Demon had it’s U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX this week in the wake of the recent news of the death of Marcin Wrona, the film’s director. It’s disappointing to hear of this news, as the film is a unique possession film for the majority of its runtime, and it would have been nice to see future projects from Wrona. It’s ironic that I was just complaining about the current state of possession films, only to see one that nearly blew me away. Nearly.
Piotr (Itay Tiran), travels from England to Poland to marry Żaneta, the love of his life. Żaneta’s father has given them their country home as a wedding present, but with it comes a skeleton buried in the grounds outside. Piotr happens to uncover the skeleton and decides to re-bury it, prompting disturbing visions of a mysterious woman. The rest of the film chronicles Piotr and Żaneta’s wedding night (think of it like Rachel Getting Married but with a possession and sans the 10-minute dance scene), as Piotr begins acting strangely (read: possessed).
Based on the 2008 play “Adherance” by Piotr Rowicki, Demon is a slow burn film, but never boring, and benefits greatly from it’s one setting. Wrona is a strong director, as he makes you feel like a guest at the wedding. Anyone with social anxiety will probably feel it creep up as the camera moves among the guests.The cinematographer captures the Polish countryside with a sense of isolation as well.
Demon is more a drama than a horror film, though I fully recommend any soon-to-be bride to seek it out when/if it ever gets a theatrical release here in the states, as it will quickly shut them up when they are complaining about something as minuscule as their linens. For my day job, I work in the events industry here in Austin and throughout the entirety of the film I couldn’t stop thinking about the events of the film from an event production standpoint, so I may have been more enthralled/amused than some of my fellow audience members. This film is a true horror story for anyone in the event industry.
Wrona injects plenty of humor into the film as well. There is a recurring gag where the priest keeps trying to leave the wedding, fully aware that an exorcism is out of his league. Żaneta’s father seems more concerned about his family’s appearance to the rest of his guests as Piotr begins to show more and more signs of possession. There is a rather funny moment where he tries to pass it off as food poisoning, at which point Wrona cuts to a wedding guest nervously about to eat a corn dog.
These humorous moments work in the films favor for the most part, but throw off the tone a bit when they are being intercut with serious scenes in the cellar as Żaneta, the priest and the doctor discuss the possibility of an exorcism. It dilutes nearly all of the tension that Wrona is attempting to build up, leading to a third act that seems to be building up to something, but doesn’t.
The final 10 minutes will make or break Demon for you. Throughout the film, the idea of a Jewish dybbuk is brought up, but Wrona never provides any answers. Plenty of questions are raised, but by the end of the film there are no answers. What began as an intriguing new take on the possession film, abruptly turns into an abstract arthouse film.
I have no problem with ambiguous endings, but such an abrupt change in tone, filming style and even genre in the final moments of the film threw off this critic. It destroys any trust Wrona has built with his audience (my audience seemed engaged the film, but the film was met with silence once the credits rolled) and we are left with no idea as to what has happened.
Demon is an initially captivating film that ends with a whimper of an ambiguous ending that nearly ruined my enjoyment of everything that had come before it. It’s worth a watch, but consider this review a warning.
