Directed by Brando Lee
Written by Alfie Palermo
Starring Fiona Dourif, Harris Dickinson, Jordan Belfi, Konglar Kanchanahoti
Unrated
Runtime: 93 minutes
In theaters October 7, available digitally November 22

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

The nifty-B movie Don’t Look at the Demon, features elements of the supernatural and paranormal in a haunted house setting.

Jules (Fiona Dourif) is the medium at the center of a TV show called Skeleton Crew. She is filming a segment in Thailand involving a woman being tattooed, but the woman’s pain is so great, Jules insists the monk, (Konglar Kanchanahoti) stop. However, it is soon revealed that the woman’s pain is manifest in the nails she vomits up. The monk, perhaps seeing a kindred spirit, gives Jules an amulet to empower her before she heads off to her next assignment. 

That next gig is one that Jules divines. Martha (Malin Crépin) and Ian (William Miller) are in need of help because their house is haunted. The team arrive at their manse and investigate the couple’s claims of Martha being in a trance and creating images of a man she never knew. She and her team also observe clothes have been shredded and discover is a nasty a smell in the basement. Jules is initially unconvinced, especially when she discovers a dead rodent in the cellar. But then something freaky happens that changes her skeptical mind. Director Brando Lee makes the shocks jolting, never overplaying them.   

Don’t Look at the Demon features several jump scares as a spirit touches Jules and other uncanny things happen. One night Ian goes sleepwalking and Martha is possessed by a demon. Later, a spirit takes over Ben (Harris Dickinson), a member of the TV crew, and Ben attacks several folks, including his brother, Wolf (Randy Wayne), and Martha. 

Lee lets the filtered voices work overtime (the demon speaks through Martha and Ben) and there are several scenes of people flying around the room or bashing into walls. The filmmaker creates a palpable sense of fear and dread as terrible things happen. There is something that these ghosts want, and it forces several characters to confront the demons in their past. 

The rationale behind the possession is smart, even if a backstory involving Jules and the death of her sister Sara (Jessie Franks) does not quite connect to Martha’s victimization. The film also includes an unnecessary love triangle between Jules and her producer Matty (Jordan Belfi) and their colleague, Annie (Thao Nhu Phan); it adds little to the drama. But the film recovers when the Thai monk returns to help Jules and the crew battle the demons.

Don’t Look at the Demon is best when it generates interest as characters discover secret rooms in the house, or when find a film reel that explains the history of what is happening and why. (Perhaps the most shocking thing in the film is that a projector hidden in a walled off room since the 1970s is not only cued up to the explanation, but also operable).  

The acting by the ensemble cast is uneven, and it is curious why rising star Harris Dickinson signed on for this film, but he acquits himself well, especially when Ben is possessed. Fiona Dourif excels at playing moody and her steely character is fun to watch as she takes charge or “feels” something. In support, Jordan Belfi and William Miller are both handsome but pretty stiff, however, Malin Crépin is convincing during her many scenes of being haunted. 

Don’t Look at the Demon may have a low budget feel to it, but the special effects are well rendered, and the film is effective as it builds to its noisy, busy conclusion.