Director: Paul Campion

Writer: Paul Finch, Paul Campion, Brett Ihaka (Screenplay) Paul Campion (Story)

Starring: Craig Hall, Matthew Sunderland, Gina Varela, Karlos Drinkwater, Geraldine Brophy, Luke Hawker, Jessica Grace Smith, Jonathan King

 

Plot: Set in the Channel Islands on the eve of D Day, two Kiwi commandos, sent to destroy German gun emplacements to distract Hitler’s forces away from Normandy, discover a Nazi occult plot to unleash demonic forces to win the war.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Slow Moving

 

Story: The Devil’s Rock starts by showing two soldiers Captain Ben Grogan (Hall) and Sergeant Joe Tane (Drinkwater) approaching a beach on a small Channel Island, they are surprised to find it abandoned as they advance onto the land. Hearing screaming they speed up their advancement to complete the mission as fast as they can. Upon discovering the base they learn not everything is right on the island and decided to investigate. What the two discover is an occult book and dead bodies but splitting up causes one of them to die leaving Ben on the mission against an unknown enemy alone. With Ben getting himself captured he gets interrogated by a German Colonel Klaus Meyer (Sunderland) who wants to know the plan, but he has something hidden away. Ben discovers that the screaming is in fact his ex-wife Helena (Varela) who he saw die or is it? Ben has got himself caught up in the middle of an occult mission that could change the entire world.

 

The Devil’s Rock comes off as a very basic story it has limited characters to keep everything tension filled as the two leading male characters are either side of a war and plays along the idea of the occult well. It is a lot of discussing what should and could happen which fails to pull you in. it does have some positives and one big one is not trying to do the false jump scares and the final reveal of the demon is built up and very sudden which gives the biggest shock. In conclusion the film uses the ideas of what could have happened during the war and makes a film out of it without really achieving too much. (5/10)

 

Actor Review

 

Craig Hall: Captain Ben Grogan sent to the island along with a partner to sabotage and distract Hitler’s men before the D-Day landing but finds himself stuck in the middle of something he has no idea about. Craig does a solid job in the lead role but does fail to gain all the attention that his character could demand. (5/10)

 

Matthew Sunderland: Colonel Klaus Meyer is trying to solve the occult problem that his people have created. Matthew does a solid job and is basically the information filling guy of the film. (5/10)

Gina Varela: Helena the mysterious girl/demon that is trying to control the soldiers but one is having none of it while the other thinks it is too good to be true. Gina does a solid job as the seductive demon figure. (6/10)

 

Support Cast: The Devil’s Rock only has minimal support cast that all become disposable characters and offer nothing to the story.

 

Director Review: Paul Campion – Paul does a solid job directing putting the characters in a trapped scenario where they have to work together but there is too much talking around the strong effects. (6/10)

 

Horror: The Devil’s Rock use basic horror ideas and holds back on the shocks until the final act where it does offer one of the better ones in the genre. (7/10)

Thriller: The Devil’s Rock is a thriller that doesn’t manage to pull you in as much as it could. (4/10)

War: The Devil’s Rock uses the idea of the two leads are on opposite sides of a war and most unite to stop the demon well because the tension between the two stays through the whole film. (8/10)

Settings: The Devil’s Rock uses the captured isolation setting well to keep everything tight and trapped. (8/10)
Special Effects: The Devil’s Rock has some very good practical effects that get better as the film continues. (9/10)

Suggestion: The Devil’s Rock is one for the horror fans to try, where it is short if you dislike you won’t waste too much time either. (Horror Fans Try)

 

Best Part of The Devil’s Rock: Demon reveal.

Worst Part of The Devil’s Rock: Too Short

Kill Of The Film: The Demon’s first

 

Believability: No (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: It is open for one, but I doubt we will have one

Post Credits Scene: One that shows what happens to the next visitors.

 

Awards: Won Best Make-up Design in a Feature Film at the In New Zealand Film and TV Awards.

Oscar Chances: No

Runtime: 1 Hour 23 Minutes

Tagline: War is a Bitch

 

Overall: Talk, Talk, Demon, Splatter

Rating