1 out of 5

Directed by: Timo Tjahjanto

We know writer / director Timo Tjahjanto can do gonzo, bloody action – see The Night Comes For Us, or Headshot; we know he can do nutso, over-the-top horror – see one of the few redeeming segments of the V/H/S series, ‘Safe Haven.’  Giving him a full movie runtime for a Sam Raimi-esque devil possession fest seems almost too fitting.

And while some of the (we’ll assume purposeful) Raimi nods are nice, as is the general dedication to practical effects – resulting in at least one great, face-peeling gag – instead of this seeming like a project borne out of eyes-wide passion, it comes across more as a leftover moneys deal.  Great horror movies have been made on very little, but Tjahjanto seems conflicted on giving fans what they’d likely expect – something befitting the gonzo and nutso adjectives I used above – and something more grounded in slow-burn scares and character work.  This conflict would seem to have affected the actors in May the Devil, as well, as their terror is never as convincing as the dialogue their given, and even when there’s an on-screen bogeyman to react to, the response is muted.

Let’s extend this even further to the camerawork: aside from the pauses for an Evil Dead angle are zoom, all of our scares are painfully telegraphed, but then, sucking out even the potential for volume or pacing to amp up a scene or shot, Tjahjanto will hold on a monster reveal for too long, or let his camera drift too slowly to a jump scare, almost like the movie is pissed at us for wanting a horror movie.  This ends up, unfortunately, also giving too much attention to those practical effects, and allowing us to clearly recognize the actor beneath caked on scratches and blood.

The story hardly matters – a man comes into money via disreputable, Satan-worshipping methods, and after he winds up in the hospital with warts and black goo streaming out, his estranged daughter and second wife’s family convene on his villa to divvy up his possessions.  Cue a locked basement door that’s forced open, and then the deadite infestation.

Tjahjanto gives us some slick camera zips and swirls, a la his main influence, and people like vomiting their devil goop into open mouths, like another great Raimi flick – Drag Me to Hell – but then there are equally odd decisions, like giving the demonic spirit (the fantastic, zooming camera POV in Evil Dead) a CGI presence, and using his demon fake out – surprise, they’re normal again! – in a completely throwaway moment.

I appreciate the intention here, but whatever the limitations were or whatever was causing the lack of tonal focus completely boffed an intriguing opportunity.  Tjahjanto’s action flicks have been plenty horrific, though, so I’d still believe there’s potential here, and I’d be willing to give another genre attempt a go…