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Devil’s Pass (2013) is a sci-fi horror film inspired by the real-life Dyatlov Pass Incident and directed by Renny Harlin. This R-rated found-footage film stars Holly Goss, Matt Stokoe, Luke Albright, Ryan Haley, and Gemma Atkinson. As of this review, the film remains available to subscribers of TubiTV, History Vault, AMC+, DirecTV, and Shudder.

Learning of the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident, a group of American college students travel to Russia to film a documentary. Holly King (Holly Goss) leads the team, providing the narration for the documentary. However, the team will soon learn something unnatural lurks in this path.

Four hikers travel up a snowy mountain slope in the middle of the day.
Devil’s Pass Crew

What I Like about Devil’s Pass

This film won the 2013 Titra Film Award and earned a nomination for the 2013 Narcisse Award for Best Feature Film at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival. The critical success did come as a surprise, but there are evoking images and interesting sci-fi elements that certainly earn attention.

The snowy mountainside evokes stunning images while staying true to the found footage film vibe. These scenic scenes evoke awe, and Harlin often contrasts this awe with blood across the white canvas of snow, which is a common trick in horror but an effective one, nonetheless.

While calling Devil’s Pass an overall beautiful film would exaggerate the point, there are clear creative choices that improved the viewing experience. This creative decision-making includes recognition of the amateur film dynamic. These are college students making a documentary, allowing some leeway and commentary on the cinematography that fits the film. This recognition isn’t done to the point of exhaustion but allows the film to make fun of these elements without being pretentious.

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Set in Russia, it makes sense to hear Russian throughout the film. These moments even provide direct hints to further elements in the plot. While Devil’s Pass doesn’t translate these scenes, that seems an intentional decision for this found footage film. It adds an additional dynamic for viewers who know the language without being essential.

White background, rubber stamp with disclaimer pressed against the white background.
Disclaimer Kimberley Web Design

Tired Tropes and Triggers

Devil’s Pass takes from the real-life Dyatlov Pass Incident, which might concern those sensitive to adaptations of real events. However, this film removes itself by following documentarians studying the incident.

There are implied incidents of non-consensual recordings during sex. While the character performing these acts gets what they deserve, it hardly relates to these activities. The film chooses not to explore this point despite raising it.

Characters are illogically stupid, jumping to senseless conclusions and making impossible accusations to further the plot. This illogical decision-making happens enough to reduce the quality of the film, seeing as this distrust remains important to the character dynamics.

While the film uses camera glitches to obscure the sci-fi elements, there remains a viable reason for those glitches. I recognize it as an overused tool in the found footage genre.

Geographic map of the Dyatlov Pass location, marked in red.
Dyatlov Pass location

What I Dislike about Devil’s Pass

While there are creative choices and attractive visuals, most of the film remains visually uninteresting. The points of CGI remain dated beyond the 2013 release. Towards the end of Devil’s Pass, outdated CGI attempts to carry the film to lackluster effects. It’s not a big concern for me as a viewer, but don’t expect to be impressed by those special effects.

One common issue with found footage films is the logic of what remains recorded. It’s not an issue when a group of friends record them being silly, but this remains a school-funded project from aspiring documentarians. If you’re a fan of this genre, there’s likely a bit of leeway.

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As mentioned earlier, so many pointless arguments fill the middle of the film to further the plot. It becomes a problem when this idiocy furthers the mystery or directs the character dynamic.

While the sci-fi elements didn’t catch my attention or evoke my imagination, I recognize that as a subjective point for an uncommon concept.

Final Thoughts

Devil’s Pass earns several awards and recognition founded on an interesting premise. It can live up to this standard with creative decisions and execution but largely falls short in plot and special effects.
2.5 out of 5 stars (2.5 / 5)

Zeth received his M.A in English with a focus in Creative Writing at CSU, Chico. As a human writer, he published in the 9th volume of Multicultural Echoes, served on the editorial board of Watershed Review, and is a horror reviewer for Haunted MTL. All agree he is a real-life human and not an octopus in human skin. Fascinated by horror novels and their movie adaptations, Zeth channels his bone-riddled arms in their study. Games are also a tasty treat, but he only has the two human limbs to write. If you enjoy his writing, check out his website.

Movies n TV

Low point or a daring experiment? Halloween VI (1995) Review

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To a lot of fans, this is the film that killed the franchise. It says a lot that the next installment is yet another retcon. Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers attempts to explain Michael’s unrelenting evil, which lead to mixed opinions from longtime fans. There are two cuts of the film, theatrical vs producer’s. For a lot of people, the latter is the only one worth mentioning. Aiming to be as accurate as possible, I will be talking about the producer’s cut. Let’s begin! 

Plot

We start Halloween VI with a six-year time jump from part five. Jamie is now barefoot and recently pregnant, running away from Michael as he wants her baby. While she manages to hide the little one away, Michael finally gets his hunger satiated by killing her. The moment is one of the most brutal ways in the franchise up until that point. Rest in peace, Jamie, you held your ground for as long as you could, the sequels were just too relentless. 

The movie then cuts to a whole different scene going on. We have a new family living in the Myers house and their youngest child is hearing voices telling him to kill his loved ones. Tommy Lloyd is watching the family, played by none other than Paul Rudd in his first-ever theatrical role. Tommy still carries trauma from the events all those years ago when Laurie Strode was babysitting him. So when he finds Jamie’s baby, his part in the story becomes even more essential. 

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Dr Loomis also stars in what was Donald Pleasance’s final role before his passing. He and Tommy try to stop Michael once and for all before the cycle can repeat itself. As it turns out, Michael is a victim of a druid cult which makes him want to kill his family members every Halloween. Thorn, the cult in question, thinks they can control Michael and make him do their bidding. This results in catastrophe and Michael goes berzerk and kills all the cult members. Once again, it’s one of the most gruesome montages for the franchise up until that point.  

Tommy and Kara are left to face Michael on their own which they manage to do with some corrosive liquid and good luck. However, nothing stays dead in this franchise as it’s soon revealed Michael somehow escaped and this time Dr Loomis might not be so lucky… 

Overall thoughts

I would say for me personally Halloween VI definitely ranks somewhere near the bottom. The whole point of Michael is that there is no rhyme or reason to his killings and this film tries to go against that. I am glad the mistake was rectified by the upcoming installment. There were still some good things about it, such as Paul Rudd’s acting that reveals some raw talent as far as I’m concerned, as well as some direction choices and musical score. However, I also think it absolutely deserves all the criticism that it gets. 

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2.5 out of 5 stars (2.5 / 5)

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American Horror Stories, The Thing Under The Bed

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We’ve reached the final episode of American Horror Stories, season three. After the ups and downs of the season, I didn’t know what to expect. I felt that we were due a big finish, Killer Queens. But I feared we were in for a big letdown.

As it turns out, The Thing Under The Bed was neither.

The story

We begin our story with a little girl named Mary, who is scared of something under her bed. She sneaks out of her room, only to be caught by her father and sent back to sleep. And of course, there is something horrible waiting for her under her bed.

Debby Ryan in American Horror Stories.

This scene cuts away to a woman named Jillian. She has strange dreams, including one about Mary. But her husband, Mark, doesn’t want to hear about it. He’s only interested in a little lovemaking because he wants a baby. Jillian doesn’t, which makes total sense because she’s already married to one. But her irritation with her childish husband goes away when he goes away. And by goes away, I mean he’s sloppily devoured by something vicious under their bed.

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What worked

In short, this episode just worked. The acting was professional and believable. The cinematography and lighting work were wonderful, adding spooky effects and startling moments without impairing visibility.

Best of all, the story was solid. There were no plotholes to be found. Our main character, Jillian, was relatable and sympathetic.

This was maybe my favorite part of the story. I thought Jillian was a remarkably sympathetic character. She was dealt a hand she never asked for, having her husband slaughtered in their bedroom. I don’t think she missed him, so much as she was afraid of the legal ramifications of being caught with literal blood on her hands.

Then, when it would have been safest for her to just lay low and save up for a good defense attorney, she instead goes into unlikely hero mode. She does her best to save people, putting herself in legal and physical danger. It’s hard not to root for her.

It’s also a little hard not to root for the antagonist, too. I don’t want to ruin the twist for you, so I’m going to tread lightly here. But it’s great when you have an antagonist who might be off their rocker, but also maybe has a point.

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What didn’t work

I can only really think of one complaint with this episode. And that is how frequently one character says the word Chickadee. And if you’ve seen the episode, you know what I am talking about.

I get it, he has a pet name for his daughter. It’s adorable. It’s meant to convey that the two of them have a healthy loving relationship and I get it. We all get it. Blind monks get it. But the fact remains that no parent on Earth calls their kid by their pet name every single time they speak an individual sentence to them. It was just too damn much.

All in all, this was a good episode. It was a classic story, turned on its head, told by professionals from start to finish. And I hope that if there is another season, we see more stories like this one. But after the efforts put into this season at large, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last we see of American Horror Stories.

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

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American Horror Stories, Leprechaun

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If you’ve watched enough short-form horror anthology shows, you’ll notice that some stories are mainstays. Each show seems to put on the same sort of episodes, with the occasional surprising storyline that we’ve never (or at least rarely) seen before.

Leprechaun was an example of a repeated story—the story of a greedy thief whose punishment far outweighs the crime.

The story

We begin our story in 1841, with a drunk man leaving the bar one late night. He’s distracted by something glowing at the end of the well. When he reaches down for the glowing thing, he falls in. Moments later, he screams.

We then cut to the modern day. The well is still there, and now it’s surrounded by a dying town. In this town lives a young man named Colin. He’s married, his wife is pregnant, and he’s out of work. Like many of his friends.

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Hudson Oz in American Horror Stories Leprechaun.

Desperate for cash, Colin and his friends decide to rob a bank. They put together an Equate version of Ocean’s Eleven, and break in one night. But, of course, they find that the gold is nothing more than bait. And the creature waiting for them is something they never expected.

What worked

The first thing I want to point out is how real this episode felt. At least to anyone currently living in the same small town they grew up in. These characters felt like guys I went to school with. Guys I would see at the bar.

I appreciated the real anger and frustration these characters are feeling. Especially Colin. He’s bitter, and maybe he has a right to be. He did exactly what he was supposed to do to succeed. He went to school and invested in his career, and yet now he’s out of work and struggling to support his family. I probably don’t need to tell you how that feels. Because of this, we can all kind of understand why he was tempted to rob a bank.

I also want to talk about the fact that this was, as I said, an often-explored story. That can be a bad thing, but it can also be a good thing. This story is told over and over because it’s a good story. A relatable story. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

What didn’t work

That being said, this version didn’t try to do much to break out of the mold.

Because we have seen this story so many times, most of us could tell the story themselves. I would have expected something new, or some twist. But, in the end, the story didn’t bring anything new to the discussion.

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Maybe because of this, the ending left a lot to be desired. Trapped in the basement of the bank, everyone just sort of stares at everyone else, until the thieves give up. And that’s it. The ending wasn’t scary, shocking, or funny. It was just sad, on multiple levels.

Overall, this was an okay story. It was entertaining, if not surprising. I would compare this episode to homemade macaroni and cheese. Everyone’s got their own version, they’re all pretty good, and none of them are exciting.

There’s just one episode left in this season of American Horror Stories. Let’s hope they’ve saved the best for last.

3.5 out of 5 stars (3.5 / 5)

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