missnisbet
Very suspenseful...camera work was very clever and keeps you on edge throughout just waiting for the next thing to jump out and scare the bejesus out of you. Father Thomas plays the old weathered cynic very well whereas father John is the excitable young 'believer', almost as if to mimic the two voices inside your own head...the 'sensible one' and the 'scared child' who still believes in ghosts. I also liked the fact that it was only 75 minutes long as it felt quite punchy all the way throughout. Not a dull moment. Recommend if you just want something that's gonna get your heart racing without a load of blood and gore like so many so called 'horror movies' these days.
jadesmylie
It is obvious from the beginning and the information before the film starts, that they are tying to recreate a 60's style film. The screen is small and 35mm film is being used to get the best effect. There are lots of cuts and bad editing, both of which would be even regarded as 'high tech' at the time. The sound is crackled but if you pay attention it still displays the right time, fashion, language and beliefs, including the young nuns being exploited or punished for their 'sins'. It may not be a fully formed idea but the attention to scenery, footage of the time and bad audio makes a person become absorbed quite quickly in an experience, regardless of the modern market of blockbuster movies filled with constant action and current comedy at HUGE expense. A lot of these incredibly paid actors are philanthropic and generous. The culture of excessive payments to these 'celebrities' is so detrimental to the people in more impoverished areas. It isn't necessary and this hero worship of human beings (just like yourself) needs to stop and realise we are fuelling this economy, so need to be the answer to this huge gap between us.
jonathanmarklund
This is a masterclass in how to do a low-budget horrormovie. There is not a lot going on in this movie. Some might even say that it's a bit slow. But since it's a short movie, it doesn't drag out and it manages to stay tight towards the end.
The style reminds me of Asians movies like Ju-on, The Eye and Dark Water. There are some really clever shoots and some really effective shoots as well. Extremely well use of sounds and "off camera action".
The special effects are done smartly. We the viewer often see very little. This is exactly how to avoid using a lot of cheap and ugly CGI. The acting is good. The mother superior comes of as being 100% authentic.It's almost like 'Dolores Umbridge' in the Harry Potter movies. On one hand you want to congratulate the actress for doing a good job, on the other hand you want to slap her in the face with a chair because you so thoroughly hated the character.There are some flaws.
The shaky cam is done to death and annoying as hell. Most of the time it works in this movie, but "found footage" always create some plotholes. I mean, who found this footage? and who showed it? and why are WE seeing it?It also has the same flaw as most haunted house movies: Why didn't they get out as soon as things started to go wrong?, why didn't they call for help? Why would you go around in the dark following creepy sounds? BUT, if you are mature enough to suspend your beliefs for 75 minutes and jut follow the story as it goes, it's a pretty effective horror movie.
If you like scary movies, old buildings, creepy nuns and jump-scares this is the movie for you.
neener3707
So as you've noticed by the trailer, the film has a unique way of presentation, using the old-school aspect ratio. Its not perfectly clear whether they used real film stock, or created it digitally, but as someone who worked at a film archive, I can attest that they did a pretty darn good job. But is it scary? Is it really like the critics say, that its the best found footage film in years, being a ode to The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby? Well no, its not anywhere close to those masterpieces, but I agree its much better than the found footage garbage we so often see. With a boat load of Hollywood found footage trash, we also get a wave of films made by anyone who has an iPhone, and the vast majority of them are terrible, and while Devil's Doorway is not amazing, its certainly to as bad as I'm used to.But was it scary? Its hard to say yes or no, I would rather say it was hit and miss, some of it got me, some of it didn't. The atmosphere also appeared and disappeared, sometimes it was effective, sometimes it was either not there or was not as effective. Its no masterpiece, but it most definitely had some cool stuff in there. The aspect ratio adds to it, the story its based on is an interesting one (surprised it has been done to death), and some of the plot points, shocks, and scares were alright. Again, alright, not perfect. So don't go in expecting a masterpiece like some critics say, or are paid to say.
AD
