Demigod (2021) Film Review
Every filmmaker should put themselves in the viewer’s shoes. Except in a few cases, I don’t think filmmakers want to make films that are not arousing for the audience. It’s a simple part of the communication chain that’s inherent to a story and the medium it’s set in.
It seems improbable that Demigod’s director is aiming for this. The film is a boring, messy experience that feels like an opportunity to tell a story nobody is asking for.
If there’s something to be salvaged from this is that scripts should be revised first and then shot. Ideas aren’t always good on paper, and you don’t have to wait until you’re in the editing room to make a few cuts. Demigod isn’t an awful film because its theme has some substance that could be developed and its third act presents an event that’s out of the ordinary. But yes, there are some things that should be improved for the sake of those on the other side of the screen.
Demigod is the story of a couple that travel to Germany to visit the place the woman grew up in. Her grandfather has passed away so they decide to revisit some of her memories, as bad as they appear to be.
The day after they arrive they are attacked by the members of a cult. They are dressed as if they haven’t ever left the forest, and they claim to represent an entity that inhabits the woods. The couple, alongside other strangers, are game in a hunt to summon the entity.
And then what happens after follows the formula of victims that are trying to survive in the woods when a horned demon is chasing after them.
It’s hard for a film that deals with this subject to actually be boring. You can just lie back and fill the screen with gore and violence and the film will drive itself to the end. However, in Demigod, there’s a rare insistence on developing characters that are typically grinded meat in the horror machine. The problem is that the main character isn’t as interesting to cheer for. This leaves the villain as the central figure.
And calling it goofy is just falling short. Demigod presents a counterpart that’s agile in hunting practices, has laser red eyes, and whose mouth doesn’t move and yet it speaks. This makes it a laughable element of the plot that should feel threatening and does anything but this. The third act and conclusion of the film is a revealing dialogue that hasn’t any value to the story. It’s just an opportunity to keep extending what’s already a frustrating experience for the audience.
I have to insist on my insight. Demigod manages to be dull when it has a theme that could make the film a worthwhile action horror film as its peers. But Demigod mostly takes place during the day, the mystery is non-existent, and main characters aren’t very interesting. It could be an opportunity to exploit the stylish nature of the premise, but even there the film is decidedly amateurish.
Learn from experiences and move on. Indie cinema is a fantastic opportunity to shed some unnecessary elements to a story and base yourself on a script that uses little to engage. Demigod is a miss for me, which is sad considering how good the idea seemed to be at the beginning.
Cool intro though!
