‘An exorcism unlike any other’
Along Came the Devil is a 2018 supernatural horror film directed by Jason DeVan from a screenplay co-written with Heath DeVan and Dylan Matlock. Also known as Tell Me Your Name
The DeVan Clan production stars Jessica Barth, Matt Dallas, Sydney Sweeney, Madison Lintz and Bruce Davison.
Plot:
Growing up, Ashley always had her sister Jordan to protect her and share hauntingly beautiful memories of their deceased mom. Now that Jordan has left for college, their Aunt Tanya has taken on the responsibility of caring for Ashley. Even though her aunt tries to reach out to her, Ashley can’t help but feel abandoned.
Ashley is trying to get used to her new life in her mom’s hometown, but she can’t shake the visions of her mom’s spirit or the feeling that something is terribly wrong. She is sure her mom is trying to reach out to her; even Hannah, her reunited hometown childhood friend, agrees.
The girls decide to communicate with Ashley’s mother, so they must conduct a seance. What they unearth will change their lives for the worse and leave Ashley’s loved ones fighting for her soul…
Reviews:
“This is a solid story that follows a natural path to a very unnatural conclusion. I absolutely recommend this one to any horror fans. If you love The Exorcist you owe yourself the time invested on this one. It’s a modern retelling of the same…” Ain’t It Cool News
“No matter how technically competent compared to its peers, the movie is repetitively uneventful enough to lull an insomniac into immediate slumber. Neither awful nor exceptional, Along Came the Devil is merely a spectacularly average movie that’ll sizzle from your memory faster than water spilled on a hot summer sidewalk.” Culture Crypt
” …the actors do a very fine job in Along Came The Devil, but they have very little to work with. Bruce Davison (X-Men) is on point as Reverend Michael, but even his character feels strangely stunted. It feels like the story in this movie could have lead to so much more. The story just never takes off fully. Instead, we get bits and pieces that we get to put together however we please.” Heaven of Horror
“Along Came the Devil feels like a “Cliff’s Notes” version of The Exorcist, but instead of focusing on the deeper, more important themes of that story (loss of one’s faith, guilt over an aging parent, a mother’s desperation), it goes for the basic cheap thrills (weird voices, shadows and crazy contact lenses).” Horrorfreak News
“With many possession films out, approaching this film I was worried we were going to be given an Exorcist rip off, and it was not! Along Came the Devil is an exorcist movie for a new generation of movie-goers. Fans of possession films will enjoy and appreciate everything this film offers.” iHorror
“Jason DeVan’s skin crawling addition to the possession genre is an unexpected delight. Tell Me Your Name eschews supernatural conventions in favor of exploring the impact of abuse and the innate hubris of heroism. Featuring crisp, haunting visuals, a vicious lead performance, and an absolutely stellar final act, this is one of the year’s best horror films thus far.” The Movie Sleuth
“I had such high hopes for this movie but it just didn’t make the cut of good possession films, especially because so many scenes were blatantly ripped from The Exorcist (it’s even mentioned in the film). The demon looked like a rip-off of Dave Grohl in Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny and it didn’t even play the drums.” Nightmarish Conjurings
“Certainly the script’s hokey dialogue and clichéd situations suggest some wobbly captaining of this leaky ship, as do the uneven performances […] Modest yet highly variable effects aside, the tech/design contributions are a little more consistent, with by far the biggest plus being the reasonable surface gloss Justin Duval’s widescreen lensing provides.” Variety
” …brings a good meshing of the genre’s tropes along with something unique in the central character of Ashley, with Sydney Sweeney’s performance being the driving force of the film. It is clear that this is a 21st century Exorcist, and it’s quite a good one with a very unexpected (in a good way) ending.” World Film Geek
Release:
Along Came the Devil was released by Gravitas Ventures in select movie mouses and on digital VOD on August 10, 2018.
Main cast and characters:
Sydney Sweeney … Ashley – Dead Ant; The Horde; The Ward
Jessica Barth … Tanya Winbourne
Madison Lintz … Hannah – The Walking Dead
Bruce Davison … Reverend Michael – Itsy Bitsy; The Mystery of Casa Matusita; Return of the Killer Shrews; Coffin; Camp Hell; Tales from the Crypt; Tales from the Darkside; Willard; et al
Matt Dallas … Pastor John – Camp Slaughter; Way of the Vampire
Barbara Goodson … Demon voice
Filming locations:
Atlanta, Georgia
