User reviews

Technically, everything with this movie was fine - the acting, sound, lighting, etc. I had no issues there. In fact, the acting was spot-on.

For me, the BIG problem with this movie is the overall concept - the whole story. It's just not very good. Or, they got the pacing all wrong, jumping around from one scene and character to the next in a way that threw me off.

When you approach the topic of devils and demonology, there needs to be a certain atmosphere of respect for the enormity of the situation & a certain kind of dread or menace involved. While there was some, here it wasn't effective.

The first 3/4 of the movie was getting good. Acting is excellent from the three main characters. In fact they're the reason I decided to watch this movie. The movie isn't bad, it kept my interest the whole time. It's the two storylines never reconnecting that ruins it. I was waiting at the end scene for it to finally come together but then it just ends.

It would have been better to not have the rival protagonist/antagonist subplot, and have focused more on the demonologist main plot. That's where the meat of the story is and needed context of a full backstory. Instead the end leaves you wondering why are we back here? And why did any of this happen?

It's a decent watch for when you can't find something else.

It seems like it's going to be a little campy but isn't, a little monstery but isn't, a little interesting but isn't. This is one of the worst movies you will ever see.

The movie starts to build multiple things that never go anywhere: parallels between the main character and rival, a tragic backstory for the main character, are demons real, and then ... nothing happens. I feel bad for the actors who do a good job playing the characters they've been given only to be misused by a meandering script and put in some CGI circa 2001.

This movie is bad, it should feel bad, and you should watch something else. Starry Eyes takes this concept and actually does quite well with it, watch that instead.

This film tries its best to stand out from other films of the horror genre. It is successful in doing that but at the cost of its story.

The lead actor does come across as a genuine character. This film dives into a struggling actor's psyche and life beautifully. Supporting casts live up to their roles. But the story is where it falls short.

The film does have an air of eerieness which it maintains throughout the first half. It doesn't justify the use of preconceived notions of demonology. The director fails to create a good amount of tension between the certain characters. Second half of the film does involve chaos but it's too late to have the desired effect.

Several scenes did have good acting written all over it. Few unwanted scenes could've been edited out. The director does create scenes where tension works beautifully but lets go off it just before it hits the right spot. A half-baked story which had a lot of potential. It just fails to bind together the characters' story together into one story. For a moment, the film seemed to be on the right track, but an adrupt ending spoils the entire mood. Had the character been explored after the twist, it would have formed a perfect circle and justified the character's actions.

I will recommend this film to people who are interested in watching a film just for the sake of it/or for passing time.

Radha Mitchell is great and puts in a solid effort as a demonologist who attempts to mentor a struggling actor. Said actor is a twenty-something nitwit who is cool because he smokes weed and listens to the rippity rap music yo.

So we get half an hour of him behaving like a weener with occassional scenes of blaring rap in lieu of a proper soundtrack, destroying any potential atmosphere.

By the time he gets to Radha to 'study' her ways, I was bored of everything about him. Sadly, the rest of the movie starts to 'explore' his backstory while you consider taking a nap. There's a sub-plot bubbling away with an acting rival, but that's of no interest to anyone.

It asks very few questions, contains almost no horror and is in no way profound or thought-provoking.

Stop and rethink waisting your time on this movie. The trailer is much better then the film. Radha Mitchell & the poor man's Jack Black ,Emile Hirsch are very talented actors but have nothing to work with.

The plot looks to be made up by the actors as they go. I am old school and need to have more of a story to work with or lots of action and gore to make up for lack of plot, but we have neither. Lionsgate is behind this garbage? Take a look at that great poster shot of the girl and the candles, this never happens and that girl is not in this film. Keep looking for something else to watch and I am sure you will be better satisfied.

The first 2/3 of the movie I was following along and the plot was interesting. The characters were getting fleshed out and we get a backstory for the main actor and the demonologist. This was a great set up as the story kept going and you're trying to figure out where is everything going in the end. The acting, sound, lighting etc was on point and I do like the locations that they used.

However, there was very little mention of devils and demonology. There was some mention here and there but I thought okay the man is trying to get ready for his role what can he gain lore wise from the demonologist. This is why the ending failed for me since it just ends flat and doesn't answer the question on why the main actor was there for. I like closures in my movies and this one didn't really have one.

I watched the whole thing and left with nothing but questions and no answers. Special effects were awful too. After watching it I'm still not sure of they actually summed spirits or if he just dreemed it all up. There is a sub plot with his rivel that also wants the part but you can tell from the start the parts with him is used for nothing but to fill time. I honestly can't believe this got the green light to be filmed. The acting was also pretty bad but if the story had made any sense at all I could have forgiven it. All in all I have to say just do not waste your time with this trash. Move along and never think about this movie again.

I wanted to like this! Some of the dialogue between the two leads was good, thought it would go somewhere quite interesting but it just didn't lead to its potential. The beginning, after the first 10 minutes when the two meet starts pretty good.

Two big questions: 1) who is the girl on the poster & 2) why show the other guy and what he's doing?

I don't think I've ever rated anything a two before. I only gave that because I thought the main characters could actually act, just couldn't do much with the material.

Also, that ending! Wow. The last 5 minutes was contradicting itself (mom like & final scene) and I thought it wasn't over until I saw credits, what a waste. An Decent ending could have pulled it up a couple points but nope.

I watched this looking for something goofy to pass the time and was shocked by the film. It seems clear that the distributor either misunderstands what it has or has calculated that using false marketing tactics will lead to more sales.

In actuality, writer-director Chris von Hoffmann's film is a prestige piece of social commentary that uses horror as a device to get to a resolution. It skewers actors and Hollywood types in almost parody that nods to classical horror tropes but keeps them at a distance before an absolutely bizarre climax. Yes, I was disappointed that the demon girl on the poster (and in the trailer) has nothing to do with the film...

Ok, ok so what did I love about this one? I loved the performances! Radha Mitchell OMG what an incredible actress. I've seen her for a while but always felt like she was a bit of an afterthought playing lots of thankless roles. Here she's in the drivers seat of what is at once a terrifying and hilarious performance.

Timothy Granaderos, who seems on the cusp of a breakout, plays well off of Mitchell

Emile Hirsch seemed to enjoy himself greatly and played a great foil as the counter to Timothy's serious method actor-ing. His contribution includes a very memorable scene with a great twist about midway through the film

The production quality far exceeded films in its lane and all in all I was impressed with its originality. I'm not quite sure what to compare it to but I was definitely pleased with the experience.

There's a lot more to talk about: religious themes, mother-son psycho-dynamics, social media commentary, and a Twilight zone esque sense of reality... but I'll stop short of spoiling anything

My biggest beef was with a undercooked visual effects sequence. Here and a few other places, the film ventured into "cheap territory"... otherwise I was a fan!

Maybe it's some "deep metaphor or something about life" but the ending just sucked in my opinion. The acting was phenomenal on both ends. They played their parts perfectly. It had a good story and buildup. I liked almost everything about the movie except the ending.

The demonology lore and art was interesting. They could have made the "ritual" a lot more exciting than it was. They could have cut some of the scenes of the boring stoner Donald and his friends smoking and chatting too.

I didn't hate the ending it was just boring and did not explain anything. Worth a watch if you don't care about that.

Absolute torture to watch. Dragged out with no real acting and no obvious point! Movies like that are a waste of your time. Shocking! Four people movie, very bad acting. An hour into it, still makes no sense, scenes make no sense. Pretends to be a thriller/horror movie but unfortunately I find no plot, sense or motive in it. No chemistry between the actors and it feels like watching someone who is high and talks no sense. If you are into senseless movies, with no point or plot in it, its your thing. I watched it for 1.5hrs and still felt like the plot was skipping me. Please stay away guys if you dont want to waste your evening.

Characters are one note, and the actors present these elements in highly affected ways. Timothy Granaderos does the best in this film with making his character feel the most "real". Radha Mitchell embodies the role that she has well, but she doesn't always keep the balance of her slightly odd character and over acting. The story itself doesn't have much plotting to it: undiscovered actor is seeking to outshine obnoxious actor who is "lucky" in his seeming career. That's the main motivation in the film. It takes a surreal twist as a demonologist is engaged to learn about the pending role to increase chances with landing it. Film looks well made, and there is tension built by the production. The biggest stumbling block is that there isn't much here to make a movie. This feels like a room has been fully furnished, but everything is made out of cardboard underneath the surface. 3 stars solely for the effort of the acting and overall production values.

This movie was a complete waste of my time. First off the movie was all over the place I didn't get it. Secondly the main character storyline don't line up with what was shown in the movie. Thirdly the over all movie was confusing and clickbait with what they put on the front for a picture. TRASH.

I just don't get it the movie looked good on the outside but on the inside was just terrible, if you watch the movie then you know what I'm talking about. But if you didn't don't waste your time like I waste mine, it will just get you hype up to watch but let you down In the end. I'm telling you don't do it.

Apart from maybe a couple of jumpscare, this movie was not scary at all and was just weird. We have this man named clayton. He wants to get a role in a film so his mate cant take it from him, there are also odd cutaway scenes of his mate with two woman, smocking and swearing at them its only really added to make the film seem longer and adds nothing at all to it. As for clayton on the other hand he puts an ad in a paper to find an occult expert to give him pointers and one answers, eliza is very odd and she keeps giving him tea and wants to do some sort of ritual. I think really she just wants to sleep with him. Its a shame this film was not great because the acting was not bad its just the film that was.

It's fascinating. It's comical. It's even kinda erotic. It's out of whack. It's simply a terrific arthouse comedy gem! (Probably best suited for an arthouse audience).

Not a laugh out loud comedy, but the understated, DRY kind of comedy, in which the situations and the characters themselves are amusing and out of wack.

Actor Emile Hirsch is perfectly suited for this sort of dry and understated humor. Unfortunately he is only starring in a supporting role. But that doesnt mean the rest of the cast isnt any good. Solid performances all around, especially by the female exorcist, who is something else and then some!

Any bad? Probably best suited for an arthouse audience, who dont shy away from mentally disturbed characters and a story that sort of falls in between genres. I like that grey area, wherein one does not know if one has to laugh or be freaked out, but I can imagine some folks dont like this sort of dry and more subtle, darkish humor.

The good: I wanna (also) applaud the technical details of this movie. The photography and the soundscore were really solid. This story moves in a rythm, slowly but steadily spiralling out of control. This is one heck of a tightknit and sparkling directing job! I will start following this director from now on...

The story: a young and very ambitious film actor doesnt get any roles. Incredibly jealous of another popular actor (Emile Hirsch) who DOES get all the roles, he decides to visit a female exorcist, to prepare as thoroughly as possible for his next new audition for the role as an exorcist. He gets WAY more than he bargained for though, when visiting this real life exorcist...

This movie was highly entertaining and had the ability to go into great territories in a powerful, fearless manner in what would have seemed to be an obvious ending that was practically writing itself. Then the ball gets dropped in the most disappointing way imaginable and there's nothing gained from the time you invested in the film. I was very impressed until the ending that unfortunately blew every expectation that I had into oblivion. The acting was well delivered, the concept was reminiscent of the movie "Starry Eyes" and the visuals were pretty strong with the exception of the ending when everything catches fire. Radha Mitchell is very convincing in this slow burn, horror.comedy and All of the participants delivered their parts well. Emile Hirsch was fairly hilarious in a role very different than what he typically plays. With everything this film had going for it, they sunk it into the cold, dark earth seemingly on purpose. They build this movie up to a grand crescendo that never occurs and the viewer is left cheated completely. Oh well. I hope someone who participated in this movie learned something from this. Very disappointing. I have it a 7/10 due to everything that transpired before the ending, but, if I'm being honest, the film truly deserves a 5 for how badly they cremated the ending. Bad taste left in my mouth.

"You have a nice cock darling"

I'm not a big fan of films with dark humor and anticlimactic endings. But this film is an exception because the captivating direction, well written script with solid dialogues and outstanding performances really made me impressed and I enjoyed this movie a lot.

One of the main reasons I decided to watch this because of Radha Mitchell and Emile Hirsch. It's always good to see them on screen and doing horror. They both did a wonderful performance, especially Radha. Timothy Granaderos was a surprise addition to this atmospheric horror. I loved that scene between Emile, Sarah Coffey and Brooke Ramirez and it was scary, exciting and at the end surprising.

The official poster for this film is so confusing, misleading and half-assed because they made a random poster that has no connection to the film and approved it without thinking.

Devil's Workshop: Clayton is a struggling actor, he gets bit parts at best, even then his role is often cut. Relatives ring him up to tell him they didn't see him on that episode of NCSI he mentioned. He has hassles in his acting class but he gets a call back for a part as a demonologist. Determined to succeed, he gets in touch with Eliza, an actual demonologist, to give him tips. From the start we see warning signs missed by Clayton but Eliza convinces him to undergo a ritual as she reckons he;s possessed by evil spirits who are holding him back. The cleansing before the ritual is demanding, involving disturbing actions. The Ritual itself is well presented, it reminds me of A Dark Song. Some good scenes of horror and a few plot twists but the film doesn't deliver on it's original promise. This story might have worked better as an anthology segment. Just about worth watching. Written & Directed by Chris von Hoffmann. On Netflix. 5.5/10.

A smart, well made film with a good premise and all-round decent acting.

I would say while Emile Hirsh is always a solid performer, his character's screen time threw things a bit for me and didn't seem to bear much relevance to the story.

That aside, this is a good genre peice, well researched and had a sense of foreboding, which might've been realized in a more satisfying way, but was an enjoyable watch nonetheless.

Give this one a try if you're stuck for a supernatural horror to watch and don't want the usual cookie-cutter formulaic stuff which neither scares, nor entertains. Probably not for the teenage audience.

I have to admit that within ten minutes of watching Devil's Workshop I was itching to turn it off and move on. I just wasn't feeling it, thought the story was subpar and the acting blah.

Then enters. Radha Mitchell as Eliza.(the demonologist) and the film takes off into an intense chemistry between herself and Timothy Granaderos who plays Clayton. (The want to be famous actor, researching a role of a Demonologist)

Scrap everything in the film and just take it from Clayton arriving at Eliza's house and you have a great creepy horror flick. (and forgive the CGI bit towards the end of the film) It is delightfully eerie and absurd in a good way. Radha plays the role of Eliza with creepy gusto and Timothy's acting abilities bounce off her perfectly.

I know the need for exposition is necessary in films, I just feel the writer could have found a better way to start the film. Because of the subpar opening of the film, I worry that people won't hang around to watch it reach its peak and follow through.

But if you are reading this, hang in there with this movie. It really is a little gem cloaked at the beginning with what looks like a bad film.

No pun intended - way back in the day, acting or I reckon almost anything that was not deemed normal, could have been attributed as devils work. Showing off something that people were not able to comprehend. Or witches of course - thinking about people who were either helping others or declined offers they got. The party who was told off, may not have taken it that well.

But back to this and actors trying to get a role. Really doing everything they have to - or even going above and beyond their call of duty or whatever you want to call it. Well played and really nice effects - I reckon you can tell where this is going - still an interesting journey and quite the powerful ending too ...