HYSTY’S HORROR HOUSE // The Devil’s Candy

Australian writer/director Sean Byrne made a bloody splatter with his debut feature The Loved Ones.

The 2009 film about an Australian schoolgirl kidnapping and torturing the crush that rejected her was shocking. Alongside twisted depictions of gore, Byrne showed a mastery of intensity and tension building. Byrne tones down the violence, but increases the terror for his heavy-metal horror The Devil’s Candy.

Set during a hot Texas summer, a heavy metal-loving family move in to their new home. Father Jesse (Ethan Embry) is a talented but struggling painter who begins to hear a demonic growl (voiced by black metal legends Mayhem’s Attila Csihar). But previous occupant of the house Ray (Pruitt Taylor Vince) can still hear the voices, returning to his former-home to do their bidding.

It’s a brilliant piece of horror filmmaking that frightens with the less it reveals.

While The Loved Ones depicted swathes of gore, much of The Devil’s Candy’s slashing occurs off-screen. However, not seeing any violence doesn’t take away the brutal impact of the film. Rather than turning stomachs, The Devil’s Candy is more interested in filling audiences with dread, like Rosemary’s Baby. These voices and Sunn O)))’s droning soundtrack create unease, and the mystery of the voices grips throughout.

Ethan Embry’s performance as Jesse is inspired, becoming increasingly tortured by the voices and his inability to protect his family. It’s as much a shock for us as it is for loving father Jesse when he awakes from a trance to see he’s painted a mural of dead children.

Vince’s performance as the mentally childlike Ray is especially disturbing. Even with the intense opening scene of loud guitar and violence it’s still a shock when it’s revealed what Ray is commanded to do. As horrific as it is, Vince shows great talent in sympathetically portraying a disturbed man.

The Devil’s Candy shares a lot in common with its heavy metal soundtrack; it thrills like a Slayer riff, and dark like Sunn O))). It never strays into unnecessary subplots, speeding through to a fiery climax. It’s a brilliant piece of horror filmmaking that frightens with the less it reveals. The Devil’s Candy is a disturbing ride that should be played loud.

STICK THIS NEXT TO: The Amityville Horror, The Loved Ones, Rosemary’s Baby