[The Devil's Den]
Plot:Two small time drug-dealers cross paths with a female-assassin, a monster hunter, a Japanese swordsman and even the Devil himself at a gentlemen's club housing murderous she-demons.

Cast: Kelly Hu, Devon Sawa, Ken Foree, Steven Schub, Karen Maxwell, Dawn Olivieri, Ken Ohara.

My Thoughts: Not exactly what I was expecting.

Review:I was actually expecting alot from this film "The Devil's Den". Problem is I didn't get much. The funniest thing about this picture is is starts off exactly like "From Dusk Till Dawn". Like in that film, where Clooney and Tarantino's characters were traveling and eventually wound up at a strip joint out in the middle of nowhere. In "The Devil's Den", Quinn (Devon Sawa), and his buddy Nick (Steven Schub), are also traveling, to L.A..after having smuggled some spanish fly across the mexican border. Both are small time drug dealers, although Quinn is really the brains of the get-rich-quick scheme operation. Nick is just along for the ride, despite his many protests against the idea. Both eventually come upon a strip joint out in the middle of nowhere (ala From Dusk Till Dawn), where the women inside may look hot on the outside...but they're hiding some grotesque secrets underneath. Quinn figures this would be a good place to test out his spanish fly (which are basically rufee pills), seeing as how the place is bound to be crawling with members of the opposite sex. Once inside...again ala "From Dusk Till Dawn", the film introduces the viewer to two specific bar patrons who don't seem to be the usual locals looking for a good time. A mysterious asian woman named Caitlin (Kelly Hu), and a huge black guy named Leonard (Ken Foree). Writer Mitch Gould continues to make it obvious that his film was heavily influenced by "From Dusk Till Dawn", even after the first 15 minutes when the female dj of the club introduces a premier dancer who takes the stage, and gives her best impression of Salma Hayek's infamous dance from "FDTD". That's exactly the problem with this movie. While most horror films do show signs of being influenced by other horror pictures, "Devil's Den" makes it obvious. It's basically what "FDTD" would've been if Ken Foree, Kelly Hu, and Devon Sawa were the stars instead of Savini, Clooney, Tarantino, and Kietel. Even when the bloodshed finally starts, and the women in the club show their "true" selves it still feels like I'm watching a cheaper low budget knock off of "From Dusk Till Dawn". Some attempts at originality are thrown in though. Albeit quite futile attempts. The she-devils in this picture aren't vampires, although in one scene that theory is tossed out there. It's explained that they're ghouls, basically flesh-eating she-demons from hell. But the best moments of all come when Ken Foree and Kelly Hu's characters snap into action to battle the ghouls. Hu does her best with what she's given, which is basically alot of witty sarcastic dialogue which she spouts off while firing two glocks with a seemingly endless amount of ammo. Foree meanwhile weilds a trusty samurai sword with a mean look on his face. Sawa's character starts off as a real annoyance but eventually becomes likeable as the picture moves on. Other than a waitress named Candy who survives the bloodbath early on, Sawa, Hu, and Foree are the focal point of most of the movie. The plot eventually falls into the territory of being a simple "destroy the monsters" type of deal where as per usual with films like this, it turns out that in order to shut down this den of hellcats, one must track down the queen and lop off her head. Not exactly the most original of premises. Anyways, Hu and Sawa have some funny moments on screen as both constantly take jabs at each other and Hu ends up having to save Quinn's but from the she-demons that are all over the place. But besides those two, there's not much to like about the films characters. Candy is likeable in an eye-candy kind of way, and Ken Foree as great of an actor as he is, was given a real shaft of a role here. Honestly, his character could've been built up to be something special but instead Leonard just simply didn't fit into this picture very well. The film does deliver on the blood and gore aspect and the creature fx are quite decent, but a lack of real direction, suspense, or scares really hurt the film..which feels more like a hokey monster movie more than anything exciting or remotely scary. Although there are a few bright spots to speak of..like when Hu and Foree's characters reveal who they really are, Caitlin's explanation being the funniest and most clever of the two. Still, "The Devil's Den" fails to deliver, mostly because it's basically too much of a take off of a film which came way before it, a much better put together and acted film nonetheless. "The Devil's Den" might be a fun movie to pop in on a Friday night when drinking with friends, but it won't really satisfy the horror fan looking for something alot deeper.

Positives:Kelly Hu gives a good performance, large amounts of blood and gore. Sawa is decent.

Negatives: Ken Foree's character wasn't developed very well, a lame twist near the end involving Candy the waitress. Below average dialogue, and not the best plot in the world considering it's been done before.

Overall: I'd say wait for cable. This picture really isn't worth renting at all.





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