If there’s a Heaven then there must be a Hell. That’s the deal. Good has to be balanced out by evil. This was a central tenet of most ancient religions. Demons or devils have always played an important part of that. The Catholic Church has long believed in their existence. Indeed, the New Testament is full of stories of exorcism and possession. The Vatican has been used in many horror films, most famously in The Exorcist, and is prominent again in Demonic.
Carly (Carly Pope) has vowed to never speak to her mother Angela (Nathalie Boltt) again. This followed a sequence of increasingly unhinged behaviour which culminated in murder, for which she was locked away for good. However, on discovering years later that Angela is now in a coma, she reluctantly agrees to participate in a new cutting-edge therapy. Entering a simulation of her mother’s mindscape to try and communicate, but are they alone?
Demonic is a stylish and disturbing horror which toys with the concept of demons, both personal and the ones which are all too real. It has been a long wait for a new Neill Blomkamp film, but it was definitely worth it. He conjures up a whole new virtual world with dangers lurking around every corner. An impending doom lingers over Carly throughout as dreams and reality collide. Demonic mixes a number of genre elements together to create an unsettling and otherworldly experience.
Demonic is available in US Cinemas and on VOD from 20 August.
