Witch Project (1999) and never really understanding the negative criticism I read about the genre I’ve been naturally looking forward to this one since I first heard about it despite the terrible reviews. Do found-footage films really make some people feel nauseous with their shaky camerawork? I’ve never experienced anything like that, must be awful for them. That isn’t the only criticism aimed at found-footage films mind you, another I read often is that as a genre it’s been done to death; I don’t agree. I don’t agree because I’ve been hearing that same criticism for quite a long time, well before films like The Last Exorcism (2010), Atrocious (2010), Grave Encounters (2011), The Devil Inside (2012), V/H/S (2012) and The Bay (2012), to name just a few, even came along, films I thought were superb.

So, the verdict on Devil’s Due:

Well, it stars Allison Miller as Samantha McCall and Zach Gilford as Zach McCall, they’re ‘just married’ and go to the Dominican Republic on their honeymoon. While there they go to a fortune teller who tells Samantha, “They’ve been waiting for you.” Later they go to a nightclub where they both pass out while the camera records fragments of what looks like a ritual involving Samantha. A couple of weeks later Samantha discovers she’s pregnant.

Hardly spoilers, you could probably read that on the packet or gather it from the trailer. Also, I think it’s fairly obvious that this is a found-footage version of Rosemary’s Baby, not officially but along those lines. Obvious yes, except that it isn’t, no more than Paranormal Activity is a found-footage version of The Amityville Horror or whatever. I thought this had a good original story especially within its own genre, there’s something ‘up close and personal’ about found-footage films that I like and a familiarity to the films in this genre that has just grown on me.

So, this is the same quality as the Paranormal Activity films, it doesn’t look cheaper than those and is no less engrossing. Even the acting is at the same level. So really, it all boils down to the plot and where it goes. Well, the plot kept me interested and the effects were very good. Where it goes you’ll have to find out for yourself but I wasn’t disappointed and consider this a great addition to my ever-growing Blu-ray collection.

Also stars Donna Duplantier as Dr. J. Ludka, Aimee Carrero as Emily, Sam Anderson as Father Thomas, Vanessa Ray as Suzie and Roger Payano as Cab Driver.Devil'sDue(1)