Sorry About the Demon takes a broad comedy approach to haunted house and demon possession tropes in a horror film. Directed by Emily Hagins, a wunderkind filmmaker who on the underground film circuit gained some notoriety for directing a feature film titled Pathogen at age 12 in her hometown of Austin, Tx.

Her newest film feels like a wider appeal to mainstream audiences, which makes it come off ultimately as a breezy and occasionally fun good time, but not without its fair share of jokes that completely fail.

Will (John Michael Simpson) is an aloof and heartbroken schlub who needs to move on from his breakup with Amy (Paige Adams), so he rents out a house that is possessed by a demon who is looking for a human sacrifice. The prior family made a deal with the said demon that if it removes itself from their daughter and calmly waits, they will be served up a new soul.

The lack of moral scruples from the family who quickly say yes like they were just offered a refill on breadsticks at Olive Garden and Will’s slacker stupidity that makes him impervious to warning signs when he arrives, like with a chair that’s inexplicably rocking that he thinks looks relaxing, should give you an idea of the humor you are about to embark on.

Sorry About the Demon is nowhere near the ballpark of the great works of Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, or John Landis, as it’s way too lighthearted and has nowhere near the excessive and creative use of gore, but if Raimi/Jackson/Landis light sounds like a fun way to kill 100 hours, you could spend that time in much worse ways than this sugary-sweet little film, but with too much sugar corroding the teeth to produce any real bite.