You know what’s worse than one of those baby gender reveal parties where like half the guests get burned or some such shit? Try a housewarming party with a séance as the entertainment, during which the Medium is more than touched by a literal goddamned demon (redundant, I know… ).
Speaking of that demon; that one man (monster?) Satanic Panic… who is also a shape-shifter, but more on that in a bit… makes it a malevolent mission to stalk n’ slay every attendee of that supernatural soaked soiree!
How many of these fine folks have R.S.V.P.’d to their own demise, or can they solve the mystery of the evil that wants them extinct?!!
So, what’s the good word with Harley Wallen’s The Devil’s Left Hand? Well, it’s a polished, suspenseful preternatural picture, so there’s that!
Remember that shape-shifting bit I mentioned up yonder? It provides a shit-ton of suspense (also which was just mentioned for the forgetful among you) because, as you may have guessed, this keeps us, as an audience bitin’ our collective noxious nails guessing just who could be the villain of the piece as it jumps bodies with wild abandon… plus from the boring as a dog’s asshole business side of things, it makes sense economically to have a monster that mimics the actors you are already using rather than mega-amounts of costly monster effects, especially in a lower-budget film.
All of that is well and good, but it doesn’t mean a pile of demon dung if the characters present aren’t folks you can root for as they struggle to withstand this sinister smack-down from beyond… thankfully, most of the characters present here are a relatable enough bunch… so much so that I’ll wager you’ll actually give a hot damn whether they survive the outré ordeal they’ve found themselves thrown into.
Adding to the atmosphere, and deserving of mention, is the work of both composer Bon Lucas and cinematographer Michael Kettenbeil who’s top-shelf work adds beastly bucket-loads to the arcane ambience of the film.
Of note to fans of the horror genre… which if you’re not, than what in the unholy hell are you doing reading these wicked words on this kind of website… are appearances from Maniac Cop’s and The Stuff’s Laurene Landon and The People Under The Stairs and Slumber Party Massacre III’s Yan Birch!
All in all, The Devil’s Left Hand is a tight paranormal thriller that is well worth a wicked whirl for fans of the possession genre!
