ALONG CAME THE DEVIL: Not Your Average Horror Film

It’s no secret that the horror genre is responsible for some of the most laughable films in the history of cinema. It is a genre known for its many flops. However, it is also a genre that can interweave delicate themes to resounding effects for its audience in ways that few genres can. When effective, horror induces fear, making us, as the viewers, more vulnerable and thus more open to explore and analyze hard-hitting subjects of love, loss, grief, regret, complex familial relationships, and the “unknown” or “unexplained” along with the filmmaker.

At its best, the horror genre transcends itself and becomes accessible to a wide audience, even to those who historically despise it. Relative newcomers Heather and Jason DeVan‘s Along Came the Devil is an example of an entry into the horror genre that not only induces fear in its audiences, but also intelligently explores many of the aforementioned, universally relatable themes, particularly grief, regret, loss, and the trials and tribulations of parent and child relationships.

The film follows Ashley (Sydney Sweeney), who moves in with her estranged Aunt Tanya (Jessica Barth) in her childhood hometown after her mother dies. There, she begins having visions of her mother, causing her and her superstitious friend, Hannah (Madison Lintz) to attempt to contact the dead. Instead of conjuring her deceased mother, Ashley unwittingly invites a demon into Aunt Tanya’s home, repeating a cycle of the past.

Inevitably, Along Came the Devil takes inspiration from The Exorcist, as all exorcism movies do. Aunt Tanya can be seen as Ellen Burstyn’s Chris MacNeil in this film, doing everything in her power to protect Ashley, who is essentially the Regan in this story. However, this film isn’t nearly as brutal or relentless as The Exorcist, which is what contributes to its distinctiveness. It is as close to a family exorcism film as it gets. Along Came the Devil isn’t perfect, but it is mostly effective, and delivers with its scares and substantive story.

Find A Hiding Place For This Well-Paced Showcase

There are countless possession films that have pushed the boundaries of art, insanity, and the macabre, and, in that sense, many will be considered more terrifying than Along Came the Devil when compared alongside of it. Rather than test the audience’s ability to tolerate gore, Heather and Jason DeVan elevate the horror by dismantling multiple generations of a single family at the hands of one, resilient demon.

In doing so, by establishing such a deep bond between Aunt Tanya and Ashley, strengthened by what each has gone through to find each other, only to slowly tear that connection apart, it creates a much more tangible sense of dread. For nearly half of Along Came the Devil, the DeVans develop Ashley and Aunt Tanya’s characters and their relationship together. They aren’t simply expendable like so many characters of the genre, nor are they your typical “final girls” of a slasher flick; it feels like there are real stakes involved. The viewer is emotionally invested.

The slow pacing builds, crescendoing to a no-holds-barred third act that threatens the two central characters’ relationship. The scares don’t pass quickly like things that go bump in the night, but rather, they stay etched into the viewer’s mind. This tactic works well in this film, though occasionally backfires, as Jason DeVan shows a little too much of the demon, at times. As always, for the most part, across all subgenres in the horror genre, less is more.

The DeVans’ Arrival

There’s an old saying along the lines of “never go into business with friends or family.” It is considerably outdated, and filmmaking as a “business” is vastly different than any other industry. Filmmaking romantic partnerships have been scarce over the decades; John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands, Robin Swicord and Nick Kazan, Vendela Vida and Dave Eggers, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Robin Swicord and Nick Kazan, Zoe Kazan and Paul Dano, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, and Jennifer Westfeldt & Jon Hamm are some that come to mind. It’s fair to say that Heather and Jason DeVan are one of the few filmmaking couples currently working in the business today, and the latest to emerge as rising talents in their own right. So, how do they work?

According to Barth, Jason is a massive horror buff, and it certainly shows in Along Came the Devil. Beyond that, though, Jason and Heather provide a really welcoming, collaborative set. “Jason is awesome.” Barth told me in a recent interview.

“He’s so positive. He’s so collaborative. He’s like the nicest human being you’ll ever meet. So, it was really, really nice to work with him and, of course, having his wife. They do everything together. Their family was on set all the time, their kids were on set. It was a real family event. So, that was really nice to be around. You don’t get that too often in LA where families are welcome, and I have my own family and three kids and a husband, and they were so welcoming. They welcomed them to set whenever they wanted to be there, and my daughter’s actually an extra in one of the scenes. So, it was nice. It was like a real family environment that he created.”

Though he directed Mindless, a film produced by Michael Biehn, Along Came the Devil is his and Heather’s first film together under their production company, DeVan Clan Productions. Heather is widely known as a “commercial queen” in the acting industry, having acted in over 100 National and International commercials.

On top of producing and co-writing Along Came the Devil, Heather has a small but creepy cameo that will definitely scare some of the more casual horror film viewers. Jason’s camerawork is steady-handed, fluid, and skilled; it looks like the work of a veteran filmmaker.

Sweeney & Barth’s Chemistry

Barth and Sweeney work exceptionally well together in Along Came the Devil. Their relationship is central to the film. In fact, it is one of the make or break aspects of the story. The fact that the DeVans were able to find such great talents adds to the depth of the characters.

Sweeney, known for her work on The Handmaid’s Tale and Sharp Objects, developed a sisterly relationship off camera with Barth. That they were able to create such a believable, realistic bond over a few table reads and a Skype interview speaks volumes about their talent. For Barth, being a parent helped significantly in providing personal bridges for her character.

“After having kids, it takes your performance to the next level, I think, when you’re playing a mother or a caretaker. I felt very protective of Sydney, even off set. So, hopefully that bled a little bit into the film. She [Tanya] lost her own sister, so she doesn’t want to lose Sydney as well. It makes it that much more emotional that she doesn’t want to make the same mistakes she did with her sister and lose her.”

Casting director Ricki Maslar, known for casting Jeremy Renner in the breakout, titular role of Dahmer, did an excellent job of not only choosing the likeness of Tanya and Ashley, but also their compatibility. “Sydney and I, we get along really well off of the set. When they [Heather and Jason] offered it to me, I went to read and she had already been cast, so we were doing a chemistry read. And just on that first scene, I knew that we had a really strong chemistry and we look similar, so it definitely was believable that we would be related.” Alas, the heartbreaking, terrifying third act attempts to tear apart this family bond, but again, it is more effective because of this chemistry.

Along Came The Devil: Grab A Blanket & A Loved One For A Late Night Viewing

Along Came the Devil doesn’t necessarily break any new ground in the horror genre, but it does offer a solid entry into the possession subgenre, one that is accessible to the masses. The talented DeVan Clan should be closely followed in this industry, as their next project is bound to continue to turn heads and impress. As a filmmaking couple, they are clearly in it for the long haul.

Along Came the Devil balances haunting imagery and genuine scares with a realistic story about family, tragedy, and overcoming loss by exploring complex characters, adding depth to a genre known for spitting out countless mind-numbing entries.

Are you a horror buff? Do you enjoy exorcism films? Where do you think Along Came the Devil ranks among them?

Along Came the Devil was released in theaters and on VOD on August 10, 2018. For more information on its release, click here.