In the case of director Marcin Wrona, it’s hard to begin any review of his latest film, Demon, without first discussing how it became his last. After the film debuted to high praise at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Wrona would go on to take his own life just prior to the film’s Polish debut. A filmmaker long described as the next Roman Polanski, Wrona’s last film is finally arriving in theaters, and with roots set firmly in both Polish cinema and horror cinema more broadly, Demon is a pitch black comedy that moonlights as one of the year’s most tense horror/thrillers.
Set ostensibly over the span of one wedding, the film introduces us to Piotr (Itay Tiran) as he arrives in a small Polish village to marry the sister of a close friend, a beautiful blonde named Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). Hoping to...
Set ostensibly over the span of one wedding, the film introduces us to Piotr (Itay Tiran) as he arrives in a small Polish village to marry the sister of a close friend, a beautiful blonde named Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). Hoping to...
- 9/9/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
The marriage of a possession-driven horror film and a wedding comedy initially seems like an odd, opposites-attract union, especially when you add elements of the enduring legacy of the Holocaust in Poland. Theoretically, combining these elements shouldn’t work, leaving the audience in a state of whiplash as they’re thrown from one end of the genre spectrum to the other. But thanks to the talent of director Marcin Wrona, “Demon” combines these seemingly disparate threads to create an unsettling, oddly funny film with more to say than either the average horror film or comedy. Loosely based on Piotr Rowicki’s play “Adherence,” “Demon” quickly moves outside the confines of a stage production. It begins by traveling in a small town in Poland, where buildings and the bright yellow of a front loader are vivid against a backdrop of fog, the first evidence of the film's fine cinematography from Pawel Flis.
- 3/28/2016
- by Kimber Myers
- The Playlist
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.