Movie Review: Inner Demons (2014)

The movie stars Lara Vosburgh, Morgan McClellan, Kate Whitney, Christopher Parker and Ashley Sutton.

I was having a hard time finding a movie that looked interesting so, while I finished putting the kids to bed, I put my wife in charge of finding something for us to watch. She ended up narrowing our choices down to this film and one other one and, since this one seemed more like a horror film, I agreed to watch it with her. As it turns out, it was a great choice.

When I saw this movie was filmed in that "found footage" format made popular by "The Blair Witch Project" and various Blair Witch ripoffs, I was admitted skeptical. Most films really fail to take full advantage to that type of format and would be better off filming in a more traditional way. This one, however, which is told in a documentary-like form, actually uses that film style in a way that works.

The thing, in particular, I liked about this movie is it starts out as a halfway decent anti-drug documentary. We are shown Carson's (Vosburgh) addiction and the effects it has both on her and her family. In fact, some of the scenes involving her shooting up while her mom helplessly watches her are kind of sad.

I also liked how the demonic possession part of the movie made its appearance gradually. There are various hints she is telling the truth about having something inside of her, such as the cameras occasionally flickering when she's talking. But, we don't see any real evidence of this until after she stops taking the drugs and starts to get worse. This, of course, adds a whole new element to the movie, largely because the reaction of those around her range from believing she has a mental illness to wanting to tie her to a tree and torture the demon out of her.

While I would probably classify this movie as more of a drama than an actual thriller, at least until toward the very end, when the demon finally takes over, the film does have quite a few creepy scenes in it too. Some of the found footage clips of her alone in her room reminded me a bit of the film "The Exorcist" and did manage to give me some chills.

I also found I liked the ending of this film. I've been watching a lot of movies lately that were weak in that category. But, this movie managed to put together a strong finish that had a couple unexpected (and a little disturbing) twists. It definitely surprised me, and, when it comes to movies in this genre, that's not easy to do.

It does take a little while to really get going but, overall, is a very interesting thriller that is worth taking the time to watch. I'm glad my wife picked it out.

My Grade: A