I Trapped The Devil Quick View Needs More Burn in the Slow-burn Grade: C+

Source: IMDB

I Trapped the Devil takes place around Christmas time, where Matt (AJ Bowen) and his wife Karen (Susan Burke) go and visit Matt's brother Steve (Scott Poythress). Steve was not expecting a visit from them, as it turns out it's not a good time to be around Steve because he has a secret. Steve believes he has trapped the devil, as there is a human being locked up down in the basement. In this psychological slow burn, is Steve completely insane or is he onto something. If you're a horror fan, you probably be a fan of the disturber of I Trapped the Devil IFC Midnight. In terms of quality in storytelling, their horror films got a charming touch to them. I recently watched The Clovehitch Killer before this, as I thought that was dope check that out on HULU today. There is a fair amount of enjoyment in this little horror film, although it has it's problems. I enjoyed the performances all around. Scott Poythress playing Steve was pretty damn good, best performance and best character in this entire film. I was always questioning Steve, as far as if he was a looney bug or was he correct on his assumption. Definitely the most interesting character of the entire film, I wouldn't call him likable but he definitely kept the interest of this film going. AJ Bowen and Susan Burke both had solid performances, character wise... Eh they're fine. I felt they should've had a scene, where they're getting ready to visit Steve, as they're talking in the car as they feel concern that they haven't seen nor spoken to him in awhile. I enjoyed the psychological theme of this film, as I said previously before it kept me guessing with this character Steve and even the person whom was locked up. Couple times there is some strong dialogue moments, particularly Steve explaining his devil theory and mass murderers. Here comes my flaws. I don't like the TV flicking on and off, while having an image of a lady, I felt that went nowhere and it was unnecessary. The entire third act left me disappointed, all this build up as it concludes to such an underwhelming ending. Though I understand this film had a small budget, but they still could've done a lot more than that. You don't even need a creepy design, I just wanted the slow burn feel to feel rewarded as it just... Didn't do much for me. Overall, I Trapped The Devil is a perfectly fine horror film. If you want to watch a horror film that's original and feels like effort is being put into storytelling, this could be for you it's on Hulu right now. -Mitch Smietana