Mikes Film Talk

At the Devil’s Door takes the Robert Johnson myth and puts a twist on it. The musician reportedly sold his soul to the devil to enhance his guitar playing skills. This version of the Faustian type tale and takes it in a completely different direction.  

From the moment the precocious teen passes the test and completes the $500 transaction she heads down to the crossroad to speak her name. The atmosphere immediately becomes darker, unsettling and full of foreboding.

The location is not Mississippi and the time is the present.   The young lady’s lover coerces her to sell her soul. As the film progresses we learn more about the girl; Hannah (played by Ashley Rickards) who vanishes until real estate agent Leigh (Catalina Sandino Moreno) stumbles across her at a house she is selling.

It is interesting to note that the girl appears after Leigh uncovers the mirror in the bedroom. A nod to mirrors being covered after a death. This keeps spirits from coming back through.

slow burner

At the Devil’s Door is a slow burning horror film. It seems to borrow from a number of other movies and or books.  The “birth” of the devil is something that the film sets up as the new Anti-Christ. This mirrors,rather closely, Rosemary’s Baby.

And peripherally Ju-on: The Grudge 2, where Kayako comes back via a pregnancy.

Also, it bears mentioning that Hannah wears a red hoodie in the film. This, combined with her diminutive height of 5’3,” is a clear nod to Don’t Look Now. Another film that has less in the way of classic jump scares and  much more in the area of atmosphere.)

(What the film does not rely upon, or allude to, is the 1976, or the 2006 remake, of The Omen. A film that deals primarily with the coming of the Antichrist.)

 Nicholas McCarthy writes and directs (The Pact, Holidays – Easter segment) At the Devil’s Door. The film is a dark, moody horror film that sneaks in a couple of “jump scares.” It ultimately leaves the viewer slightly off balance and unsettled. by the end.

Taxi Driver

McCarthy says the film is inspired by a Chilean taxi driver’s story in New York. It is a mix of selling your soul and then involving sisters a’la Psycho.  It is an interesting notion. The story, as told to McCarthy, was that after selling his soul, the taxi driver then had to tell the witchdoctor his name. This is so the devil would know who to call.

This is a variation on the superstitious belief that giving one’s true name to a demon, or evil entity is bad. It gives them power over the speaker. All these superstitions and nods to other stories about the devil, the “big bad” is never mentioned by name.

*Something Ray Bradbury uses in his brilliant coming of age story Something Wicked This Way Comes.*

This is an excellent second project that features much of the same jarring aspects of McCarthy’s 2012 horror film The Pact. At the Devil’s Door is a cautionary tale. Although, somewhat akin to The Grudge, the entity jumps from woman to woman until it gets what it needs.

The film has no rating. However, there is very little graphic violence and literally no sex at all.  The language is not offensive and there is no drug use whatsoever.  Apart from the scary nature of the film, with its atmospheric tenseness and sense of foreboding, it could be rated G.

The Verdict

At the Devil’s Door is a solid 4 star film. It is offbeat and, in places, quite intense. McCarthy has managed, with a minimum of muss and fuss, to give us a film that is creepy, slightly scary and, at times, very unsettling. It is streaming on AMC + at the moment and can be downloaded for watching offline as well.

the trailer