I'm kind of having a hard time with this one. One the one hand, there's a lot to like about Here Comes the Devil. It's a good combo of supernatural/possession horror and family drama, with just a sprinkle of police procedural thrown in. It goes after some big ideas about revenge (think Prisoners with Hugh Jackman from last year), the difficulty of adolescence, and familial responsibility, but ultimately ends up just on the "good" side of the "good/great" line.
After a seemingly unconnected scene of exploitative-feeling sex/murder, Here Comes the Devil centers on a family of four who are on a day trip in Tijuana. The children (the sister of maybe 13 and her younger brother, aged 11-ish?) decide they want to check out a nearby hill - you know the old saying about kids and hills! Mom and dad acquiesce, and quickly have sex in the car and pass out. When they awaken, the kids are nowhere to be found. Night falls, and obviously the parents are very concerned. They contact the police, who convince them to rest for the night in a hotel. They feel guilty, stressed, and devastated - and some cracks in their relationship start to show. But the kids turn up the next morning, and everyone is relieved. However, as the days go by, Mom starts to notice that not all is well with the children - something happened to them out on the hill. Were they attacked? Sexually Assaulted? Or something worse? You can probably tell by the title...
What I liked
Here Comes the Devil is really just pretty unique. For a possession movie, they manage to cram a lot of interesting ideas about family, guilt, and revenge. The parents are torn up about what may have happened to the kids on the hill. The dramatic arc of the film comes from mom and dad's reaction (or overreaction) to the revelation that the kids are exhibiting signs of a traumatic experience.
But this is still a horror movie first and foremost, and when it goes in that direction, it delivers. There aren't many instances of gore, but when there is they make it count. And when the supernatural stuff eventually happens, it's genuinely creepy - but really only one scene sticks out (when the babysitter is recounting her experience with the children). I actually would have liked another scene or two of paranormal shenanigans, because it worked like gangbusters when it went down. And it's not treated like a big reveal or anything, so I'm a bit at a loss as to why they didn't go back to that well.
The performances from the parents needed to be strong for this to succeed, and Laura Caro (mom) and Francisco Barreiro (dad) were really up to the task. They had to go to some dark places with their parts in this film. But I bought every moment of their distress and concern. I loved the investigating cop too - he brings a cop/procedural element to the film. Although maybe I just really loved his moustache. There was also a gas-station attendant who played the harbinger role and warned people away from the hill. It was amusing, but almost seemed like the film was toeing the parody-line with him. It's really the only time in the film we got anything other than a deathly serious tone.
This is the actually the second film that I've seen Barreiro in recently (the previous being the excellent We Are What We Are - another horror film that is really as much about familial relationships as anything). From what I remember, he plays markedly different roles (he exhibits much more outward anger here), but he knocks it out of the park in both.
What I didn't like
It never quite cohered into anything more than the sum of it's parts. The family/crime drama parts were interesting, and the horror was solid. But I was never really drawn into how they played off of each other. Other than some brief connective tissue, it almost felt like they could have been two separate short films.
And, despite being possessed, the kids never really did anything evil. (Well, not to other people.) So other than just the kids being "different," there was never really any stakes for the family. When bad things do happen, it's hard to tell if the kids are to blame, or if they are just acting as conduits for something more. Either way, it's hard to get much a feel for the children, since they are just blank-eyed and quiet the whole time. Teenagers, eh?
I don't expect an explanation of "Why" the hill would be haunted, but what we get is kind of half-baked. It's one of those movies where I would have almost preferred no backstory - sometimes a total mystery is a better than a weak explanation.
Ultimately
I dug this movie. I wouldn't rave about it, and would probably recommend We Are What We Are over this one if you are looking for a familial horror film from Mexico. But if you liked that, Here Comes the Devil is a good companion piece.
I would recommend this film.
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