Movie Review: "The Devil's Left Hand" (2023)
The Devil’s Left Hand Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Amazon
Written and Directed by Harley Wallen
2023, 98 minutes, Not Rated
Out now on Amazon Video, Vudu, and Redbox
Starring:
Laurene Landon as Mother Stann
Yan Birch as Father Stann
Kris Reilly as Richie Stann
Kaiti Wallen as Cassidy Stann
Aphrodite Nikolovski as Miss Vesna
Harley Wallen as Zebula
Angelina Danielle Cama as Tiffany
Stacy Saunders as Natalie
Francisco Posada as Cameron
Chevonne Wilson as Nurse Katherine
Calhoun Koenig as Agramon
Review:
Nothing says housewarming party quite like a séance, complete with mystical medium and ensuing shenanigans. Horror would have you believe that séances are both commonplace and perfectly safe, but we all know that’s bullshit, don’t we? Director Harley Wallen (Ash and Bone) sure knows that, and he uses it to spin a tale of Satan’s left hand of destruction with his newest film, The Devil’s Left Hand.
Richie Stann (Kris Reilly; Agramon’s Gate) and his wife, Cassidy (Kaiti Wallen; Tale of Tails) are having a housewarming party with some good friends. The evening’s entertainment will be a séance, intended to go off as a light and touching John Edwards kind of thing. Instead, their party is crashed by a powerful demon known as Agramon (Calhoun Koenig; Werewolf Island). Agramon is no common, garden variety demon, however- she’s the left hand of Satan himself as well as a shapeshifting mimic. Now the partygoers are being hunted one by one in a bid for their very souls.
The Devil’s Left Hand is admittedly a walking trope in setup and design. Harley Wallen is perfectly fine with that; instead, he’s going all-in on the characterization and humanization of the leads with a tale of childhood trauma and restless spirits. It’s an overall effective approach to a film that was released previously under the title Agramon’s Gate in 2019. I’ve not seen that film, but the trailer makes it apparent that The Devil’s Left Hand is a leaner, meaner version of its predecessor.
Outside of the four leads, though, the rest of the characters are underdeveloped plot devices and fodder for the demon. It’s not a cardinal sin, pardon the pun, as Richie’s backstory is the anchor that holds everything in place and gives The Devil’s Left Hand its punch. The aforementioned spiritual hoe-down is the cold open…then we’re off and running. The pacing stays intense throughout, providing believability and solid dramatic moments.
The Devil’s Left Hand is not a special effects gorefest by any stretch of the imagination. Plenty of CGI enhancement is skillfully utilized to bring the shapeshifting demon to life while what little SFX makeup on display is simply competent. The sound design is a standout, with various eerie noises and whispers causing investigation with a variety of frankly silly weapons when you consider the intruder is a high-ranking demon. I mean, seriously- who keeps a gun safe in their kitchen or continually goes after supernatural entities with a baseball bat? But I digress…
Agramon is a highlight, especially in the later stages of the film when it finally goes full horror and the assault is on. I wasn’t expecting a small Chinese girl to be the left hand of the Devil; style points on the subversive choice that eschews the overutilized ripoff of the look of the demon from Insidious. I truly appreciate that.
The Devil’s Left Hand isn’t a perfect film, but it is a solidly executed little tale of demonic horror that’s on the lighter side of the subgenre while being more rich in characterization and humanity than your average possession film. In that respect, it reminded me quite a bit of the criminally underrated film, The Evil Down the Street. Interpersonal drama and demonic horror do go together like peanut butter and banana, after all. It’s about time we all figured that out.
Grade:
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
