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ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2 (2019)

Directed by Jason DeVan
Written by Jason DeVan
Starring Laura Wiggins, Bruce Davison, Tiffany Fallon, Mark Ashworth, Heather DeVan, Kylie Delre, Nikki Tomlinson, Viviana Chavez, Diesel Madkins, Cassius DeVan, Bill Barrett, Tristan DeVan, Ahmed Lucan, Frank Brennan, Troy Faruk, Natalie Saint-Martin, Andrew S. McMillan, Marc Collins, Olivia D. Dawson, Jace Marsh, Kenneth C. Dunn

So while I’m spending most of my time counting down to the #1 Horror film from the last year, I still am trying to review new horror as well. ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2 is one of those films. I don’t think I actually saw the original ALONG CAME THE DEVIL from filmmaker Jason DeVan (the director/writer behind the sequel as well). HERE COMES THE DEVIL, I SAW THE DEVIL, I TRAPPED THE DEVIL, ALONG CAME POLLY…I honestly had no idea. But right off the bat, I can say that while I’m sure watching the original would flesh out the material, I had no problem catching up with the story having not seen it. So, don’t feel as if you need to see the original in order to enjoy this film and I found much to enjoy with ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2.

After she receives a strange phone call, Jordan (Laura Wiggins) returns home from college to find that the demons of her past have come back to haunt her yet again. With her father Mark (Mark Ashworth) attempting to piece his life together after a breakdown that apparently took the life of her mother, Jordan begins to realize that an evil force has corrupted the entire town. Meanwhile, Father Michael (Bruce Davison) is trying to be the sole point of light in a down plagued by a demon invasion.

ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2 can be lumped into the various possession and paranormal phenomenon movies we’ve seen through the last few years. It’s basically another haunted house film, except instead of ghosts, we get demons. The film has a lot of carefully orchestrated jump scares, made mainstream through the Blumhouse era with INSIDIOUS/THE CONJURING films. But despite its similarities to those types of films, these carefully crafted scares actually work pretty well. There are numerous instances that showed me that Jason DeVan is actually putting some heart and creativity in the way he is setting up his scenes. Not just the jump scares, but establishing shots. There’s a very impressive shot early on where the camera is following the family as they make dinner. It spins around the room, following the actors as they cheerfully prepare the food—characters popping in and out of frame, while the camera moves from the kitchen, around the dining room table, and finally resting on the meal in the center of the table. Sure this isn’t a scene that had me puddling my pantalones, but it did show that DeVan is putting effort to make this feel like a film we haven’t seen before.

The acting is standard and occasionally above standard. Bruce Davison is always fun when he’s chewing up the scenes as the distraught priest in search for answers. And Mark Ashworth is surprisingly good as the tormented father. Wiggins is also good in the lead as the spunky final gal.

I don’t want to oversell ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2. It’s definitely a movie we’ve all seen before. But it does have some great scares that worked on me, the gore is plentiful, and DeVan seems to really try to make this film something that looks unique. The action in the latter 20 minutes is especially tense and well paced. I’m recommending ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2 for those who are looking for above average horror. It’s not going to burn own the barn, but it does its job at delivering the jolts! I’ll also be keeping an eye of this Jason DeVan guy. He seems to have a lot of promise.