The Demon Disorder review.
Familial trauma gets demonic in Shudder’s latest, The Demon Disorder.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
The Demon Disorder
Directed Steven Boyle
Written by Steven Boyle and Toby Osborne
Starring Christian Willis, Charles Cottier, Dirk Hunter, Tobie Webster, John Noble, Liam Wallace, Amy Ingram and Michael Tuahine
The Demon Disorder Review
At its core, The Demon Disorder is the story of three brothers struggling with the loss of their father. If that sounds like a Hallmark drama set at Christmas where a set of triplets fall in love with the family…don’t worry. Also, I don’t know what happens in Hallmark movies. Shudder’s latest release is part creature feature, part body horror, part trauma horror. It features world class practical effects, strong performances…and a little less fun than it could have delivered.
Graham (Christian Willis) is called back to the family home by his brother Jake (Dirk Hunter). Their youngest brother Phillip (Charles Cottier) is sick. Well…possessed is a more accurate description. Jake believes Phil is possessed by none other than their late father (John Noble). When Phil bites Graham and coughs up some sort of parasite…things start to get even weirder.
It’s hard to imagine beginning any discussion of The Demon Disorder without talking about the fantastic practical effect work. The movie hits a homerun in this department. As the thing possessing Phil begins to emerge…we see some incredible effect work. It ramps up in the third act of the film when the entity emerges completely. The scene of the creature breaking out would rank highly on any list of great effects. It’s a standout scene given extra emotional heft by the apparent identity of the creature that breaks loose.
Most of The Demon Disorder is about the trauma the brothers have regarding the death of their father. Jake has crawled back into a bottle…struggling to keep things together at home. Graham has washed his hands of things. He runs his mechanic’s garage attempting to move on with his life. Phil draws the short straw. He’s been possessed by his dead father. Okay…Phil draws the very short straw.
Graham returns home to deal with things head on. Flashbacks fill us in on the final days of their father’s life. We see why Graham would want to leave everything firmly in his rearview mirror…though we don’t learn the full extent of things until The Demon Disorder reaches its climax. Phil is in rough shape. When he briefly expels the parasite, we get a good look at what they’re up against. And it appears to be growing. Graham gets a nice chunk of his chest taken out of him by his possessed brother…an issue that becomes more important as the story heads towards an ending.
The performances are universally excellent in The Demon Disorder. Due to the state of the characters…we don’t get to see the three brothers interact while in their right minds until late in the movie. It’s an inspired choice. Their chemistry together gives the film a needed boost in the third act. The story even manages to find a surprisingly emotional pull at the last moment.
Unfortunately, The Demon Disorder needed that jolt in the third act because act two is a bit of a slog. There’s a strong story here…but not enough of one to remain compelling throughout the runtime. A few moments of levity help…but also make clear what is missing. There were two paths available to take The Demon Disorder from good to great. More comedy…or more creature feature fun. It chooses neither. The result is a lengthy stretch that feels like the film is running in place.
It brings aboard a fourth character, Cole (Tobie Webster), to try and change up the dynamic a bit. But it doesn’t change the tone or intent enough for it to matter in the grand scheme. Not until the thing inside Phil escapes does The Demon Disorder find its full stride. That comes far too late in the going. Metaphors for trauma can only take you so far and provide so much fun. Even when The Demon Disorder is doing a good job using them.
This is another solid outing made available by Shudder. You’ll wish it tried to be more fun. The moments that do are well executed. You’ll wish it gave you more of the creature. The scenes that do are big highlights. The choices The Demon Disorder makes are fine and push its narrative forward in logical ways. They just aren’t always the most exciting ones. Until they are. Which, thanks to strong effect work and performances, are moments worth the wait.
Scare Value
Shudder’s latest release builds a memorable monster out of familial trauma…but doesn’t unleash it enough. The Demon Disorder boasts some of the best practical effects of the year. There is some wild stuff on display, especially in the film’s climax. The rapport between the three brothers is great…and saving a true look at it for the late stages of the story is clever. It could have used a bit more creature feature fun…but The Demon Disorder keeps things moving swiftly enough to deliver a good time.
3/5
The Demon Disorder Link
Streaming on Shudder
