Infernal

MoreHorror

Writer/Director: Bryan Coyne
Cast: Alyssa Koerner, Matthew Scott Payne, Leandra Ryan.
Synopsis: The joy of parenthood for a pair of newlyweds turns dark as their child begins to become something not human.

The indie INFERNAL was an intriguing beast to sit through, because it seems to take inspiration from other haunted house films like Insidious and The Shining – which can only be a good thing – and takes that step further and uses the subject of demon possession to explore something unique to the genre: Autism and the struggles the family go through because of the condition.

Yes, INFERNAL’s newlyweds Nathan and Sophia’s daughter Imogene is autistic and something strange and evil is being drawn to her. But why? And furthermore, what effect does this have on the couple and how will the demon use this to its advantage, negative environments being something they thrive in and all that jazz.

Writer/Director Bryan Coyne uses the metaphor rather effectively, capturing the family’s hardships while having a good eye for executing horrific images and violent and gory scenes. Traditional cinematography is mixed in with the found footage style and more often than not, this is used to dizzying effect when things start to get more chaotic.

The cast of Infernal are all in top form, bringing the script to life and effectively fleshing out these characters. These are troubled and ugly characters, yes, but they are performed rather masterfully so I cannot fault them.

For all the great elements I found that were at work in Infernal, I can’t help but raise what I believe to be faults and I wanted to start with the characters: I struggled to really like them, as the majority of them are cruel and vapid characters that sprout profanity at each other viciously, with the main couple often arguing in front of their own child, which distressed me. Maybe that was the point, to unease me, and if so INFERNAL has achieved its purpose but the end result is that I can’t care about these characters or their survival.

Infernal’s biggest problem here is that way too much time is spent on the couple arguing amongst each other, even about the silliest tiniest things. The running time for the film is 104 minutes and time could’ve been either spent establishing the mythology of the creature lurking in the shadows OR twenty minutes could’ve easily been cut to make this feature a little tighter and brisk.

When it comes to the story, the film leaves a few plot threads dangling in favour for the audience making up their own minds. The problem with this being that there is not enough information provided to wrap up this rather intriguing story in a satisfying manner.

INFERNAL sets the ground for a great story and even has a few terrific ideas and moments here or there. However, because of the film’s dangling plot threads and such, I am left with a sinking feeling.

This is a horror film that explores a subtext that is fascinating, especially when it is the backdrop for demonic possession. It’s a film that makes you talk about what you’ve seen and what it may mean…but I wanted more. I wanted answers and I wanted characters I could like and unfortunately, Infernal falls slightly short in that regard.

IMDb

A happy young couple welcomes their first child shortly after getting married. Their joy quickly turns to fear when the girl starts acting strangely and unexplained phenomena start happening around the house.

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