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The App That Kills: Bedeviled – Movie Review

Published

7 years ago

March 25, 2017

Bedeviled was just released in Germany. To celebrate, here is a review of the modern smartphone killer flick, so you’ll know all about it once it hits the US.

What is it about?

In 2017, everyone has a smartphone, and everyone knows Siri. She was even in the Lego Batman Movie. Now imagine Siri is trying to kill you and your friends. That’s Bedeviled. A group of friends mourn the sudden loss of their friend. Shortly after they are invited to install an app. Mr. Bedeviled is the name. Like Siri, but seemingly even smarter. Smart becomes creepy really fast and soon teenagers die left and right.

Of course a movie like this has to have some sort of message. And to be honest, it is very on the nose: Smartphones invade your privacy. It’s nice to have a message, but it can be a little annoying when you have multiple characters mention it. While the evil app mentions it as well. Of course this doesn’t make the message less true, but it takes away from it for sure.

How is it?

For a low budget, direct to VOD and Blu-Ray movie, I was pleasantly surprised. The main antagonist, Mr. Bedeviled is really fun. The app listens to your conversations, finds out your biggest fears and then scares you to death.

“But why would they mention their biggest fears?” I hear you asking.

Well, imagine two guys try to scare their friend with one of those cheap jump scare videos and he remarks “You know I’m afraid of clowns!”. On other occasions, they just talk about their biggest fears for no reason.

Bedeviled, release 2017

The movie is well shot, the cinematography is really good. It has the look of a big budget movie, on par with Insidious. But I guess for that it would need more cheap jump scares.

Is it scary?

The most important question for a horror movie is, of course: “How scary is it?” I’d say it is fairly effective. It’s got some eerie scenes. Of course it has the usual jump scares every now and then, but it has more to offer. The scary effects look mostly practical, done with makeup and puppets. Everyone who has a fear of clowns or clown-like characters will be frightened for sure. And Mr. Bedeviled looks great. He is reminiscent of Slender Man, tall, slim, and instead of a tie he wears a bow tie, instead of a black suit, his suit is colorful. And he has a great grin.

His voice is even more important though, because as a Siri-like app, he is talking a lot. And the actor/voice actor has a great voice, reminiscent of the Killers voice in the Scream franchise.

Now to get to the gore. You won’t find any in this movie. It is R-Rated, but they don’t show anything viscera. All deaths happen off-screen. My guess is that the R-Rating comes from them saying “Fuck” quite a lot. Otherwise this would be a PG-13 movie for sure.

Anything else?

You can see where Bedeviled was influenced all throughout the movie. It is not by a big studio. It was made by actual horror fans who wanted to show how you scare people. And I think they succeeded. Also, for the most part, they managed to portray teenagers and smartphones pretty well. Most filmmakers have not yet grasped how young adults use their phones. The Vang-Brothers not only captured it pretty well, they managed to put the premise around this topic. Instead of “Oh no, my phone doesn’t work here” in this movie it works. You could say it works too well.

bedeviled 2016

There are some problems with the movie though. There are some ideas that seem to be important, like one girl who is in love with her fairly creepy teacher, that are never fully explored. This makes them feel pointless in the end. Also, a problem more and more horror movies seem to have, the death of the friends is downplayed by the characters. The first death is a big deal, but after that it just feels like they are over it right after it happens, going back to joking around and having sex. Also once again, none of these teenagers seem to have any parents. But those are small nitpicks, if you turn your brain off you will still enjoy this movie.

Final Thoughts

All in all Bedeviled is a fun contemporary movie that can hold its own in the ranks of recent scary movies. It probably won’t be remembered as one of the greatest of all times, but it is a fun teeny horror movie, perfect to watch with a few friends to have a scary night. While influenced by other great horror movies it still manages to stand on its own. Even though the main pattern of the story is nothing new, they managed to make it feel fresh and original enough to stand out. I’m rating Bedeviled 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

2 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

3 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

5 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.