At the Devil's Door

Last updated
At the Devil's Door
At the devils door poster.jpg
Teaser poster
Directed by Nicholas McCarthy
Written byNicholas McCarthy
Produced by Sonny Mallhi
Starring
CinematographyBridger Nielson
Edited by
  • Bill Neil
  • Jake York
Music byRonen Landa
Production
companies
  • Varient
  • Candlewood Entertainment
  • XYZ Films
Distributed by IFC Films
Release dates
  • March 9, 2014 (2014-03-09)(SXSW)
  • September 12, 2014 (2014-09-12)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

At the Devil's Door (originally titled Home) [1] is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Nicholas McCarthy. The film had its world premiere on March 9, 2014, at South by Southwest. [2] It stars Naya Rivera as a woman caught amidst ghostly events. [3]

Contents

Plot

A teenage girl Hannah (Ashley Rickards) is told by her new boyfriend that she can get $500 by playing a game run by an old man living in a trailer. After she wins the game, the old man (Michael Massee) instructs her to go to the crossroads and say her name so that "he" will know whom to take. At home later that night, the girl hears voices in her bedroom before being lifted into the air and thrown against the wall.

A real estate agent Leigh (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is trying to sell the home of Chuck (Dan Roebuck) and Royanna (Jan Broberg). While going over the various details of the couple's property, she finds the roll of $500 in the bottom drawer in a bedroom. Leigh later tells the homeowners that she saw a young girl inside their home. The couple assumes that Leigh saw their missing daughter, Charlene, who ran away with her boyfriend several months earlier.

When Leigh goes back to the couple's house, she finds "Charlene." Leigh calls Chuck to let him know that she found Charlene; however, Chuck tells Leigh that police found his daughter at a local mall hours ago. Puzzled, Leigh looks at the files from the couple's home and finds an article with "Charlene's" picture in it. Leigh realizes that the girl she had seen was actually Hannah White, a girl who had committed suicide in 1987. Leigh notices Hannah is missing and tries to look for her in the house. She finds Hannah in an empty room, staring into a mirror. When Leigh tries to speak with Hannah, she is attacked by some unseen force, falls to the floor, and dies.

In a flashback sequence, Hannah is shown attempting to burn the roll of money in the bathroom sink. Her mom reminds her of a babysitting job, which she soon attends. While the parents are at a party, Hannah arrives, clearly mentally disturbed, and informs the parents, "Your baby is dead. You're all dead." Rushing home, the parents find the baby hidden under a cabinet but unharmed. Hannah then walks to her bedroom and, while struggling with an unseen force, hangs herself. Returning to the present time, Hannah splits in two and a creature emerges.

That night, Vera (Naya Rivera), Leigh's sister, has a nightmare that her sister is dead and warns her. After receiving a phone call from the police, the coroner informs Vera that Leigh died of natural causes. Later, in Leigh's home, Vera finds Leigh's files from the couple's house and visits Hannah's old childhood friend. Hannah's friend reveals that Hannah had been pregnant before she died. Many people believed that Hannah had committed suicide because of her pregnancy. However, Hannah's friend insists that Hannah had been a virgin and that she may have killed herself to stop her supernatural child from being born. Since Hannah had killed herself, the demon that had tried to possess her child instead took over her body until it could find another vessel.

Vera returns to her home, where she is assaulted by a demonic force that throws her through a window to fall two stories. Vera wakes up in a hospital; she has been in a coma for eight months. The doctor tells her she was pregnant when it happened. During her ultrasound, Vera sees a demonic face on the monitor and demands an immediate C-section. During the C-section, Vera refuses to hold the baby and instead gives it up for adoption. After leaving the hospital, Vera returns to the house and takes the broken picture of her and Leigh that she had seen earlier, which had been used as decoration for Hannah's old house.

Six years later, Vera's daughter sits watching the news about a devastating flood. Her adoptive mother asks her not to watch it, but the little girl says nothing and changes the channel without moving. When the adopted mother informs her of a visit soon, the little girl ignores her and changes the channel back to the news. Vera visits her daughter and tells the girl that she knows who the little girl really is and demands to know why she was chosen. The girl flees. Vera chases her to an abandoned house in the woods and attempts to kill her. However, the girl, whose eyes have turned black, controls Vera so that she is unable to kill her. Realizing the struggle is pointless, Vera and the girl leave. As the adoptive mothers franticly search for the girl, Vera is shown back in her car with the girl unharmed.

In the final scene, the girl tells Vera, "I knew you'd come back for me, mommy." As they drive away, a paraphrased passage from the Christian book of Revalations is heard being read in the daughter's voice.

Cast

Production

Plans to film At the Devil's Door were first announced in 2012 under the title Home, shortly after the release of McCarthy's 2012 directorial debut The Pact . [4] Filming was completed in January 2013. [5]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 43% of 23 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.08/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "At the Devil's Door has no shortage of creepy style -- unfortunately, that isn't enough to distract from an uninspired story that never capitalizes on its potential." [6] Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [7]

Writing in Variety , Dennis Harvey stopped short of recommending the film, but praised some aspects of it, stating, "Though disappointing content-wise, McCarthy’s sophomore feature still demonstrates admirable attention to things that usually suffer in more superficially flashy horror efforts, notably credible real-world backgrounding (the nondescript Southern California locations suggest a middle class slipping haplessly toward poverty), naturalistic perfs, and habit of favoring creepy restraint over “gotcha!” moments. (Still, the pic could have used one or two more of the latter.) Tech and design contributions are likewise thoughtful." [8] Alan Scherstuhl wrote a similar review in The Village Voice , writing, "McCarthy shows he's mastered the things we already know scare us onscreen; next, how about something we don't expect?" [9] Fearnet called At the Devil's Door "impressive work" and remarked that "it works as a slick and admirably unpredictable whole, and it somehow seems to work as three distinct chapters as well." [10]

We Got This Covered gave a mixed review, stating that the film was "a bone-chilling ghost story that I'd absolutely love to recommend, but once again I struggled to keep a constant connection to Nicholas McCarthy's befuddling screenplay, packed with exciting ideas and bright moments of sheer terror – but nothing consistently worthwhile." [11] Best Horror Movie's review said, "When you incorporate three extremely powerful performances from three extremely attractive young ladies (Catalina Sandino Moreno as Leigh, Ashley Rickards as Hannah and Naya Rivera as Vera) you've got a very real recipe for success." [12] EFilmCritic.com praised the performances: "They're good enough to make the end more satisfying than it initially appears after things have sunken in a bit, even if the movie does occasionally seem to be setting up something a little more grandiose." [13] Sound on Sight wrote, "Supporting the scares is a strong cast". [14] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Creepy atmospherics aren't enough to compensate for the muddled storyline." [15]

Related Research Articles

<i>Maria Full of Grace</i> 2004 film by Joshua Marston

Maria Full of Grace is a 2004 Spanish-language drama film written and directed by Joshua Marston. The film was is a US-Colombia co-production. The story follows a Colombian girl who becomes a drug mule for a trafficking ring. Lead actress Catalina Sandino Moreno was named Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the 77th Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catalina Sandino Moreno</span> Colombian actress (born 1981)

Catalina Sandino Moreno is a Colombian actress. She shared the Silver Bear with Charlize Theron and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her leading role in Maria Full of Grace (2004). Since 2022, she has starred as Tabitha Matthews in the MGM+ television series From.

<i>Career Girls</i> 1997 Mike Leigh film

Career Girls is a 1997 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh which tells the story of two women, who reunite after six years apart. The film stars Katrin Cartlidge and Lynda Steadman. The women were originally thrown together when they shared a flat while at university and the film focuses on their interpersonal relationship.

<i>Dolores Claiborne</i> (film) 1995 film by Taylor Hackford

Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 American psychological thriller drama film directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, and David Strathairn. The screenplay by Tony Gilroy is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The plot focuses on the strained relationship between a mother and her daughter, largely told through flashbacks, after her daughter arrives to her remote hometown on a Maine island where her mother has been accused of murdering the elderly woman for whom she had long been a care-provider and companion.

<i>Blessed</i> (2004 film) 2004 Romanian film

Blessed is a 2004 British-Romanian horror film directed by Simon Fellows and starring Heather Graham and James Purefoy. It marks the final film appearance of David Hemmings, and the film is dedicated to him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Rickards</span> American actress (born 1992)

Ashley Nicole Rickards is an American actress, known for her role as Jenna Hamilton in the MTV comedy-drama series Awkward, and as Samantha "Sam" Walker, a troubled young girl in The CW's teen drama series One Tree Hill. She also starred in the 2011 independent drama film Fly Away as Mandy, an autistic girl.

<i>The Hole</i> (2009 film) 2009 film by Joe Dante

The Hole is a 2009 American 3D dark fantasy horror film directed by Joe Dante and starring Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble, Bruce Dern, and Teri Polo. The film follows Dane and Lucas Thompson, two brothers who move into their new house with their single mother, Susan. Dane and Lucas, along with their new neighbor Julie Campbell, discover a trap door in the basement, leading to a bottomless pit, and accidentally unleash a supernatural force that manifests itself into any fear of the person who looks into the hole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naya Rivera</span> American actress and singer (1987–2020)

Naya Marie Rivera was an American actress, singer, and model. Recognized for her work on the popular musical comedy-drama series Glee, in which she starred from 2009 to 2015, she received various awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominations for two Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Buck</span> American actress (born 1975)

Tara Buck is an American film, stage, and television actress. Buck is known for her roles in True Blood, Ray Donovan, and Party of Five.

<i>Livid</i> (film) 2011 French film

Livid is a 2011 French supernatural horror film written and directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo. It is their follow-up to the horror film Inside.

<i>We Are the Night</i> (film) 2010 film by Dennis Gansel

We Are the Night is a 2010 German vampire horror film directed by Dennis Gansel, starring Karoline Herfurth and Nina Hoss. The film deals with a young woman who gets bitten by a female vampire and drawn into her world. She falls in love with a young police officer who investigates a murder case involving the vampires. The film explores themes of depression, self-harm, the consequences of immortality, suicide, and explores Valerie Solanas' idea of an all-female society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taissa Farmiga</span> American actress (born 1994)

Taissa Farmiga is an American actress. Her numerous appearances in horror films have established her as a scream queen, alongside her older sister Vera Farmiga.

<i>The Devils Carnival</i> 2012 American film

The Devil's Carnival is a 2012 American musical horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Briana Evigan, Jessica Lowndes, Paul Sorvino, Emilie Autumn and Terrance Zdunich. The film marks the second collaboration of Bousman and writer/actor Terrance Zdunich, their previous work being the musical film Repo! The Genetic Opera. The film also brings back several of the cast members of Repo!, such as Sorvino, Alexa Vega, Bill Moseley and Nivek Ogre. The Devil's Carnival has Aesop's Fables and other folklore at the core of its story, with the main characters each representing a fable. Flanery's character John represents "Grief and His Due", Evigan's character Merrywood represents "The Dog and Its Reflection", and Lowndes' character Tamara represents "The Scorpion and the Frog", an animal fable that seems to have first emerged in Russia.

<i>Devils Due</i> (film) 2014 American psychological horror film by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Devil's Due is a 2014 American psychological supernatural horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by Lindsay Devlin. The film stars Allison Miller, Zach Gilford, and Sam Anderson. The film was released on January 17, 2014.

<i>All Cheerleaders Die</i> 2013 American film

All Cheerleaders Die is a 2013 American horror comedy film written and directed by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson. It is a remake of their 2001 film of the same name that was also written and directed by McKee and Sivertson, and stars Caitlin Stasey as a cheerleader who must fight against the supernatural. The film had its world premiere on September 5, 2013, at the Toronto International Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release in June 2014.

<i>+1</i> (film) 2013 film by Dennis Iliadis

+1 is a 2013 American science fiction horror film directed by Dennis Iliadis and starring Ashley Hinshaw, Rhys Wakefield, and Natalie Hall. The film is about four college students, David, Jill, Teddy, and Allison, who attend a party. When the party is set back in time an hour into the past, there is a duplicate of every single person in the party doing what they were doing an hour ago. The plot revolves around the characters' unique actions.

<i>Children of Sorrow</i> 2012 American film

Children of Sorrow is a 2012 horror film directed by Jourdan McClure and part of the After Dark Originals series. The movie had its world release on October 6, 2012 at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival and was released to DVD on March 4, 2014 through Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The film stars Bill Oberst Jr. as a twisted cult leader.

<i>Stage Fright</i> (2014 film) 2014 Canadian film

Stage Fright is a 2014 Canadian musical comedy slasher film directed by Jerome Sable and is his feature-film directorial debut. The film had its world release on March 10, 2014 at South by Southwest, a VOD release on April 3, 2014, and a theatrical release on May 9. It stars Allie MacDonald as a hopeful young singer terrorized by a killer at a musical theater camp.

<i>The Boy</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by William Brent Bell

The Boy is a 2016 horror film directed by William Brent Bell and written by Stacey Menear. The film stars Lauren Cohan and Rupert Evans. It is an international co-production between China and the United States. Filming began on March 10, 2015, in Victoria, British Columbia. STXfilms released The Boy in the United States on January 22. The film grossed $64 million worldwide on a $10 million budget. A sequel, Brahms: The Boy II, was released on February 21, 2020.

<i>From</i> (TV series) 2022 science fiction horror television series

From is an American science fiction horror television series created by John Griffin. The first season premiered on February 20, 2022, on Epix. In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on April 23, 2023, on the rebranded MGM+. In June 2023, the series was renewed for a third season, set to premiere in 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "IFC Dates 'At the Devil's Door', Formerly 'Home' (Exclusive)". Bloody Disgusting. May 29, 2014.
  2. ↑ "SXSW 2014: First Home Stills Come Home". Dread Central. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Mack, Andrew. "SXSW 2014: Your First Look At Nicholas McCarthy's Horror Film HOME". Twitch Film. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Turek, Ryan. "The Pact's Nicholas McCarthy to Direct Home". STYD. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "'The Pact' Director's Haunted 'Home' Completed". Bloody Disgusting. February 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "At The Devil's Door (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "At the Devil's Door Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  8. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (26 September 2014). "Film Review: 'At the Devil's Door'".
  9. ↑ "New York : At the Devil's Door". Archived from the original on 2015-05-15. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  10. ↑ Weinberg, Scott. "FEARNET Movie Review: 'Home'". Syfy Official Site. Fearnet. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  11. ↑ Donato, Matt (12 March 2014). "Home Review". WGTC. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "At the Devil's Door (2014) Review". Best Horror Movies. Archived from the original on 2014-07-25. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  13. ↑ "At the Devil's Door Review". EFilmCritic.
  14. ↑ "At the Devil's Door". Sound on Sight. Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  15. ↑ Scheck, Frank (18 August 2014). "'At the Devil's Door': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 13 January 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.