Fantastic Fest ’15 Review: DEMON

On September 19th, director Marcin Wrona was found dead at the age of 42 in an apparent suicide.  It’s inevitable and unavoidable when discussing his final film Demon, especially when his death was so recent and fresh in memory.  It lingers over the film and likely will be influential on all reviews coming out of Fantastic Fest.  The thing is that the movie would have been a major breakthrough for Wrona after working in TV and shorts for most of his career.  It’s full of a dread and an atmosphere that’s palpable from moment one. There’s such an assured directing hand that it becomes easy to imagine the demons that seemed to plague Wrona and became too strong to handle.

The story revolves around a couple on the eve of their wedding moving with a new property to begin their lives together. The man accidentally backs into a tree with a digger, unearthing what appears to be human bones. After a horrifying event in relation changes him, we’re treated to one of the drunkest, strangest Polish wedding receptions you could possibly imagine. Everything comes to a head after we discover the possession the man is experiencing may be more than expected.

There are a couple really strong aspects that work, most prominent is the absolutely incredible Itay Tiran and the almost equally impressive Agnieszka Zulewaska. Both play very different characters who are both losing it on the eve of their nuptials, he into delirious madness and she into hysterical confusion. Their playful chemistry early on makes their devolution all the more heartbreaking. There are some very creepy moments throughout, but the movie truly shines in the beginning of the wedding shower. The man’s baffling moments culminates in an electrifying possession dance that left my jaw dropped. Wrona shoots the film with confidence like a seasoned individual with a defined style.

Unfortunately the last 3rd of the film loses Tiran and the film collapses with nowhere to go. A colleague had a very interesting read on the movie. I don’t feel it’s appropriate to include it here as the movie is quite ripe for interpretation, and it wasn’t my thought. In all honesty the movie was better in my mind after hearing his take, and I’d proceed with caution otherwise. The last act of the movie put a serious damper on the rest of the feature. Tiran is worth seeing the movie for, easily…but consider stopping after he disappears. Whatever ending you have in your head is so much better.