DEVIL’S DOMAIN
Director/Writer: Jared Cohn
Cast : Michael Madsen, Madi Vodane, Linda Bella
The film is now available to rent on VOD & Blu-ray
Teenager Lisa (Madi Vodane) is a social outcast with a history of eating disorders and sexual confusion. When she gets secretly filmed binging, purging, and masturbating she suffers extreme bullying by the students at her school after the video is posted online. During her rapid decent into depression, a mysterious stranger named Destiny (Linda Bella) begins an online relationship with her. They grow close and meet and the stranger offers some special help at getting revenge on everyone involved. This is really no stranger. Destiny happens to be the Devil.
Of course, everyone knows you don’t make a deal with the Devil without some serious consequences. In exchange for services rendered, the Devil wants an heir. The Devil does dispatch the bullies in various gruesome ways and grants Lisa fame and fortune. Along the way Lisa develops a conscience and deeply regrets the cost of all this. These stories never end well.
This movie had the opportunity to take the standard “Deal with the Devil” storyline with the added twist of the Devil being a woman and push it to a new level. Unfortunately, a jumbled story line and sub-par execution make this close to unwatchable.
Linda Bella is an interesting choice for the Devil. Her looks are striking but her strong French accent sometimes make it hard to understand her. When she does reveal her true Devil form, it totally looks like an different person under the makeup. Possibly even a man. Different shape, different height, different everything.
Most of the revenge kills are bloody but handled in a very rudimentary way. One perfect example: While an actress is being stabbed repeatedly she suddenly stops her violent screaming and thrashing to pull up her top that had slipped down too far for her comfort. Somebody thought it was OK to leave that moment in instead of cutting back to a shot of the knife or killer. It’s like they put in the minimum effort to get something on film and called it a day.
Another “What The Heck” moment comes when Lisa’s cyber bully places a camera beside her toilet. She is literally staring right into it as she throws up. There would be no way a person wouldn’t not see a camera pointed right at them even while violently puking.
The scenes of Lisa becoming famous are just not believable because of the small scale those scenes are shot. I am sure it was because of the budget but a better choice would have been to show her ascent through newspaper clippings or TV broadcasts instead of mustering 8-12 people to appear to be a giant crown just waiting for a glimpse of the rising Pop star.
There are multiple of sex scenes but nobody ever takes off their underwear. It makes you wonder if there is a Director’s Cut out there with complete nudity. Stop – Don’t worry, it’s not worth looking for!
Michael Madsen is the shining light. He plays it straight and his role as Lisa’s Step Father is sincere and caring. Nothing like the Madsen we are used to. Its a little disarming at first as we expect him to suddenly turn bad. That never happens and in the end, it’s very delightful and he comes across as a person who truly cares for Lisa’s situation.
1/2 out of 4 stars. Worth a look for Lisa Bella’s turn at being the Devil, nothing more.
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