THE DEMON DISORDER (2023)

New streaming on Shudder!
Directed by Steven Boyle.
Written by Steven Boyle, Toby Osborne.
Starring Christian Willis, Charles Cottier, Dirk Hunter, John Noble, Tobie Webster, Amy Ingram, Michael Tuahine, Liam Wallace
Check out the trailer here!!

Three brothers; Phillip (Charles Cottier), Jake (Dirk Hunter), and Graham (Christian Willis) are all three dealing with the recent death of their father George (John Noble) in their own ways. While Jake has numbed himself with alcohol and Graham has left their childhood home and has thrown himself into his work at his car garage, Phillip is showing the same signs of a sickness that ended up killing their father. The problem is that George didn’t die by natural means. George seems to have succumbed to a demonic possession that had rotted him from the inside out, transforming his body into a horror unimaginable. Fearing Phillip is next to succumb to the infernal illness, the brothers do everything they can to overcome this sickness and destroy it by any means necessary.

THE DEMON DISORDER is a grisly little movie. Top to bottom, from the imposing opening moments to the ballsy, in your face end, this is a film that doesn’t care how ugly it gets. It’s body horror to its most grisly as it doesn’t just involve the distortion and changing of one’s body, but the torment that goes along with it. In this film, the contortions of the body hurt dearly as reflected by the actors. This is no evolution. It’s a violent plague ripping itself through and out of the body.

Per ushe with the best of body horror, metaphor is ripe in THE DEMON DISORDER and it comes in the form of the illness representing the negative aspects a parent passes on to a child. While we get to see some tender moments in flashback, it is clear that George’s mental health is in deterioration. He is shown to be a stern father, often abusive, and the monster in this film is the fear these three sons have that those negative aspects—physically and mentally, will be passed down to them. This is going to be a film that speaks to anyone who has lost a family member to dementia, or inherited a mental or physical issue genetically. These are serious issues and occasionally, throughout the film, they are treated as such.

But then again, the main flaw with THE DEMON DISORDER is that tonally, it is all over the place. There are times when the film is deathly serious with the material, and then something rather goofy happens. The brothers’ reactions to the crazy body horror going on range from absolute shock and terror to goofy antics as the demon painfully spurts from the side of one of the infected brothers and slithers across the floor, then up the wall, and across the ceiling while the three of them chase it around the room like Moe, Larry, and Curly. There are many times where moments that could resonate on a very deep level are knee-capped by a comedic remark or a goofy action. This is an Australian film and at times, the film reminded me of some of the earlier films of Peter Jackson like BAD TASTE and DEAD ALIVE, but then again, the father and son themes really contradict the lighter tones. It left me not really knowing how to feel about this one.

As far as goppy gore, THE DEMON DISORDER is full to the brim and beyond with it. From demons bursting from bodies, to tumors to slug-like slither creatures to a fully formed demon, there is a lot to love about the practical effects going on here. THE DEMON DISORDER simply doesn’t hold back and if you’re taste turns to the gorier side, this one’s going to be your cup of innards.

So while the tone is fluid and sometimes contradictory, the gore is potent as all get out. I liked both the comedic antics of the three brothers, but they also were able to convey a story with some very touching moments. Plus it’s always great to see John Noble in action. Such a great actor. THE DEMON DISORDER may not be the most even of watches—at times, it’s quite a mess, but still there’s a lot of good sloshing around in this movie.