THE DEVIL’S ROCK

It is the eve of D Day: as raids on the occupied-Channel Islands take place to distract the Germans from the planned events in Normandy, two soldiers - Captain Ben Grogan (Craig Hall) and Sergeant Tane (Klaus Drinkwater) are picking their way along a dark, deserted beach towards a building on the hill ahead of them. They’ve been charged with putting the guns there beyond working order, but - as they approach - they hear a woman’s screams. Certain that this is yet more evidence of the depravity of the enemy, they go above and beyond the call of duty to investigate.

What follows reads like the plot of an exploitation flick - Nazis, an army base gone rogue, black magic - but in tone and execution, The Devil’s Rock is anything but. Tension is developed from the get-go; close shots of our actors’ faces, effective use of darkness and limitations to sight (which restricts us in the same way as the soldiers), as well as the slow, deliberate journey across a treacherous beach allows an almost immediate relationship with our main players here. That isn’t to say this is played out as a mood piece - far from it. When violence is shown here, it is very nasty; it’s really more that the film has an overarching ambience which doesn’t feel dependent on gore. This ominous building on the outcrop of rock, swathed in blackness and blood, quickly begins to pose more and more questions; a Nazi Colonel, Klaus (Matthew Sunderland) who is found inside extends this effect, as he simultaneously asks questions and withholds information too, tantalising Captain Grogan with his intimations of an otherworldly threat.

For most of the film, the plot development proceeds in this slow-burn manner: The Devil’s Rock takes time, care and consideration via a well-written, well-performed script to create atmosphere. It is smart enough, in the pursuit of this atmosphere, not to fall back on the easy ‘Nazi=two-dimensional hate figure, Allied soldier=flawless hero’ cliché, instead allowing Klaus humanity and Captain Grogan to be flawed. There is a very small cast here and it takes skill to keep a film focused and engaging when so much of your dramatic effect depends on so few. This, however, brings me to the only real sticking-point in the film. I’m mindful of spoilers, but I will say that the characterisation of the ‘otherworldly threat’ itself works somewhat against the steady, sombre pace of the film. Less is definitely more when electing to use SFX or theatrics and I felt more disconcerted by the intimation of the demonic presence and what it could do than by its final appearance (and actress Gina Varela is at her menacing best in a more low-key guise). The same could be said of some of the vocabulary used by our demonic presence at times, too, as occult mumbo-jumbo which would fit better with Race with the Devil (1975) gets rolled out in a film which has more in common with The Keep (1983) or Death Ship (1980). The quiet approach to black magic offered by the film is ultimately one of its real strengths. That said, the conclusion to the film is very interesting, and allows the imagination to take over once more.

So, a film with high production values, a historical setting and good performances takes on the occult and creates something gripping and nightmarish. This is a very good film, which was nearly a great film, but was somewhat compromised by some mistakes particularly around the slightly garish ‘reveal’ of the threat. That said, I’m nit-picking, because I was so drawn in by the rest of the movie. Director Paul Campion has shown some great promise in this, his first feature-length directorial project.

The screener I watched included some trailers which played before we got to the main title screen: these were Cherry Tree Lane, The House of the Devil and Bathory. At the title screen, we are offered scene selection, a ‘making of’ documentary and the usual audio options of stereo and surround sound. The Devil’s Rock is offered in a 2.35 : 1 aspect ratio.

Review by Keri O’Shea