This horror flick will leave as many reasons to like it as dislike it. But DEMONIC is worth checking out for yourself. A group of college age ghost hunters decide to explore an old "haunted" house to connect the flashbacks and dreams of a friend with history to the location. Their foray turns into a bloodbath left to be investigated by Detective Mark Lewis (Frank Grillo) and a psychologist Elizabeth Klein (Maria Bello), that happens to be his on-and-off again girl friend. For slasher fans there won't be enough blood. But the movie has a steady pace to sustain interest. Some characters seem a bit uninspired. Will Canon is credited as director and shares writing duty. Rounding out the cast: Cody Horn, Dustin Milligan, Megan Park, Alex Goode and Terence Rosemore.

After a terrific opening involving a charismatic cop Detective Mark Lewis (Frank Grillo) investigating a houseful of apparent corpses, we flit back in time to find out how the tragedy occurred. Here, my heart momentarily sank, as it seemed we were to be treated to the dreaded 'group of friends' prevalent in films like this: fast-talking picturesque teens all bitter and moody because of some banal relationship disaster (one of the number, Michelle (Cody Horn) is secretly pregnant). But luckily, 'Demonic' only flirts with such soap-operatics to establish the characters before flitting back and forth to an interview with the only survivor, John (Dustin Milligan). Such back and forth shenanigans ensure you have to pay attention, which is of course, No Bad Thing. John, the poor sap, is being interviewed by psychologist, Dr. Elizabeth Klein (Maria Bello), who informs him he may go to jail as a result of the carnage and no other suspects.I enjoyed this for many reasons. It's dark and gritty, like a supernatural version of something like CSI and other punchy police dramas the US do so well. It is also set in Louisiana, a locale that brings happy memories of 'The Mummy's Curse (1944)' – it may be by the Kharis association, but the raw, humid, swampy location seems to work well with this kind of horror. Also, the acting is universally good, with the young cast soon shaking off the shackles of initial worries concerning precocious, bland stereotypes. The production as a whole is polished and foreboding, faced-paced and atmospheric. Will Canon does an excellent directing job; all scenes are packed with visual interest that highlights every cobweb and speck of dust in the ramshackle house.As the title suggests, demonic rituals appear to have been carried out at the remote house the five friends investigate. Unwisely, a séance is carried out which appears to unleash all kinds of spirits, none of them you would want to share an elevator with. Familiar jump-scare-tactics – upturned crucifixes, slamming doors, hideous faces in mirrors, use is even made of found-footage filming to confound what we think we know – all of these are used restrainedly and against a backdrop of convincing grit and gloom. There's even a twist ending.'Demonic' doesn't set the world on fire, but is a fine, solidly produced way of spending 83 minutes.

Some endings are or rather can be a deal breaker. It seems that this movie has this issue. I only read one comment from a person who seemed to actually like the movie, but only gave it a 5/10 because of the ending. Is it that bad then? I would argue not, quite the opposite, I'd say it does accelerate what we saw before this happening. I'd also argue that it is in the same vain as the rest of it.But I can understand that some people feel cheated or some think it is too on the nose. Depending on your take and how you feel about horror movies, how many you've watched, this will make up your mind about certain things. Things you may see coming and others that you will just think are crazy (and not in a good sense). But we do have a very stellar cast and a very solid story. And it's all told in a good fashion. It's tense, there are shock moments and it keeps going ... until that make or break moment ... does it work for you? That's a tough question to answer ... still doesn't change anything about the quality in the writing in this ...

I always get a little weary when I pick up a horror DVD and see it only lasts for 80 minutes. There are tons out there now. Short pointless horror flicks with minimal story/few scary moments/bad acting. This was a little above average. Good stuff: The mystery kept me intrigued enough to stay till the end. There were quite a few moments where my mind was batting back and forth between being sure or uncertain. Is he lying? Is he not lying? You get the gist. Also if you like supernatural horror, as I do, then you will also enjoy the loud bumps, jumps, people being dragged around by some invisible being. Always gives me the jeebies...in a good way. I liked the fact that they didn't make this a "found footage film" but incorporated a little of that through the film. The film jumped back and forth between this, the past and the current and I thought that worked well. Maria Bello also played a believable character. I liked her. Can't say the same for the rest of the cast. Which leads me to the bad stuff.Bad stuff: Acting wasn't great. The main character played by Dusty Milligan was not likable. I can't remember what else I've seen in him but I'm pretty sure he gave me the irrits then too. He was trying pull off scared and frantic and instead he just seemed....like maybe he was coming down off something or just really really cold. The rest of the characters were like fuzzy blurs with lines. None of their characters were formed enough for me to care if they lived or died. Also the whole - group of people go to a house/cabin/camping and two or more characters dislike each other - has been done to death. It has to stop! In closing, entertaining enough but nothing too special.