[REVIEW] ‘Sometimes it takes a possession’: Sorry About The Demon
It’s 3:15 am in a nuclear family’s four bedroom home, it’s the demon’s hour. Young girl Grace is hiding under a sheet on her bed as a door in her bedroom slowly creaks, shadows of footsteps breaching the gap under her bedroom door. She lets out a scream that wakes her parents and brother, sending them tearing up the hallway to her bedroom. After breaking down the door, the family discover Grace sitting motionless under a sheet, removing the sheet, the demon Demonious announces himself and his intention of sacrificing them for being in the house. The family makes a deal with the demon, they will find another sacrifice for him if they are allowed their child’s soul back.
Written and directed by Texan filmmaker Emily Hagins, Sorry About The Demon is her sixth feature length film. Starting her career early with her first feature film Pathogen, Emily has mastered writing and directing humourous horror that tracks deeper meanings. This is Hagin’s second film with Paper Street Studios following her segment ‘Cold Open’ in Scare Package (2019). Jon Michael Simpson makes his return to horror Throughout Sorry About The Demon we feel the grief that Will is experiencing and his desperation that has lead him to his position of living with a demon. Jon Michael adds a surprisingly fun spark of comedy in addition to the care and love that Will clearly has for his friends and Amy.
After going through a breakup with his partner Amy (Paige Evans), one that was definitely spurred on by his general lack of attention to the important things in their relationships, and his excuses for lacking in life course direction, Will moves into the house of the once possessed Grace and her family. Seemingly oblivious to the presence of Demonios, Will goes about his day baking cakes, listening to 80s’ audio workout tapes, and wallowing in his self pity and loneliness. Finding rational reasons for supernatural occurrences in the house, Will’s ignorance spirals into hilarity as he finds baked cakes he doesn’t remember baking, the piano being played in the basement, and furniture moving. It gets to a point when he can no longer ignore the demon in his house.
As Will continues to settle into his creaky and creepy rental property relying on advice from his best friend Patrick (Jeff McQuitty), who introduces him to the supernatural believing and wielding Aimee (Olivia Ducayen). The trio decide to conduct a seance to cleanse the house of the demon which results in a very angry Demonios; refusing to leave without his human sacrifice. Throughout the slapstick comedy and dialogue are highlights that show the dynamic between the trio and Demonios, who manages to bring a lot of hilarious demonic antics including green blood bursting onto the screen. Every comedic element is purposeful and funny with the right timing being conjured by actors and director alike.
Sorry About The Demon was filmed throughout the 2021 COVID pandemic lockdown in a hotel atrium in Toronto Canada. Inspired by movies such as The Conjuring and Insidious (playing throughout their time filming), its easy to see how the crew were able to creatively produce a quality level of demonic possession and the spontaneous and pleasing jumpscare. When discussing the creative elements of the film and it’s production, Hagins has said “we got to get really creative with it and kind of these key props and locations in the set we got to do things we wouldn't get to do if we were just working in someone's real house, like the cutting the holes in the walls or in appliances, so we could shoot through them. I just felt like it was really special.” (You can read our interview with Emily Hagins here).
Sorry About The Demon intelligently blends elements of horror and comedy in a combination that is enhanced with Hagins’ natural ability to create a naturally funny script and narrative. Whilst there are some awkward moments to the interactions between characters, they are not film breaking occasions to the movie. Taking in the more serious themes of grief, relationships, and finding oneself, Sorry About The Demon tackles personal and human experiences while sugar coating them to extend empathy to the viewer. At its center, Sorry About The Demon is a story that follows the emotional development of Will who takes a demonic possession to get him on the right track to growing the heck up!
