At the Devils Door 2014

At the Devils Door is a 2014 horror film. Per IMDB: When ambitious young real estate agent Leigh is asked to sell a house with a checkered past, she crosses paths with a disturbed girl whom she learns is the runaway daughter of the couple selling the property. When Leigh tries to intervene and help her, she becomes entangled with a supernatural force that soon pulls Leigh's artist sister Vera into its web - and has sinister plans for both of them.

Given that the horror genre is flooded with movies, and has been since the days of the first horror films, about haunted houses, there are plenty of awful films out there. At the Devil's Door is not one of them. Though it touches on much of the familiar ground we're used to, this film is something more, something better. It all centers around a house, of course, being sold by a real estate agent. Right away we know there's something not quite right; the people who own just want to be rid of it, no matter what. Throw in some family relationship between the real estate agent and her sister, one of which doesn't want to have children while the other can't have any and wishes one of them could. Plus the runaway girl, who we gradually learn has had to deal with the house and all its darkness before.

I really enjoyed Nicholas McCarthy's film The Pact when I first saw it.. McCarthy is really good with tension. His writing is pretty good. Though both At the Devil's Door and The Pact seem similar to many other films in the horror genre, it's the way they're handled, how they're filmed, the look they have about them that puts them above the rest.

Though there are no big name actors in this film, it doesn't matter. The actors all portray their characters fairly well. The actress who plays Leigh, Cataline Sandino Moreno does a pretty decent job with the character. Naya Rivera was also good. I can't speak to her acting talents other than in this film, and I think she played her character convincingly. The rest of the cast filled the movie out fine, in my opinion.

I would highly suggest anybody who enjoyed McCarthy's previous work in The Pact check this one out. I gave this an 8 out of 10 because even while treading really familiar ground (i.e haunted house, the devil, et cetera), it brings something new to the horror genre instead of the same old story. Many might disagree and say it's completely the same, but it's how things are presented here. There is no apocalyptic feel to the devil here- he is an evil, malevolent entity preying on those who enter the house. The devil in this film isn't looking to overthrow the world, he simply wants some souls to own, to play with, to with as he chooses. It's a more personal touch to the typical satanic-type horror film, in my mind, as we watch the devil prey on two sisters who inadvertently come into contact with the house's evil.

There are some really creepy scenes in this one, from glimpses of the devil in the darkness, lurking behind people, to tense moments where we don't know exactly what is happening or is going to happen. Check this one out instead of Devil's Due and those sorts- this film is much better.

I enjoyed this movie. Nothing really special but still I recommend this. It is very well done and it worth the time. 

7.5/10

IMDB 5.0