Review of Offbeat (1961) by Cheyne L — 24 May 2013

[spoiler alert] is it possible to talk about 'devil inside' and not it's ending? why do artists make the decisions they do? I am a huge fan of 'found footage' films, some of the most effective and creative films of the horror genre today.

however, they only work if they can in the slightest make you believe it actually could be real. and this film has is moments, i'll admit, this film is very scary during a lot of it, with a lot of genuine tension where I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how events would turns out, especially the exorcism scenes, they were truly devious and some of the best exorcism scenes i've ever seen.

that said, this film feels calculated, it's scares precisely placed, usually some loud noise, including one laughable attempt at using a barking dog. the plot is not unique, and with the sudden ending, even more offensive, as if the filmmakers couldn't even bother to carry out what everyone else has already done.

if I had it my way, the girl would have passed the demon to the single remaining priest, who would pass it to the cameraman, who would walk around the city passing it to every stranger on the street who eventually gang up, attacking and killing him.

we see in the trailer footage the camera guy passing possessed people in the street .. where was that in the film? it's not. that would have been a way better ending, although still predictable. it seems that's where things were heading until the shocking, but ultimately lacking, car crash ending.

but I can't say that someone's self-expression in their work of art is wrong, and the ending really threw me for a loop, I was surprised, and sometimes that's just what's needed. 'the devil inside' is not a terrible piece of work, there is some great acting by the possessed in their moments, but that's kinda the extent of good in this film.

I think it's worth seeing, certainly not the pile of crap critics would lead you to believe, but there are some serious problems with the film one just can't overlook.