Sorry About the Demon will be available to stream on Shudder from January 19, 2023.
Synopsis
What’s worse than getting dumped? For Will, it’s finding out that his new place is haunted. Now faced with a quarter-life crisis and a house full of spirits, Will must figure out how to make things right with his ex-girlfriend AND banish the sacrifice-seeking demon residing in his house.
Review
For its first major release of 2023, horror streamer Shudder is flexing its comedic muscles with Emily Hagins’ (V/H/S) Sorry About the Demon. The film mashes up the classic ideas of coming-of-age (or in this case man-child grows up) and the haunted house to create something which is both wacky and entirely compelling.
Jon Michael Simpson plays Will, a down on his luck 20-something who is struggling to find meaning in his life. He can’t stick to a hobby and works on the helpline for a clearly failing toothpaste firm. Sadly for him, Sorry About the Demon kicks off with the end of his relationship with Amy (Paige Evans).
The breakup causes Will to find somewhere new to live and he ends up in a beautifully gothic house which seems far too good to be true. As an audience we know this to be true due to the film’s cold opening with the Sellers family who are all too aware that a demon called Deomonous is inhabiting the house.
Sorry About the Demon hits all the right notes in setting up the haunted house and the demonic possession. When daughter Grace (Presley Allard) is taken over by the demon it instantly confirms that, despite the comedic tone, the film is absolutely committed to the level of credibility the audience would expect of a straight up horror.
This level of credibility underpins every major point in the film’s narrative. Hagins’ story relies heavily on brilliant practical effects rather than an abundance of computer generated imagery. It creates a much more visceral atmosphere which enhances the excellent performance from Simpson.
Toeing the line between comedy and horror isn’t easy. One the one hand the film could become too comical and lose its integrity, whilst on the other it could undermine the comedy by becoming inconsistent. Sorry About the Demon has none of these issues. Thanks to Simpson’s charming performance the film is able to navigate the waters between genres without so much as a single awkward moment.
Will soon becomes aware of the cooky goings on in the house. But rather than hide from his demons, Will tries to simply coexist. For him it’s almost like having companionship to help him through his break up with Amy. In an escalation of the film’s wonderful whimsy, Deomonous rejects Will. He’s simply too useless to meet the demon’s needs. Another rejection and another turn in the character’s journey towards overcoming his childish nature.
Joined by best friends Patrick (Jeff McQuitty) and Aimee (Olivia Ducayen), Will tries and fails to exorcise his demons. With all three plus Amy and the Sellers family in the house, Sorry About the Demon coalesces in to an excellent finale which continues to hit all right beats for both its comedic and horror elements.
Bolstered by those excellent practical effects and Jeremy William Smith’s whimsical score, there’s a lot to fall in love with in Sorry About the Demon. Never too scary and never too silly, it’s the perfect film for sitting down with friends and laughing off the January blues.
Verdict
A brilliant mash-up of coming-of-age comedy and haunting possession, Emily Hagins’ Sorry About the Demon is nothing to be sorry about.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
