Movie Review: ‘HERE COMES THE DEVIL’

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I envy how culturally rich Mexico is, and how in-touch the people is with their folklore. It can be a very superstitious place, and since the country is predominantly Catholic (which a peculiar and fascinating mix of pagan practices) there is no shortage of fear of the Devil, in all its forms. Such is naturally the subject matter of Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s 2012 film Here Comes the Devil.

It concerns (mainly) a family on a day trip in Tijuana. Adolescent brother and sister Adolfo (Alan Martinez) and Sara (Michele Garcia) ask their parents permission to explore a lonely hill near the gas station they are parked at. Their mother, Sol (Laura Caro), reluctantly allows them under the condition they return in an hour. When they don’t, she and her husband Felix (Francisco Barreiro, We Are What We Are) call the local police to help find the children.

The kids are found wandering the streets the next day and are returned unharmed—physically, at least. A grave change has overcome the children, who are now distant, reserved, and hollow. Although they will admit to nothing, Sol knows something happened to them on the hill, in the cave they claim to have been lost in. She takes upon herself the harrowing task of discovering the details of that night, but no mother could ever prepare for what she finds.

There are several different kinds of evil explored in Here Comes the Devil, some supernatural and some all too horrifyingly real. Sex and death are the two commanding themes (as you’ll find with any seemingly good work of art), and audiences are invited to watch the two battle and embrace. Sex, in particular, is viewed in several different angles, and all kinds of dynamics, from the natural to the forbidden. I’ll go ahead and say here that you are uncomfortable with explicit and taboo scenes of sexuality, this film probably isn’t for you.

Here Comes the Devil is a wild and sensuous experience; it is daring and even disgusting but a true treasure to modern horror. While the cast was given a spectacular script to work with, they truly bring the characters to life, fill them out, and make them who they are. Everyone, no matter how small the role gives a full and robust performance.

While Bogliano (a seasoned director of more than ten films) is passionately exclusive to horror, he is constantly switching up his style from film to film but always paying homage. In Here Comes the Devil he is tipping his hat to 70’s horror, from the way it is filmed (using authentic filters and lenses) to the films it references (Don’t Look Now, Picnic at Hanging Rock). His next project is a twist of the werewolf trope called Late Phases with a script by Eric Stolze (Under the Bed).