Dir - Dennis Law
Overall: MEH
The first work that is exclusively horror from Hong Kong filmmaker Dennis Law, Womb Ghosts is an unnecessarily convoluted one that is riddled to death with the "loud noise must accompany every supernatural appearance" trope. Some of the moments where random, uncanny activity happens are genuinely surprising, but they are always presented in said obnoxious jump scare fashion and even occasionally are downright unintentionally hysterical. This includes a scene where a doctor pratfalls out of a window in mid sentence and another where several of the creaky noise-making/long-haired child ghosts float around a living room like cheap pinatas. The aborted fetuses, (even though they are kid-sized so, whatever), as vengeful spirit premise is certainly weird enough, but Law's meandering script that focuses on too many characters is detrimentally confusing. So confusing in fact that it is frequently difficult to even tell that the whole thing is told out of chronological sequence. Such an ambitiously failed approach mixed with the cliche-ridden spook show tactics make for something that is both forgettable and annoying to sit through outside of some gross-out qualities and accidental laughs along the way.
Dir - Gustavo Hernández
Overall: MEH
Gimmick films are tricky to pull off by their very design, not just from a technical standpoint obviously yet also in the fact that their artifice must be justified in a narrative context. The Uruguayan debut from director Gustavo Hernández and screenwriter Oscar Estévez The Silent House, (La Casa Muda), consists of only three takes, the first lasting a whopping fifty-five minutes which post-production trickery aside may be some kind of a record for a horror movie. This bold maneuver on the filmmaker's part holds the viewer's attention due to its sheer audacity, yet also an effective amount of, (very), slow dread building. The bottom gradually falls out though as the movie gets derailed by various, unnecessary cliches and it becomes increasingly apparent that the showy delivery is not integral to the story. Cleaver misdirection and ominous atmosphere aside, it is a laborious viewing experience for anyone with ADD and/or someone who is not jacked-up on enough caffeine to stay committed to the real-time presentation. In such a context, it is a problem when the nursery rhyme piano score tries to disguise large moments where nothing is happening, abrupt and spooky visuals are never played to more effective silence, Florencia Colucci's protagonist makes idiotic decisions without properly explaining in detail the harrowing events that she has witnessed when given the chance, and the story turns into a confused mess of vague twists.
Dir - John Erick Dowdle
Overall: GOOD
Enjoyable, unassuming popcorn horror fodder, Devil does not set out to re-invent the wheel yet crosses its T's and dots its I's efficiently. M. Knight Shyamalan attached his name to the project as producer and for contributing a story that was already widely known in religious circles as the "Devil's Meeting", where the Great Deceiver disguises himself amongst humans to turn them against each other and claim a fresh crop of deliciously damned souls. Screenwriter Brian Nelson introduces this concept from the opening frames which leaves no doubt as to what is going on, just making the entire thing a guessing game for the audience as to who amongst the cast is pulling the strings. Thankfully, the script is well-oiled in this respect, with all of the plot coincidences being purposely woven into the proceedings and casting doubt everywhere while simultaneously revving up the tension as five unlucky saps are trapped in an elevator and getting picked off in increasingly violent fashion. Having established himself with a few adequate found footage movies, director John Erick Dowdle handles the formulaic material with ease while keeping the sinister tone in check without too much distracting comic relief or bombastic schlock. The only complaint may be that it holds the viewer's hand the entire way through and is both less creepy and less psychologically interesting because of it, but Satan is always fun, so it gets a pass.
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