Review by Stephen Tronicek
DEMON is an anticlimactic piece of filmmaking, but it’s a film where that might actually be the point. A wedding is a big event that requires a lot of planning, and when something goes wrong, it doesn’t just go away. When something goes really wrong, it pops the thin veneer of happiness that the band and plastered smiles provides and sticks there forever tainting the chances of true fun and happiness. For all intents and purposes, the monster of Demon doesn’t seem to be the “monster,” but the effect of that ever annoying fleck sitting on the side of happiness.
That’s getting a little ahead, though. The focus of DEMON is the wedding of Piotr and Zaneta, a couple who is brought together under hinted at unusual circumstances. Piotr, in the effort to fix the house on Zaneta’s grandfather’s land, uncovers a spirit that he shouldn’t have and the resulting craziness affects the wedding as the night goes on.
DEMON has your typical monster, for a typical monster/exorcism movie, but as mentioned before the importance of this monster is somewhat anticlimactic, as the true horror of the night comes from the ever seeping sadness, blackening the image of such an entertaining and joyous wedding experience. It’s almost intentionally frustrating, much like the incredible The Lobster, or maybe Wild Tales. It’s especially like the latter in the way that it’s more European sensibilities of dark comedy, makes much of the movie hilarious in it’s frustration, whether it’s the father of the bride droning on in the shock that has reached his brain at the imperfection of the wedding, or a bridesmaid drunkenly singing a song. The film almost seems to be commenting on the fragile nature of such events, how if they are extended for a longer period of time than needed they fall apart.
This, unfortunately, all creates an environment that while intricately crafted does seem to become exhausting over time. The Lobster did much of the same thing but had the shock of the continual twists to back it up. DEMON does what it does well, but never backs it up with anything original. A little pattering of long lost nostalgia near the end of the film brings it to real life, but that’s the most relatable and new thing the film offers as far as looking at the characters reactions go.
The direction here also locks down this tone of the film. It often reminded of Tom Ford’s work on A Single Man, another film where the direction and cinematography , not story almost alters the tone of the film. That said if you’re comparing any directors work to Tom Ford’s, then that is most certainly a positive in the direction of Marcin Wrona, who tragically passed away before the film was released. Other positives need to go to the actors that keep the wedding, while slow, fascinating to an extent. Itay Tiran, who plays Piotr, is one of the most detail oriented physical actors of his time, creating a warped performance that engages with every twitch and movement. The father of the bride, Andrzej Grabowski, captures attentions through extended monologues that are hands down the most captivating part of the entire film.
As it rolls out, DEMON is wonderfully crafted, startlingly acted, but simply doesn’t have the momentum to always afford it’s somewhat languid tone. With that in mind, dread is great for the horror industry, and taken on the terms of what’s actually dreadful about DEMON, this is some of the most clever storytelling in any film out now.
3 1/2 of 5 Stars
DEMON opens in St. Louis September 23rd exclusively at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater
