Review #37: 13 Demons (2016)


This review was originally written in October 2017.

Horror Movie October day 9: 13 Demons

I saw this in the Horror section of Netflix and thought I'd give it a try. The premise is a fun idea- three friends find an old banned board game and try it out, but it drives them crazy and they start murdering people because they think it's all part of the game. Sounds like fun, right?

The movie starts off fun (though it's clearly low-budget and there's a lot of technical issues, like much of the dialogue being poorly ADR'd in- though they mask a lot of the issues with clever camerawork and effects) but by the midpoint of the movie it gets incredibly dull. Any sort of plot is laid bare fairly early on, so it's just kind of a matter of waiting as it unfolds,  and there's a big like 30-minute chunk of the movie that's just two of the main characters arguing with each other in what was supposed to sound like faux-medieval language. There's a tiny twist near the very end (just kind of explaining why the two main characters are against each other- maybe it's not even a twist, it was the one thing I didn't suspect an hour in advance) but otherwise you can get ten minutes into this movie and know exactly how it's going to play out.

The acting isn't great, the production is only so-so, and the writing really, really drags for most of it. Interesting premise, but I'd say you should pass on this one.

Final rating: 3/10 Burnt Board Games

My Favorite Type of Sword: Lead Pipe

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