[FANTASTIC FEST 2018] ‘MAY THE DEVIL TAKE YOU’ Review

Writer/Director Timo Tjahjanto knows a thing or two about great genre film making. One half of The Mo Brothers (along with Kimo Stamboel), who crafted Indonesian hits like 2009’s Macabre and 2012’s Killers, Tjahjanto also co-directed V/H/S/2‘s segment Safe Haven along with Gareth Evans, and made his solo debut with 2016’s brutal thriller Headshot with the amazing Iko Uwais. All of these have been past Fantastic Fest features, so it makes a lot of sense that he’s made TWO movies featured at 2018’s show: an violent gangster flick, The Night Comes For Us (available on Netflix on October 19th) and this demonic nightmare, May the Devil Take You. This stylish thrill-ride has a lot less emphasis on fear as it does on in-your-face terror…and Tjahjanto knows how to provide that, at the least.

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After a secret deal with the devil (or a demon of some sort), Lesmana (Ray Sahetapy) falls ill many years later, and his estranged daughter Alfie (Chelsea Islan) and the rest of his family struggle to realize what’s killing him. When they visit his villa in order to seek out clues as to what his condition might be, the family discovers a nefareous secret and must contend with a possessive, malevolent entity.

This is heavily influenced by Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films, and while Tjahjanto may think he’s making something with the same vein of humor and splatter combo, the movie comes off as…tired, lacking levity and brevity (you feel every minute of nearly two hours). A few months ago I reviewed another Indonesian horror movie called Satan’s Slaves (available on Shudder on October 4th) that is on numerous levels what May the Devil aspires to be. Unfortunately the fear and ambiguity that’s established early on gives way to a different film entirely, devolving into a barrage of effects and gore. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, quite the opposite; I enjoyed the movie a lot more when it just stopped giving a fuck and went all out. Maybe it’s just what I was in the mood for, or maybe I was excited that it felt like it was nearing a climax? It has a number of those climax moments, by the way. In other good news, the effects are pretty great throughout, and the violence is pretty brutal. Also Chelsea Islan (also featured in Headshot) is quite good as our main protagonist, managing to balance small emotion with screaming and over-the-top horror antics. She’s not quite Ash, but Alfie is pretty awesome.

May the Devil isn’t bringing anything new to the demonic possession genre, but he’s crafted a balls-out, visceral movie that should please those in search of something light on story and heavy on gore. Lightly recommended, on the strength of the style and Islan’s performance.