Fantastic Fest ’15 Review: THE DEVIL’S CANDY

Metal, next to my love for film scores, runs in my blood. I was one of the few kids in my high school that wore a lot of Metallica shirts and, back then, all I listened to was metal. I was definitely an outcast because of this. Most people in my high school liked R&B and Country (and not the good kind).

I didn’t know much about The Devil’s Candy except that it just played at the Toronto International Film Festival during its Midnight Madness program and dealt with a family dealing with a possible demonic entity that possesses a painter and that it was Sean Byrne‘s follow-up to The Loved Ones. That was literally all I knew. I was happy to see that the lead character was played by Ethan Embry who has been in some great flicks as of late (see Cheap Thrills if you haven’t). Embry plays Jesse who is a struggling artist trying to provide the best for his family. He’s working soul-sucking commissions that pay the bills but hinder his creativity. His wife Astrid (played by Shiri Appleby) and his daughter Zooey (played by Kiara Glasco), is Jesse’s family. They are content with their life but Jesse wants better. They find a house that will tighten their budget (as all houses do) but provide Jesse a better working studio and Zooey a bigger room to paint the walls with metal band posters with. Before they buy the house, they ask why they are getting it so cheap and the real estate agent tells them it is a distressed property due to a couple of deaths. On the loose is our physical antagonist, Ray (played by our favorite twitchy-eyed actor, Pruitt Taylor Vince. Ray is troubled by voices and tries to drown it out by firing up his Marshall amp and strumming a chord a few times at deafening volumes. When Ray can’t get rid of the voices, that is when people die.

While the story is pretty standard, what excels The Devil’s Candy beyond mediocrity into one of the more frightening films as of late is the performances by the actors and the excellent direction by Byrne. This is a family that I would love to have. Zooey is a smart daughter who is loveable and loves metal just as much as her father (even though some metalheads might scoff at their love for their #1 band, Metallica). The family feels real and identifiable. When shit hits the fan, which until the final act, is Jesse trying to balance family life, a possible haunting/demonic possession and trying to get some hot-shit art buyer’s attention. Embry plays Jesse wonderfully. The struggle you see on the screen is felt due to Embry’s excellent acting and the identification and compassion you have with the family.

Six years ago, director Sean Byrne gave us a great horror film in The Loved Ones that could have been lumped in with the “torture-porn” movement. So, why didn’t it? Bryne knows how to use his actors and be the bridge to the audience. His characters are identifiable and while Lola from The Loved Ones might feel a bit comical at times, she still feels real and scary. Bryne brings out the best in Pruitt Taylor Vince as well. Typically, the actor is a bit character restrained to characters that are associated to being a patient in an insane asylum. Technically, the same is true here but Byrne makes his character go beyond that. The troubled nature of his mind is on display and we see the struggle as an audience. Byrne is an director that brings the best out of his actors and his characters.

The last third of the film shifts focus a bit to Zooey which, thanks to the excellent acting by Kiara Glasco, makes the final 30 minutes of The Devil’s Candy is frighteningly tense as hell and I hope I don’t have to wait too long to see it again.

Also, what kind of metalhead would I be if I didn’t tell you that the additional music from this film was provided by SUNN O))).

Andy listened to Slayer’s Relentless and Reign in Blood as well as Metallica’s Master of Puppets while writing this review.