INFERNAL (2015)

Infernal (2015)
Directed by: Bryan Coyne
Written by: Bryan Coyne
Starring: Alyssa Koerner, Andy Ostroff, Heather Adair

INFERNAL (2015)
Written and directed by Bryan Coyne

A young couple decide to get married after discovering they are having a baby. Nine months later, their daughter Imogene is born healthy and the couple look forward to their new life in their new home built by husband Nathan. 8 years pass and they decide to take their daughter to a birthday party but she seems to distance herself from the other children and is obsessed with combing her long hair. After seeking advice, they fear Imogene may be autistic and are instructed to capture her movements in the home using a camcorder, especially seeing as she’s developed a tendancy to sleepwalk. Awoken by noises in the night, Nathan checks on Sophia and is spooked to find someone or something in the closet. His wife Sophia dismisses his worries though she begins to turn to drink to help her cope with her ‘broken’ daughter. As time goes on, more weird things start to occur from demonic voices to dogs appearing near the house. What is happening to their daughter?

INFERNAL is an incredibly slow-paced ‘horror’ movie. I use the term ‘horror’ loosely as very little happens that could be classed as such despite it being a film about a possessed child. Rather than shot in a standard way, the filmmakers have utilised the handheld camera style to tell their story which reminds me a lot of the Paranormal Activity films. However, this particular film doesn’t benefit from this style of camera use even though it conveniently fits in with the plot.

I struggled a lot with this film. There’s very little that happens throughout the 95 minutes running time and there’s too many scenes where the footage is in almost complete darkness that you cannot see what is going on. It’s so easy for your mind to wander when this happens especially when there’s nothing much going on to keep your attention anyway. Rather than having an engaging plot, INFERNAL drifts along whilst shallow characters Sophia and Nathan bicker with each other about the state of their daughter and how good their life together was like before getting pregnant. Sophia is the one who wishes to turn back the clock and never have to suffer their troubled daughter, although if Imogene was a normal 8 year old I doubt she would have a problem with her.

There’s very little to this movie to keep you engaged. It feels as though someone has just picked up a video camera and recorded their mundane daily life. Even Imogene doesn’t live up to being this child of Hell we’re meant to believe she is. In fact, she does and says hardly anything in the entire movie. Only one very brief scene may pique your interest but because of the lack of tension, drama or action previously, it feels like an empty gesture.

I know that some budget films struggle to create terrifying horror but INFERNAL has nothing to interest the viewer whatsoever. No horror, no tension and nothing worth watching. The only thing horrifying in this film is the cry used for their newborn.

Rating: