Review: Devon (2024)
By William Pattison
This time I got the Pluto TV exclusive found footage film
directed by the former reality TV From Jersey Shore star Jenni Farley who was
once known as JWwow.
A group of volunteers who answer an ad on cryptic website on
the internet go to a shut down asylum to investigate a missing girl named of Devon,
who disappeared at the asylum twenty years earlier. But they find that there is
more to this place than just it being creepy. Something fatal and possibly
paranormal. Paranoia and insanity runs rampant, voices are heard, the screaming
starts, and people start disappearing.
To start out I have to say I’m impressed with this film. I have watched hundreds
of found footage films and I have to say that this film is in my top ten. I
could tell that Jenni Farley put a ton of love into this film.
Some people think that doing a found footage film is cheap
and amateur time. This film was made on a modest budget, it in no way is this
film in any way amateurish. Farley uses the darkness of Pentherst Asylum to its
advantage. She uses flashlights tactically to show the viewer just what she
wants them to see. The effect is horrifyingly claustrophobic. Also she uses
sound in unision with the lack of light to add to the terror. In this film the
jump scares are purely sound driven with no music.
Also unlike the majority of found footage film you are never
bored because there is always something happening. Farley doesn’t waste time
she is constantly hitting both the characters and audience on a psychological
level.
The acting and characterization is top notch. The actress
that steals the show is Rotisha Geter who plays potential psychology professor Alison
Roberts. Rotisha’s shows Alison’s journey into paranoia and insanity in a stark
and brutal way. You can tell that her performance forced the other members of
the cast to up their game.
This film is plain brilliant. It reminds me of the low budget love project over a decade ago by a young director named James Wan, whose first film, SAW, started the torture porn subgenre of horror. Unfortunately, when Wan started getting big budgets and more mainstream films he lost a lot of that incredible brilliance he has with that first film. I hope that if she can Jenni Farley might be able to retain some of the incredible brilliance I saw her achieve with Devon, but I fear this is a pipedream. The lure of a bigger budget and more toys is way too seductive for a young filmmaker. But for now we have Devon and it is AWESOMETACULAR!!! You can find this film exclusively on Pluto TV for free in its Halloween Hits List. I highly recommend you check this film out while it’s available…
