Blu-ray Review: ‘Devil’s Due’

I was a little skeptical when I put the Blu-ray disc of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s horror film “Devil’s Due” into the player. I’ve become a little jaded to the horror genre as a whole lately, and throw in the fact that this is another “found film” type movie? Yeah, I’m going to be wary. This, however, was actually not as bad as I thought it would be. Young couple Samantha and Zach (Allison Miller and Zach Gilford) are recording their beginnings as a married couple, complete with a honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

On their last night in the country, they decide to go out and enjoy a little bit of freedom before coming back to the states and getting back into their normal routine. The camera picks up them going out and dancing, and drinking, and eventually getting into a cab to go back to their hotel. Their cab driver, however, talks them into going “someplace special”. Little do they know this is going to be the start of a long and scary road. We see what can only be described as a ritual, all filmed on the camera Zach is carrying everywhere, and it’s not very pretty. The next morning they wake up, sore and hungover, but ready to finally go home. A few weeks later, they find out that they are not only newlyweds, but they are now going to be parents. You can see where this is going, right? The pregnancy is really tough on Sam, and she’s moody and easily irritated- more than most women are when they are carrying a baby. The moodiness is also accompanied by blackouts and fits of rage strength, and she knows something is wrong. After several odd occurrences, including the near-death of a priest during their niece’s first communion that was of course filmed, Zach decides to check the videos from the honeymoon, and he sees the ritual. It sends him into a panic and he begins doing some research into the things he saw on the tape. He goes to see the priest, who is recovering in the hospital, and learns that a lot of the symbols he’s seeing all over- including ones being carved into the nursery floor by his dear wife during some of her blackouts- are part of an ancient religion that has been predicting the birth of the Antichrist. Zach is now faced with trying to protect his wife and unborn child, as well as maintain his sanity and protect himself.

This film doesn’t rely on a lot of gore or jump-out-at-you shocks, but more on the slow and steady build that results in a pretty wild climax. I was happily surprised with how the film wrapped up.

“Devil’s Due” is now available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.