[The Devils Chair]
Plot:A young man named Nick takes his girlfriend to an abandoned asylum for a night of "fun". But tragedy soon strikes when they discover an odd looking chair, which then comes to life and drains Nick's girlfriend of all her blood. When the cops arrive, they don't buy Nick's story and he's institutionalized for four years. Now a free man, a professor named Willard talks Nick into going back to the asylum to finally solve the mystery of what happened to his girlfriend. While there, they uncover the dark secrets behind the Blackwater Asylum.

Cast:Elize du Toit, Matt Berry, Andrew Howard, Polly Brown, David Gant, Nadja Brand, Louise Griffiths.

My Thoughts:Nice bounce back for Mason.

Review:After a disapponting initial outing with "The Broken", a film which was basically the worst edge of today's american horror, done by a foreign director...Adam Mason has returned with "The Devil's Chair", a supernatural horror film where a man named Nick West decides to take his girlfriend to an abandoned asylum for a night of fun (basically to screw and get high, albeit both characters seem a bit old for such a thing). While there, Nick's girlfriend sits down in a creepy-looking contraption, a chair of sorts. As her and Nick are "enjoying" themselves...suddenly, the chair latches onto her, begins draining her of blood, and before you know it sucks her into another world...away from Nick.

The cops investigate the incident later on, and in typical horror film fashion, decide that Nick's full of shit, and he's a nut who needs to be locked away forever. Which is exactly what happens. But eventually...Nick is freed, but under certain conditions. Conditions of which include accompanying a professor and his crew on a research expedition to the building where Nick's girlfriend died, a place known as the Blackwater Asylum. While there, they begin to discover the asylum's dark history...a history which will hold fatal consequences for all of them.

Looking at this films premise, and the direction in which it heads...as a viewer, I began to think this was gonna be another one of those movies where some dopey curiousity-seekers invade a place with a checkered past, and end up getting done in one by one. God knows we've had enough of those...especially coming out of the indie horror genre, where we're used to more original ideas being put before us. Mason's film does indeed go down that very road, but the final act holds a major surprise which turns the story upside down, and leaves two or three possibilities to the viewer of what actually occured within the context of the film.

This is where Mason's picture differs from alot of other horror movies, as he really decides to push the envelope with the conclusion, which is a very dark and twisted one. Everything that comes before all of that isn't too shabby either. Although it takes a bit of time before things finally get moving, Andrew Howard...who plays Nick West in the film keeps the viewers interest which his sharp wit, and rough-around-the-edges footballer-styled personality.

This is one of the few horror films where the male lead isn't some fluffball who makes googley-eyes at the lead female who pity's him, yet at the same time...is slightly attracted to him because of his inner-pain. The character of Nick West is an A-typical male type, and it really throws a huge monkeywrench into the gears and inner workings of the character relationships considering it's such a sharp deviation from the norm in films like this. You eventually, as the film goes on...begin to like his character a bit more, and the people who you sort of liked more than him at the start, begin to rub you the wrong way later on in the movie.

Mason does an excellent job of playing with the viewer by presenting these interesting characters at the beginning, and then allowing their personalities to conflcit with one another, creating a whole new way of seeing them from one scene to the next. The person who you like in one scene, may be the person you totally despise in the next scene, and so on and so forth. The devil's chair itself also plays a very important and very vital role in the movie as well.

It's not simply a prop used to kick the film off with a bang, and then is immediately discarded away for 80 minutes of poor character development, and cheap scares...the chair makes it's presence known throughout the course of the film, and especially in act three where it's inner-workings are revealed, as well as the revelation of a particular dumping spot for the people who are entraped by it. A revelation which in itself...holds an even darker, grotesque, and more terrifying revelation of things to come.

Blood and gore may not seem like a huge part of this movie, but it's certainly there...especially in act three where the blood and gore are kicked into optimum levels. There are a few blood and gore scenes in the early going of the film, but they are everywhere in the later parts of the movie, especially at the surprise ending which is not for the faint of heart. The ending speaking of which, could go either way in terms of the story and what exactly and actually happened. I have a few theories, as I'm sure you will as well.

And while the ending may seem straight-and-narrow/cut-and-dry to some, to others...there'll still be a few more theories and possibilities left twisting in the wind to ponder. "The Devil's Chair" is indie horror at it's finest. Blending a dark, twisted story, interesting characters, especially the male lead, and a whammy of an ending all into one 90 minute trip to hell and back.

Positives:Great performance by Andrew Howard, a nicely-gothic looking prop in the devils chair, a dark, twisted story, a great ending.

Negatives:Nothing major.

Overall:Three and a half stars out of 4.





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