Movie Review – The Devil’s Well

We’ve seen movies like The Devil’s Well (2017) before and we’ve seen it so much better in films like Hell House, LLC (2015). Found footage of paranormal investigators reopening a closed case to discover what really happened. It’s 8 parts hubris and 2 parts incompetence, with lots of fancy equipment to grease the idea that everyone knows what they’re doing. They don’t.

Karla (Anne-Marie Mueschke) and Bryan (Bryan Manley Davis) Marks are paranormal investigators checking out The Devil’s Well (a pretend one in CT, not the real one in MO), a hotspot of creepy activity in a building with lots of underground unlit corridors. When she disappears without a trace he’s considered the prime suspect in her possible murder. Distraught and out of options, Bryan calls in *another* team of investigators to clear his name and find Karla. His best friend, Lucas (Chris Viemeister) leads a well-equipped team back the scene of the accident-maybe-crime, and get some kick-ass footage out of it for their own gains.

Now, Karla disappeared at the well – so why are characters wandering hundreds of meters in the dark to set up cameras in places she likely wasn’t ever? Padding. There isn’t much at all to this story, I mean, how much mileage can you get out of staring at screens where stuff happens only when you’re not looking? Literally not much. There are interviews with local townspeople, which seems as out of place as you can imagine since no one has anything to add.

You know how Linus chooses a particular pumpkin patch because it’s the most sincere? That’s how I feel about the cast and crew of The Devil’s Well. They’re super sincere, so I can’t completely hate on this film, but it isn’t going on any lists of 2017 films to watch. Darkness and blind corridors can create a sense of claustrophobia best experienced through a video lens, but it gets old fast. There isn’t anything here we haven’t seen before, and much like House of Salem (2016), the ending will have you shaking your head because we have indeed been here before.

We even have the “psychic sensitive” easily the most ridiculous thing to come out of the whole genre. They don’t really serve a purpose other than telling everyone that creepy stuff is about to happen. I hope creepy stuff is about to happen, otherwise, I’m wasting my time. I know this is a trope with TV paranormal investigators, but we didn’t buy it when Sylvia Browne did it, and it only looks pathetic now

Pro tip for the budding filmmaker – don’t do this. Your story and filmmaking style should cover this, not a character that stands around looking constipated. If you think you need a “psychic” to tell people how to feel, just tell your girlfriend she can’t be in this movie, but you’ll write her a real acting role for next time, okay?

The Devil’s Well (2017) is from Uncork’d Entertainment and is Not Rated, but like a lot of lower budget films going straight to streaming, I’d peg it as a PG-13. We have blood, jump scares, running with cameras (GAH – STOP) and the usual snicker-worthy “Satanic” elements.