The premise sounds interesting. We do get some of the horror flavors that we crave. There are some recognizable names and faces appearing here. In and of itself I like some of Roger Kellaway's original music, flavorful and ostensibly providing atmosphere and tension. The practical effects are splendid. Would that the audio weren't so terribly imbalanced and downright unprofessional, for example rendering dialogue almost imperceptible amidst the roar of hot tubs, garden hoses, or even just the wind. Would that the direction were stronger, or the acting more reliably convincing and able to find a more stable middle ground between "obnoxious" and "sleepy." Would that there weren't choices made of editing, cinematography, and the use of music cues that raised a quizzical eyebrow, and/or inspired tired sighs. Would that the dialogue weren't irksome rubbish, or that the special effects weren't outdated by at least several years and resemblant of 'Psyched by the 4D witch.' Poor lighting renders some scenes mostly or entirely indistinct and indistinguishable; the painfully uneven sound design makes Kellaway's score grating on the ears even at its best. (I had to reduce the volume by 50% compared to my usual settings lest I blow out either my speakers or my ear drums.) Male characters are almost uniformly written as at best unlikable, and I would just say "despicable"; at times one might infer a sex-positive denunciation of patriarchal values if the writing were more capable, but such bigger thoughts are clearly well beyond the modest skills of the writing team of Beverly Johnson and filmmaker James Polakof. 'Demon rage' is a rather straightforward ghost story, when all is said and done, but it's not a very good one.
There were genuinely good ideas here. Were more thought and care applied in the writing then the picture could have been an earnestly sinister delight, a tale of visitation, manipulation, and corruption by otherworldly forces. The narrative is at least complete, and broadly interesting, and in fairness, the back end seems to have benefited from more judicious application of the abilities of all involved. On the other hand, the plot is shoddy as it presents, and the tale loses cohesion and coherence in the last small stretch. And still, in every capacity, the film-making and too much of the storytelling are so deeply troubled or downright weak that the best ideas flounder, and it's hard to particularly care about any of them. I was a little excited to watch based on the cast and the core concept, but right from the start the movie begins to illustrate how tawdrily it was crafted, and at large the blasted thing is far too dull, feeble, and irritating. I see what it could have been, but nothing can survive construction this humble. For the strength 'Demon rage' demonstrates at its best, and in the latter half, I want to like it more than I do, and maybe I'm being too unkind. For the flaws and shortcomings it predominantly carries, however, and the long, hard road we have to walk to reach that greater value, I think my harshest criticism is exactly on point. It remains true that there are worse flicks one could watch, but even if you're a major fan of someone who participated in this, the sad fact remains that there are too many other features you could be watching instead that are much more worthwhile, including others that play in a similar space. Alas.
There were genuinely good ideas here. Were more thought and care applied in the writing then the picture could have been an earnestly sinister delight, a tale of visitation, manipulation, and corruption by otherworldly forces. The narrative is at least complete, and broadly interesting, and in fairness, the back end seems to have benefited from more judicious application of the abilities of all involved. On the other hand, the plot is shoddy as it presents, and the tale loses cohesion and coherence in the last small stretch. And still, in every capacity, the film-making and too much of the storytelling are so deeply troubled or downright weak that the best ideas flounder, and it's hard to particularly care about any of them. I was a little excited to watch based on the cast and the core concept, but right from the start the movie begins to illustrate how tawdrily it was crafted, and at large the blasted thing is far too dull, feeble, and irritating. I see what it could have been, but nothing can survive construction this humble. For the strength 'Demon rage' demonstrates at its best, and in the latter half, I want to like it more than I do, and maybe I'm being too unkind. For the flaws and shortcomings it predominantly carries, however, and the long, hard road we have to walk to reach that greater value, I think my harshest criticism is exactly on point. It remains true that there are worse flicks one could watch, but even if you're a major fan of someone who participated in this, the sad fact remains that there are too many other features you could be watching instead that are much more worthwhile, including others that play in a similar space. Alas.