There are horror movies, and there are horror movies, and this is just another horror movie. Been there, done that. Still, for a relatively unknown Malaysian filmmaker, it's an ambitious effort and features non-local actors in the lead roles. Writer-director Brando Lee throws in everything one might have seen in other horror movies, from ghost hunters to haunted houses, possessions and occult rituals to hidden rooms with conveniently working film projectors. The story, while entertaining, is lazily developed, indulging in too many cliches and coincidences, and allowing for too many gaps in the plot. On the plus side, however, the acting is above par with Harris Dickinson giving the best performance; the film is beautifully shot and the special effects are quite impressive. And i dig the surprise ending.
15 Reviews
Actors and Effects people did well with a weak story.
jjack92917 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It's not the worst horror movie I've seen by a long shot, but it just doesn't work. 4/10
This is what happens when you try to make a movie about demon possession based around religious beliefs that don't account for the existence of demons. It just doesn't make sense. You can't have a demon possession without a demon, can you? Well they try to in this movie.
First off, we have a Buddhist monk proclaim, "There is no evil, only ignorance." Wow. I could write a thesis on the stupidity of this statement, but it's unnecessary for this. The movie centers around the spirit of an evil person lingering on and committing more evil. But I guess he's not evil, just ignorant? Nah. The monk's ignorant.
Second, because it's a bait and switch, you have logical disconnects between what's happened in the past and what's happening in the present. If it's a demon, the two can be related; if it's not, and it's just an evil man lingering on, the two being related makes zero sense. Oh, and again, he's not evil, just ignorant! That must be why he can kill and torture people from beyond the grave.
Finally, if you're going to use a non-Judeo-Christian faith to be the basis of your movie, and your plan is to sell it to a Western audience, you need to explain a bit of the belief system the movie is built around. Declaring, "There is no evil, only ignorance" does not sum up Buddhism, and even if it did, it doesn't make any sense in the context of what happens in this movie.
All that is to say nothing of the utter grossness of desiccated stillborn children being used as a focus for evil - oh, sorry, ignorant power.
Honestly some real wasted potential here, because it did some things really well and had some cool concepts. But the story doesn't make sense in the context of the "Buddhist philosophy" it's built around, and it ultimately falls flat (while proving the monk's line utterly false).
This is what happens when you try to make a movie about demon possession based around religious beliefs that don't account for the existence of demons. It just doesn't make sense. You can't have a demon possession without a demon, can you? Well they try to in this movie.
First off, we have a Buddhist monk proclaim, "There is no evil, only ignorance." Wow. I could write a thesis on the stupidity of this statement, but it's unnecessary for this. The movie centers around the spirit of an evil person lingering on and committing more evil. But I guess he's not evil, just ignorant? Nah. The monk's ignorant.
Second, because it's a bait and switch, you have logical disconnects between what's happened in the past and what's happening in the present. If it's a demon, the two can be related; if it's not, and it's just an evil man lingering on, the two being related makes zero sense. Oh, and again, he's not evil, just ignorant! That must be why he can kill and torture people from beyond the grave.
Finally, if you're going to use a non-Judeo-Christian faith to be the basis of your movie, and your plan is to sell it to a Western audience, you need to explain a bit of the belief system the movie is built around. Declaring, "There is no evil, only ignorance" does not sum up Buddhism, and even if it did, it doesn't make any sense in the context of what happens in this movie.
All that is to say nothing of the utter grossness of desiccated stillborn children being used as a focus for evil - oh, sorry, ignorant power.
Honestly some real wasted potential here, because it did some things really well and had some cool concepts. But the story doesn't make sense in the context of the "Buddhist philosophy" it's built around, and it ultimately falls flat (while proving the monk's line utterly false).
Nothing special but an ok movie.
subxerogravity8 October 2022
Can't really jump for joy about how good it was. All I can say is that I did like what I saw. I did not waste my time watching it. It was slow but it was not dull.
Not a fan of Fiona Dourif, I just know that her dad is a horror legend (Voice of Chucky), but on her own she was interesting to watch, which is good cause she takes up a lot of screen time.
It had shocking moments that I liked but musty admit were not scary.
The overall story arch was kind of cool too. It's not going to wow you and I'm shocked something this mundane got into theatres, but if you are looking for something new for the Halloween season, check it out.
Not a fan of Fiona Dourif, I just know that her dad is a horror legend (Voice of Chucky), but on her own she was interesting to watch, which is good cause she takes up a lot of screen time.
It had shocking moments that I liked but musty admit were not scary.
The overall story arch was kind of cool too. It's not going to wow you and I'm shocked something this mundane got into theatres, but if you are looking for something new for the Halloween season, check it out.
Don't waste your time
Stormens19 February 2023
Besides a story filled with major plotholes, a weak script, and under par acting, this could've been a decent movie. However, it seemed like the writers didn't know what horror-elements they wanted to use, nor how to apply them. The editing and cgi was also quite terrible - honestly looked like a videogame from 2005. To be fair, I would've been scared if I was still 11.
If I am to mention one positive aspect of the movie, it was the location of where the movie was taking place. If used properly it could have been adding a few mystic and interesting elements - it didnt however. Missed opportunity.
So my imediate conclusion after watching the movie: I will never get that hour and a half back.
If I am to mention one positive aspect of the movie, it was the location of where the movie was taking place. If used properly it could have been adding a few mystic and interesting elements - it didnt however. Missed opportunity.
So my imediate conclusion after watching the movie: I will never get that hour and a half back.
A monk.... How original...
mqwbqmj31 January 2023
A medium hopped up on benzos.... A new female crew member who happens to be a tramp... a producer who's sleeping with the medium... and a couple camera guys who probably punch refrigerators at college parties to see who can make the bigger dent in the fridge.... and a monk who can or can't save the day... now add a demon presence and safe to say... idk wtf I'm looking at anymore. Production was all over the place... I'm not sure the writers ever met each other for this movie. Seems like they were in different universes when they wrote this. Horror my ass don't waste your time and the lead actress annoyed me with the way she looked... comb your hair lady wtf.
The baby-faced demon fooled us... TWICE!
selfdestructo15 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Oh, this one hurt. Then again, if you're a fan of unintentional laughs, all the horror represented is LOL funny. The rest is a total annoyance.
Don't Look At the Demon (yup, just a line in the movie) suffers from a completely incompetent script. The two guys who wrote this: Please stop. From creating plot holes with nonsensical information, to every character having absolutely nothing to say, it is brutal to sit through. Literally, characters are interchangeable, as none of them say anything in a remotely interesting way. Even key supernatural plot points are met with matter-of-fact blandness. Watch a Tarantino movie! Sheesh. One character has a personality. And it's a bad one.
Characters go: Jules, the troubled medium, who you CAN spot a mile away, because you've seen Fiona Dourif in a dozen other things. The rest of the cast is rounded out by a number of interchangeable guys with beards, the baby-faced member of the television show production, who gets possessed by the demon... and couldn't pull off menacing if he was covered in blood, boils, maggots, and melted into a pile of goo (all other "scares" prior to the possession are strictly loud jump scares), an Asian woman and a monk with unintelligible accents, then there's the vanilla pregnant wife, who's being haunted. There is an abundance of ear-splitting screaming, causing reaches for the remote.
So, Jules, as a child, had the ability to contact the dead. And, we run into trouble right away with the plot. What haunts Jules 20 years later, is the fact (or so it seems) that a demon possessed and killed her younger sister. Redundant flashbacks punctuate the entire duration of the film. The demon says she killed her sister. The only logic I can conjure is, Jules is subsequently possessed under the bed, in the final flashback. Blink and you miss it?! Frankly, I was too fried to rewind. Worse, Jules recounts the story as: My sister had a crush on a boy who died, we contacted him, and he wouldn't go away. Soooo, key plot point. Not made abundantly clear.
At another point, recounting the same story, Jules says ever since that incident, she has lost the ability to contact the dead. Yet she's the star of an apparently EXTREMELY successful paranormal TV show. Say what, writers?! Worse still... After watching the monk give an agonizingly painful, and mandatory, back tattoo (where the woman throws up slime and nails?), gives Jules a medallion to regain her abilities during their trip (not revealed 'til the end). This is a rather egregious blunder. She even stated, regarding her show, she 'Might as well use (her) powers to make money.' Which is it?
So the TV show and its star medium are out touring Asia(!), and Jules' technique for weeding out the fakes from the truly haunted, involves her being able to "mystically" take a quick glance at... emails?! WTF. She spots a live one, watches the couple's video message to her (two Americans living in Malaysia), and all they do is gush about what big fans of the show they are, and to "Please help (them)." Direct quote. Yup, it's plain to see. This couple's in mortal danger!
You got: Manufactured, out-of-the-blue couple's drama, multiple dummy walls axed down, leading to hidden rooms, and crunchy fetus eating. I'm under the impression these filmmakers were trying to meld paranormal TV shows, demon possession, and Japanese shock cinema, a la Takashi Miike (certainly along the lines of his outrageous Masters of Horror installment). Pretty much a failure on all fronts. I mean, Dourif broods it up, and there are laughs due to sheer incompetence. Two stars.
SPOILER I'm left to assume somehow the demon they've, er, traced to Malaysia is the same demon from Jules' childhood in America. Four hours away from where she regained her abilities. Break out your highest tolerance for suspension of disbelief!
Don't Look At the Demon (yup, just a line in the movie) suffers from a completely incompetent script. The two guys who wrote this: Please stop. From creating plot holes with nonsensical information, to every character having absolutely nothing to say, it is brutal to sit through. Literally, characters are interchangeable, as none of them say anything in a remotely interesting way. Even key supernatural plot points are met with matter-of-fact blandness. Watch a Tarantino movie! Sheesh. One character has a personality. And it's a bad one.
Characters go: Jules, the troubled medium, who you CAN spot a mile away, because you've seen Fiona Dourif in a dozen other things. The rest of the cast is rounded out by a number of interchangeable guys with beards, the baby-faced member of the television show production, who gets possessed by the demon... and couldn't pull off menacing if he was covered in blood, boils, maggots, and melted into a pile of goo (all other "scares" prior to the possession are strictly loud jump scares), an Asian woman and a monk with unintelligible accents, then there's the vanilla pregnant wife, who's being haunted. There is an abundance of ear-splitting screaming, causing reaches for the remote.
So, Jules, as a child, had the ability to contact the dead. And, we run into trouble right away with the plot. What haunts Jules 20 years later, is the fact (or so it seems) that a demon possessed and killed her younger sister. Redundant flashbacks punctuate the entire duration of the film. The demon says she killed her sister. The only logic I can conjure is, Jules is subsequently possessed under the bed, in the final flashback. Blink and you miss it?! Frankly, I was too fried to rewind. Worse, Jules recounts the story as: My sister had a crush on a boy who died, we contacted him, and he wouldn't go away. Soooo, key plot point. Not made abundantly clear.
At another point, recounting the same story, Jules says ever since that incident, she has lost the ability to contact the dead. Yet she's the star of an apparently EXTREMELY successful paranormal TV show. Say what, writers?! Worse still... After watching the monk give an agonizingly painful, and mandatory, back tattoo (where the woman throws up slime and nails?), gives Jules a medallion to regain her abilities during their trip (not revealed 'til the end). This is a rather egregious blunder. She even stated, regarding her show, she 'Might as well use (her) powers to make money.' Which is it?
So the TV show and its star medium are out touring Asia(!), and Jules' technique for weeding out the fakes from the truly haunted, involves her being able to "mystically" take a quick glance at... emails?! WTF. She spots a live one, watches the couple's video message to her (two Americans living in Malaysia), and all they do is gush about what big fans of the show they are, and to "Please help (them)." Direct quote. Yup, it's plain to see. This couple's in mortal danger!
You got: Manufactured, out-of-the-blue couple's drama, multiple dummy walls axed down, leading to hidden rooms, and crunchy fetus eating. I'm under the impression these filmmakers were trying to meld paranormal TV shows, demon possession, and Japanese shock cinema, a la Takashi Miike (certainly along the lines of his outrageous Masters of Horror installment). Pretty much a failure on all fronts. I mean, Dourif broods it up, and there are laughs due to sheer incompetence. Two stars.
SPOILER I'm left to assume somehow the demon they've, er, traced to Malaysia is the same demon from Jules' childhood in America. Four hours away from where she regained her abilities. Break out your highest tolerance for suspension of disbelief!
Not too bad at all
upinflamezzz7 October 2022
I just got back from seeing this movie and it really wasn't that bad at all. I've never seen any of the actors in any other movies so I wasn't expecting much, but all in all I wasn't angry walking out. The story was O. K. and the demon itself was a bit of a plus. If you've like movies like Insidious or other movies dealing with ghosts or demons then you won't be dissapointed. In my opinion the best performances were by the brother characters Ben and Wolf. If you've already seen Barbarian and Smile then this is a movie you may want to go see. All I can say that it has to be better than the movie Bros, which I didn't see.
Fail information. It's Thailand not Maylaysia
chompoonutnop7 February 2024
At the start of the movie where it show in the temple with monk with the orang dress. The movie entitle is as *north of Malaysia* however, I can tell from the movie cover that it's a Thai monks. And what so obvious is the local language they speak are Thai. Not Malaysia. Please be aware that Malaysia is Muslim country. The ceremony like that tattoo on the back by hand is from Thai culture. I'm very disappointed it claims to be 'Nort of Malaysia' as it well know that north maylaysia are strictly Muslim. The 'Kimarn Thong' is based on Thai culture as well, as it's an obvious Thai name. I firstly glad the movie producing by foreigner however. Fail advertise that it's Malaysia culture is such a shame.
Fairly Descent Horror Movie
stevendbeard10 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I saw Don't Look at the Demon, starring Fiona Dourif-Chucky_tv, Tenet, and yes, her father is Brad Dourif, the voice of Chucky; Jordan Belfi-All American_tv, Entourage_tv and Harris Dickinson-Where the Crawdads Sing, Beach Rats.
This is a fairly descent horror movie with a few of the usual jump scares-you know, loud telephone noises, someone suddenly appearing behind a person, etc. Fiona and her boyfriend Jordan are paranormal investigators with their camera man, Harris. They have a tv series where they travel around seeking out supernatural occurrences to put on their show. Fiona has some minor psychic abilities she gained after a childhood incident involving her sister's death-mostly she can sense paranormal things. Most cases that they come across are pretty bogus but they find the real deal in Malaysia where strange things start happening in a house. Objects are moving around, people are floating in the air, there's even the old possession of the body gambit that gets it's claws into several people. They do uncover the reason the demon is doing what he is doing but the ending is a little worn and been done many times before.
It's not rated but it did have violence, language and sexual content-including partial nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 33 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be alright as a rental.
This is a fairly descent horror movie with a few of the usual jump scares-you know, loud telephone noises, someone suddenly appearing behind a person, etc. Fiona and her boyfriend Jordan are paranormal investigators with their camera man, Harris. They have a tv series where they travel around seeking out supernatural occurrences to put on their show. Fiona has some minor psychic abilities she gained after a childhood incident involving her sister's death-mostly she can sense paranormal things. Most cases that they come across are pretty bogus but they find the real deal in Malaysia where strange things start happening in a house. Objects are moving around, people are floating in the air, there's even the old possession of the body gambit that gets it's claws into several people. They do uncover the reason the demon is doing what he is doing but the ending is a little worn and been done many times before.
It's not rated but it did have violence, language and sexual content-including partial nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 33 minutes.
It's not one that I would buy on DVD but it would be alright as a rental.
Look at the demon
bjornrhein10 February 2023
It is actually total ok , but cant say more than ok
Many times with horrormovies its like someone wrote a good story but they just couldnt make a simulare good movie with it - this time its the other way around - someone did a real bad story but they really worked so hard to make it good
Acting is good, production is good , effects are good ,, but the story is just simple and fast written , and its no charm or heart in it either, more like someone just do his work and dont care so much about it
Im not so tolerant with horrormovies, if its bad I shut it of , and mostly movies ends like that ,, but I enjoyed this actually , its not blow you of the chair, but its ok.
Acting is good, production is good , effects are good ,, but the story is just simple and fast written , and its no charm or heart in it either, more like someone just do his work and dont care so much about it
Im not so tolerant with horrormovies, if its bad I shut it of , and mostly movies ends like that ,, but I enjoyed this actually , its not blow you of the chair, but its ok.
A by-the-numbers if still wholly effective Malaysian genre effort
kannibalcorpsegrinder13 October 2022
After hearing of a new opportunity, a team of American paranormal researchers looking into a supposedly haunted house for their show's latest episode finds the house to be far more terrifying than they imagined and must face their personal demons to be able to rid the house once and for all.
There's quite a lot to like about the film. Among the better qualities on display is the fantastic supernatural atmosphere generated throughout here which provides for an engrossing overall setup. An initial encounter with a local medicine man performing a ritual on a tormented woman provides a great start to everything with the ritual generating a strong shock with its conclusion by allowing for an easy entrance into the supernatural world to follow that the explorers carry on throughout the rest of the film. The backstory of the couple's haunted house with the history of strange occurrences to the past residents, bizarre incidents to the clothing or paintings they own, or the recap of events that take place at the house provides a great false start with the explanations to their queries. The suddenness of it all exploding in their face and bringing about the genuine supernatural activity which ties nicely into the setup provided. This carries over into the stellar supernatural action in this one. Focusing on the typical kinds of sequences involving a deformed ghostly being appearing unexpectedly behind someone or strange noises blaring out of the shadows, this doesn't really bring much new to the table until things start becoming physical. With a harrowing attack on the homeowner where they're repeatedly bashed against walls or a later sequence where a team member is possessed and begins taunting the rest of the group in a haunting fashion. The final half, featuring all manner of possessions, occult rituals, revelations about the nature of the house's haunted history, and a series of brutal encounters to keep everything in check, all score incredibly well with a thrilling escalation of events. Everything comes together nicely with some requisite bloodshed and heroics to offer quite a thrilling resolution that ends on a high note providing quite a lot to like. There are some flaws that bring it down. Among the biggest issues here is the outright bizarre behavior of the team once they arrive at the house and start contacting spirits. The first attack occurs the first night they're there and her initial reaction is to leave without bothering them anymore despite their experience with the paranormal. Further encounters that result in a physical beating or possession amount to nothing for their personal safety, and instead are mostly forgotten about in favor of continuing the show. Since these point to a past trauma to overcome as the main point, the lack of urgency over the interactions present comes off far less impactfully with that lack of concern over what's going on. This is repeated several times in their confrontations which makes for an even bigger issue and can make this one feel less impressive. The cliched nature of the storyline and presentation here will also have to be dealt with as it plays by the book quite frequently but is overall not enough of a detriment as the other issues.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Violence, and Brief Nudity.
There's quite a lot to like about the film. Among the better qualities on display is the fantastic supernatural atmosphere generated throughout here which provides for an engrossing overall setup. An initial encounter with a local medicine man performing a ritual on a tormented woman provides a great start to everything with the ritual generating a strong shock with its conclusion by allowing for an easy entrance into the supernatural world to follow that the explorers carry on throughout the rest of the film. The backstory of the couple's haunted house with the history of strange occurrences to the past residents, bizarre incidents to the clothing or paintings they own, or the recap of events that take place at the house provides a great false start with the explanations to their queries. The suddenness of it all exploding in their face and bringing about the genuine supernatural activity which ties nicely into the setup provided. This carries over into the stellar supernatural action in this one. Focusing on the typical kinds of sequences involving a deformed ghostly being appearing unexpectedly behind someone or strange noises blaring out of the shadows, this doesn't really bring much new to the table until things start becoming physical. With a harrowing attack on the homeowner where they're repeatedly bashed against walls or a later sequence where a team member is possessed and begins taunting the rest of the group in a haunting fashion. The final half, featuring all manner of possessions, occult rituals, revelations about the nature of the house's haunted history, and a series of brutal encounters to keep everything in check, all score incredibly well with a thrilling escalation of events. Everything comes together nicely with some requisite bloodshed and heroics to offer quite a thrilling resolution that ends on a high note providing quite a lot to like. There are some flaws that bring it down. Among the biggest issues here is the outright bizarre behavior of the team once they arrive at the house and start contacting spirits. The first attack occurs the first night they're there and her initial reaction is to leave without bothering them anymore despite their experience with the paranormal. Further encounters that result in a physical beating or possession amount to nothing for their personal safety, and instead are mostly forgotten about in favor of continuing the show. Since these point to a past trauma to overcome as the main point, the lack of urgency over the interactions present comes off far less impactfully with that lack of concern over what's going on. This is repeated several times in their confrontations which makes for an even bigger issue and can make this one feel less impressive. The cliched nature of the storyline and presentation here will also have to be dealt with as it plays by the book quite frequently but is overall not enough of a detriment as the other issues.
Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Violence, and Brief Nudity.
Love you Fiona!
jpkarma20 February 2024
My hat's off to Brando Lee and team! Fiona Dourif is one of my new heroes! I secretly hope for at least one sequel with Fiona's character (Jules), as a troubled medium who travels around Asia helping folks with paranormal problems with the aid of local Buddhist monks!
Well, it could happen!
This movie had everything I deem necessary for its genre. I daresay even a bit on the brutal side for my taste, but it comes with the territory when you're a horror movie buff.
Covering Jules' past, present, and future, Lee took this story a lot of places, with a successful degree of unpredictability. What would otherwise have been a fairly simple plot, a number of complexities arise, which was very satisfying to watch.
As a practicing Buddhist, I enjoy watching what directors do with the storyline when injecting Buddhist elements, even if they aren't necessarily true to life. This turned out to be an important dimension to the film.
Great acting skill from the three female cast members in particular.
Really fun movie!
Well, it could happen!
This movie had everything I deem necessary for its genre. I daresay even a bit on the brutal side for my taste, but it comes with the territory when you're a horror movie buff.
Covering Jules' past, present, and future, Lee took this story a lot of places, with a successful degree of unpredictability. What would otherwise have been a fairly simple plot, a number of complexities arise, which was very satisfying to watch.
As a practicing Buddhist, I enjoy watching what directors do with the storyline when injecting Buddhist elements, even if they aren't necessarily true to life. This turned out to be an important dimension to the film.
Great acting skill from the three female cast members in particular.
Really fun movie!
such bas
bolortuyaboloro17 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Ending is didn't like to me and such a violance and bad action scene then like every boring movies that jump scare otger movies are scare people in physical mind this movie just... just demons and old times things i think if this movie greated like 90s style that such a good. And ending ending was maybe need bad ending like people all are dead only she left with devil but it was just pregnant women's created prose then characters choose was good ans starting is mystery blood scenes are so good but these bad things make me rate it with 3 stars main character was good others little bit bad okey just these.
A bad production with the occasional successful scene but which fails miserably as a film.
jp_9128 January 2024
"Don't Look at the Demon" is a Malaysian film with an international cast, including Fiona Dourif, Jordan Belfi and Harris Dickinson, however they are wasted due to the film's director and how poorly their characters are written. The script is not original but the plot sounded striking and the trailer had merit, but the end result is a film that continually goes up and down until reaching an illogical and ridiculous ending. A couple of scenes are salvageable but nothing special. The cinematography is bad, the atmosphere is non-existent and the filming locations are not used by the production team. A bad production with the occasional successful scene but which fails miserably as a film.
Good could have been great
dneal01814 October 2022
This film had great potential. It was good but had some blank spots. They could have used more suspense. Harris Dickinson carries the whole movie. The movie wouldn't be worth anything without him. I am now a big fan of Dickinson. They could have used more medium psychic content. They could have used other psychics to help the storyline some. They could have done a better job with the actors in Malaysia. The ones from there got on my last nerve. This needed more back story and more suspense buildup and more use of psychics and more use of righteous over evil. Harry Dickinson is very sexy in this. He is going to be a huge star in america.
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