DVD review: The Devil Within (2010)

A night of alcohol, sex, drugs and partying in the Hollywood hills is the perfect setting for Serina's (Elizabeth Di Prinzio)  18th birthday party - until this high school party goes horribly wrong when an uninvited guest begins killing them one by one. The Devil Within is written by Matt Dead and is directed by Tom Hardy. The acting is good but special praise goes to Bill Oberst Jr. who yet again does wonders on the screen as Principal Edwards. It´s professionally shot and edited and it is a good looking flick. The soundtrack is good, the pacing is very good. The Devil Within is played straight but there are a little bit of comic relief in the form of two young male characters. There are a few twists and turns and the unpredicability is just one of the factors which makes this a succesful slasher. The kills are brutal and are beautifully staged/shot. The gore is all practical make-up fx but and I don´t why but I kinda expected this flick too be a bit gorier. There´s some T and A and some sex. There´s sleaze, a father having an unhealthy interest in his daughter and some more stuff but I don´t want to give anything away.
This review is based upon the region all (region 0) DVD release from Seminal Films.
Rating: 6½ out of 7. The Devil Within is a really nice contribution to the slasher genre, not as predictable as many of the slashers are and the kills are suitably brutal. I cant finish this review without mentioning Bill Obert Jr. once more, he is without a doubt one of the most reliable actors in independent horror right now. He´s amazingly skilled and talented and I hope we will seeing much more of him in the future.

/JL