The Devil’s Doorway review: Found footage gets a retro downgrade in this chilling tale of a very bad Magdalene Laundry.
The Devil’s Doorway review by Kat Hughes.
The Devil’s Doorway review
The Devil’s Doorway screens at Frightfest as part of the New Blood selection. These picks celebrate first-time feature filmmakers, showcasing previously unknown talent. At the helm of The Devil’s Doorway is Aislinn Clarke. The film follows two Priests as they are tasked with investigating a convent housing a weeping statue; once there, they discover a young pregnant girl Kathleen, and then things get exceptionally weird.
Set in the sixties, but told through the found footage genre lens, The Devil’s Doorway is isn’t any different from found footage films that have come before. For one, it’s shot on actual film. There are no gimicky Go-Pro’s, drones or smart phones here. Clarke could have all too easily chosen to shoot on digital and then just add a filter or the like to give the footage a more antique feel, but thankfully she didn’t. By picking celluloid, The Devil’s Doorway just feels completely authentic, so too does the 4:3 presentation. Widescreen / scope wasn’t around back then and so it isn’t here now.
As for the story, it’s always difficult within found footage to justify why the camera-person is forever shooting film. Here there are breaks between filming, giving an almost documentary feel in places, and our Priests have strict instructions from the Vatican to document everything. Being Holy men they will not go against the vows they have made to their superiors.
Along with St. Agatha, The Devil’s Doorway is another film on the Frightfest 2018 programme that heavily features nun’s. Whereas St. Agatha kept things fairly grounded in reality, The Devil’s Doorway embraces more traditional horror traits. Possession and black masses are rife, and our hapless Priests have most certainly bitten off much more than they can chew. Sticking within traditional horror conventions gives Clarke the chance to really freak the audience out, cue creepy choral children voices whispering in the dark and much more.
An inspired entry into the found footage genre with The Devil’s Doorway, Clarke proves that you don’t have to stick to digital to achieve greatness. Easily one of the most authentic found footage films that we’ve seen since The Blair Witch Project, we look forward to seeing what Clarke brings us next.
The Devil’s Doorway review by Kat Hughes, August 2018.
The Devil’s Doorway screened at Arrow Video Frightfest 2018.
