The Devil’s Chair(Adam Mason, 2006)
1 Star
It’s a very rare occasion when ones comes out of a film wondering if it was meant to be a parody or not, and with this bizarre piece of British horror, despite my somewhat disturbing some might say knowledge of the genre, I was left utterly perplexed as to whether I should have been taking it seriously.
Of course when casting Matt Berry, best known for his sojourn as “horror” actor Todd Rivers in Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace, a team must surely be taking their material with at least half an ounce of irony. Indeed, had this actually been a feature length episode of Darkplace, it would have been genius; the bad acting, the freeze-framing to allow for moments of voice-over narration… Even the monster itself looks like something from a Merenghi novel.
Alas, one gets the feeling that the creative minds behind The Devil’s Chair were really going for something much smarter than a simple parody. It seems as though there were aspirations of a Kubrik-style cerebral affront, that unfortunately gets lost in the mess of poor script, poor acting (save for Mr. Berry, who clearly sees the film for the trite that it is, and relishes therein) and poor direction.
I shan’t bore you with the nonsensical story, and indeed the “ingenious” twist at the end, because much like the film itself, it really isn’t worth it.
If however, like me, you wish to see the reprisal of “Todd Rivers’” career, this is one to watch. Just do what I did; replace the narration with that of Matthew Holness, the blonde girl with Alice Lowe and the old chap with Richard Ayoade. Therein lays success.
The one star? For having possibly the best line in a horror movie ever, and one which had me weeping with laughter; Matt Berry, when asked to investigate the mysterious chair – “Okay, but after, we carry on from where we were; I’ve got a right horn on”
It’s a very rare occasion when ones comes out of a film wondering if it was meant to be a parody or not, and with this bizarre piece of British horror, despite my somewhat disturbing some might say knowledge of the genre, I was left utterly perplexed as to whether I should have been taking it seriously.
Of course when casting Matt Berry, best known for his sojourn as “horror” actor Todd Rivers in Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace, a team must surely be taking their material with at least half an ounce of irony. Indeed, had this actually been a feature length episode of Darkplace, it would have been genius; the bad acting, the freeze-framing to allow for moments of voice-over narration… Even the monster itself looks like something from a Merenghi novel.
Alas, one gets the feeling that the creative minds behind The Devil’s Chair were really going for something much smarter than a simple parody. It seems as though there were aspirations of a Kubrik-style cerebral affront, that unfortunately gets lost in the mess of poor script, poor acting (save for Mr. Berry, who clearly sees the film for the trite that it is, and relishes therein) and poor direction.
I shan’t bore you with the nonsensical story, and indeed the “ingenious” twist at the end, because much like the film itself, it really isn’t worth it.
If however, like me, you wish to see the reprisal of “Todd Rivers’” career, this is one to watch. Just do what I did; replace the narration with that of Matthew Holness, the blonde girl with Alice Lowe and the old chap with Richard Ayoade. Therein lays success.
The one star? For having possibly the best line in a horror movie ever, and one which had me weeping with laughter; Matt Berry, when asked to investigate the mysterious chair – “Okay, but after, we carry on from where we were; I’ve got a right horn on”
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