Demon, 2015.
Written and directed by Marcin Wrona.
Starring Itay Tiran, Agnieszka Zulewska, Andrzej Grabowski and Tomasz Schuchardt.
SYNOPSIS:
When he finds buried human remains on the eve of his wedding, a groom decides not to let it ruin the fun. As the festivities start and the vodka flows, his decision proves to have terrifying consequences on his big day.
Marcin Wrona’s (The Christening) supernatural oddity Demon, which recently premiered as part of the Toronto Film Festival, is a deeply unusual horror film that plays its cards very close to its chest. Unfortunately, it’s that decision which ultimately proves its undoing as the film limps into a third act that defies explanation and boggles the mind.
At the centre of the madness is gentle young man Piotr (Itay Tarin), who has travelled to Poland from London to marry his sweetheart Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska) at a country home the couple will inherit. The night before the big day, Piotr discovers a human skeleton buried in the grounds of the house and unwisely ignores it. He pays the price during the wedding, as he is plagued by the appearance of a spirit in a bridal gown as Zaneta’s father (Andrzej Grabowski) desperately attempts to maintain order.
The greatest strength of Demon is Wrona’s gift for building unease. Early on, the film plays out in disorientating wide shots that cast the characters as insignificant figures in a bigger game. Pawel Flis’ grim cinematography creates a world in which every day is overcast and the very world around the characters is an obstacle to the supposed happiness of the ongoing nuptials. Without digging too deeply into the horror filmmaking box of tricks, Wrona creates palpable dread as Tarin wanders the empty rooms of the grubby home in which he hopes to live. A skeleton and a lonely spirit would probably cheer the place up a bit.
Tarin’s performance is initially a nicely understated one, conveying the early stages of his supernatural affliction with subtlety and concealed concern. There’s such joy to watching him slowly unwind that it’s almost a shame when the film asks him to become a gurning wreck in the third act. It’s in this third act, which recalls the same sort of Jewish spectres as dire 2012 shockfest The Possession, that Wrona’s film unravels in a mass of conflicting narrative threads. Here, Wrona feels like an ill-disciplined filmmaker who has convinced himself that ambiguity is a virtue, even as he leaves the audience in a state of utter exasperation.
Demon also fails to scratch the surface of its myriad intriguing thematic ideas. There’s a nice thread about fear of interloping foreigners, a hint of dialogue about the effects of cultural homogenisation and even a suggestion that the whole thing is merely a vodka-fuelled nightmare. In the midst of this mess, Wrona loses his way and undoes the unnerving work of his opening hour. The only pleasure during this period is the delightfully absurd comedy performance of Grabowski, who might be the most determined father of the bride ever. Demonic possession, in his eyes, is not an excuse for leaving his guests without a party atmosphere.
There’s plenty to enjoy in Demon, but the third act leaves it feeling like a missed opportunity to create a genuinely unsettling horror film. Wrona does showcase an exceptional visual eye, but he needs to get more disciplined in the way he allows his story to unspool. Having an ending doesn’t hurt either.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=qvTY7eXXIMg
Originally published September 17, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
