Synergy Magazine

Demons Among Us

Stuart Simpson

Accent Underground

R4 DVD

On the eve of Christmas in the small town of Miranda Falls, Victoria, Joe Melton (Nathaniel Kiwi) has just moved into town, retreating from the hectic life of the city to write his thesis on the dangers of advertising and mass consumption. Joe soon discovers an evil presence lurking both in the dark forest and in his home. Chased by demons and suspected of murder, Joe goes on the run. The only other person to witness the devil's work first hand is local girl Kylie Fitzgerald (Laura Hessey). She is unwillingly swept up in Joe's desperate plight and together they must try to survive the ensuing horror. Ed Winters (Peter Roberts), a psychotic advertising executive living in America, is drawn back to Miranda Falls to investigate the brutal murder of his ex-wife and family, only to find the devil himself. While Joe battles the demons that have taken over the town, the devil must convince Ed to be its host for world domination.

So what are we to make of Demons Among Us ? The first thing that must be appreciated is how creative and innovative this film really is. This is not the standard fare of B grade horror or splatter; it borders on the experimental or avante garde with an expert use of colour, black and white and textured cinematic techniques to offer an extremely unusual film experience. The soundscape is quite amazing with an original score and a constant creative use of surround sound to create an intense horror experience.

It should be understood that this is a truly independent film, shot between 2003 and 2006 with volunteer actors and support staff. The original sound score was composed by Clare Whitcombe and creates quite a superb mood, while the Special FX Make up and Creature Effects were skillfully created and applied by Nick Kocsis and are top notch, it is quite amazing what can be achieved in an independent film.

While the storyline and surreal nature of the film certainly offers an impressive independent horror experience, the two dimensional nature of most of the characters and the poor acting does at times let the side down. While I can appreciate the volunteer nature of the production, the wooden acting does take away from what is essentially quite an impressive film. While many of the characters were clearly developed to be “humorous” or even caricatures, in the end I think this takes away from rather than enhancing the dark mood created by the film.

The DVD is from Accent Underground and offers the film in a clear and high quality format with great sound. At times the film does seem a little “soft” and blurry but clearly this is due to the digital video filming method rather than the DVD format. At the same time the creative use of unusual cinematic techniques means that minor problems in the source material are somewhat irrelevant. The DD 5.1. soundtrack is a real winner, it is great to hear such a creative use of the surround sound process in an independent film.

Extras include a behind the scenes featurette: Diary of A Demon, deleted scenes, a Photo Gallery plus Sickie a short film and a trailer.