I TRAPPED THE DEVIL: Faith, Family & The Demon In The Basement

A melodrama about the process of grief and the brutality of family conflict takes a dark turn in Josh Lobo‘s I Trapped the Devil, which eventually becomes a strange and, at times, downright freaky horror film. Committed to minimalism in almost every regard – even its biggest and most overtly frightening moments are operating in a deliberately minor key – Lobo‘s debut feature blends familial trauma and questions of faith and doubt, inextricably bonding the personal pain of its characters with greater demonic and hellish threats.

Though its brisk 83 minute running time perhaps makes the film a touch too economical and limited in scope for its own good, I Trapped the Devil ultimately has just enough meat on its bones to stick with viewers willing to plunge into its grim, nightmarish world.

A Quiet Holiday Turned Dangerous

After a slightly confusing in media res opening, I Trapped the Devil begins with the inconspicuous arrival of Matt (AJ Bowen) and Karen (Susan Burke), who have come to Matt’s family home to visit his brother, Steve (Scott Poythress), on a cold winter evening. It’s a surprise visit, and Steve, being the emotionally troubled loner that he is, has no interest in his brother and sister-in-law staying for any period of time. While writer/director Lobo prefers to leave much of the expository drama implied or unspoken, it’s immediately clear that this conflict is a recurring thing with Steve. Matt and Karen have continually tried their best to connect with him in a significant way, but he’s always pushing people away.

But something about Steve’s behavior this time around seems….. different. Dismayed by his curt manner and reluctance to engage in any conversations, Matt worries that his brother is even worse than before. Eventually, Steve pulls Matt aside to tell him something truly horrifying: he has trapped the devil in his basement. At first, Matt is incredulous – and maybe a bit skeptical. After all, is it even physically possible to trap a Biblical entity? But then Steve takes his brother down to the basement. And whether it’s the devil or not, there is something or someone locked in there.

Family Trauma Meets the Demonic

Understandably, Matt is freaked out. Things get even worse when Karen gets wind of her brother-in-law’s shocking revelation, as she fears that they’ve stumbled into a situation where they might be criminal accomplices. But it’s undeniable that there’s something unnerving about whoever or whatever Steve has locked in his basement. The voice, the presence, the vibe – it’s frightening, and it’s Steve’s best argument that he has indeed trapped something demonic in the cellar of his family home. But the troubled man has also developed a broad and sweeping conspiracy theory involving the intersection of demonic influences and his own life, and it’s very possible that the “devil” is just a projection of his inner turmoil on a single, human man. For much of the runtime, it’s downright impossible to tell.

Despite working in the hyperbolic, inherently dramatic format of the family melodrama, Lobo prefers an understated approach to the character drama. The film is ambiguous and somewhat humorless, which is an initial misstep that feels more fitting as the story continues. In the context of the truncated, impressively compact running time, he lets the awkwardness linger between our main trio, allowing viewers to understand the weakened dynamic without spelling out the trauma that has caused Steve to become a recluse. As the horror intensifies, the hazy past also ends up in sharper focus, and certain things that seemed confusing begin to make sense.

Grim, Low-Key Suspense

But this is a film that prefers to keep us in the dark- both literally and figuratively. Excluding the final shot (which by no means promises any kind of sunny or cheery resolution), I Trapped the Devil takes place entirely at night, and the house that serves as its setting is as dark as any prominent location in recent cinematic memory. It is genuinely hard to tell what’s going on at some moments, and I don’t think that’s an accidental choice on Lobo‘s part. The film is shrouded in layers of ambiguity and mystery, and exposing too much to the light would ruin the effect.

And it truly is an effective, intelligent choice, with the rare exception of a few sequences where things get a touch too visually muddled. Lobo‘s film is not necessarily “scary” in the traditional sense of the word, but it has an uncanny ability to give you the subtlest of goosebumps, carefully honing the presence of a skin-crawling sensation that adds to that aforementioned sense of uneasiness. So much is left unseen and unspoken throughout this spooky story, and it’s that suspenseful touch that keeps the film chugging along.

I Trapped the Devil: Conclusion

Though there is a bloody, hallucinatory conclusion that ends the saga of Steve, Matt, and Karen on a suitably horrific note, Lobo is really building to a final shot that unambiguously answers the film’s central question. While a small part of me wishes that the film’s trademark ambiguity and murkiness was maintained until the very last frame, the final image is difficult to shake. It’s a memorable, stomach-churning ending, and I would go as far as to argue that it fully cements the memorability of I Trapped the Devil‘s melodramatic and pseudo-religious terror.

The spooky climax might actually be too tremendous- good luck remembering much else about this one in the face of such a memorable finale.

What did you think of I Trapped the Devil? What are your other favorite horror movies of 2019? Let us know in the comments below!

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