Bedeviled (2016 film)

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Bedeviled
Bedeviled (2016 film).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed byThe Vang Brothers
Written byThe Vang Brothers
Produced by
  • Cheng Yang
  • Leng Yang
  • Kirk Roos
  • The Vang Brothers
Starring
CinematographyJimmy Jung Lu
Edited byCole Duran
Music byDavid C. Williams
Production
companies
  • Conduit
  • STANDOFF Pictures
  • Circle 18
  • Badlands Features
Distributed byFreestyle Digital Media
Release dates
  • October 22, 2016 (2016-10-22)(Screamfest LA)
  • August 11, 2017 (2017-08-11)(Digital HD)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Bedeviled is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed, written and produced by Abel Vang and Burlee Vang. [1] Starring Saxon Sharbino, Mitchell Edwards, Victory Van Tuyl, Brandon Soo Hoo, Carson Boatman and Alexis G Zall. [2] The film was released on October 22, 2016, at Screamfest LA, [3] and was released in select theaters and on Digital HD on August 11, 2017. [4] [5]

Contents

Plot

The film opens with the death of Nikki, a young woman that recently downloaded Mr. Bedevil, a mysterious Siri-like A.I. app. She's stalked by a paranormal presence and is later found dead from a shock-induced heart attack. Following her funeral, Nikki's boyfriend, Cody, and best friend, Alice, along with Alice's boyfriend, Gavin, and friends, Haley and Dan, all receive invites to download Mr. Bedevil. They decide to download the app, which results in the group getting tormented by Mr. Bedevil and becoming haunted according to their personal fears. They also discover brands on their bodies in the shape of Mr. Bedevil’s app icon and eventually accept that the app is intent on killing them. Trying to destroy their phones will not stop Mr. Bedevil, as their phones will only get restored to their prior state.

The group tries to go to the police with their concerns after the app uploads a sex tape made by Haley and Dan, only for Mr. Bedevil to possess the police, making the application impossible to stop through normal means. As the tension mounts, the app tricks Gavin into coming to Alice's house, where he's murdered by clowns. The remaining friends manage to recover Nikki's phone, through which they discover that Nikki received an invite via Samuel Price, Nikki’s former physics tutor and pseudoscience enthusiast. Alice and Cody go to Sam's house, where they discover his body as well as audiotapes of Sam's research, which identify Mr. Bedevil as a paranormal presence that uses the app to enter reality in a manner similar to an Ouija board. Meanwhile, Haley and Dan are both murdered by Mr. Bedevil in ways that mimic their fears.

Cody discovers that it is possible to uninstall Mr. Bedevil from their phones by writing code that will accomplish this task. Because the app is capable of adapting and rewriting its firmware, Cody can only use his program when Mr. Bedevil enters the physical world by first connecting to the phone’s hardware. Alice and Cody set a trap for Mr. Bedevil at a warehouse using two separate computer stations. They manage to successfully uninstall Mr. Bedevil from Alice's phone but are unable to do the same for Cody's phone, as the second computer station's uninstall program fails to penetrate the additional security on his phone, resulting in Cody's death. The film ends with Alice attending college and FaceTiming her mother, only to discover that she is now using the Mr. Bedevil app herself.

Cast

Reception

Bloody Disgusting rated Bedeviled three and a half out of a possible five stars, stating that "What we have here is a charming, albeit occasionally predictable, character-driven horror movie with a splash of modern sensibilities." [6]

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References

  1. D'Alessandro, Anthony (2015-11-21). "Nicholl Fellowship Winners The Vang Brothers Reinvent Bogeyman With 'Bedeviled'". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  2. "Terrifying Horror Film 'Bedeviled' Being Compared to Stephen King's 'It'". Latin Post. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  3. Bros, Bedeviled-Feature-Vang (2016-07-19). "Bedeviled". SCREAMFEST. Archived from the original on 2017-12-17. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  4. "Bedeviled Gets Picked Up For August Release Date". Dread Central. 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  5. "Freestyle Downloads 'Bedeviled' Distribution Rights". Bloody-Disgusting. 2017-07-25. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  6. "[Review] 'Bedeviled' Is a Familiar but Well-Crafted Supernatural Thriller". Bloody Disgusting!. 2016-10-23. Retrieved 2016-10-30.