Summary
There’s very little horror to a lot of comedy, and even the supposedly spooky parts fail at being scary. But if you’re willing to forgo the horror and enjoy a campy little flick with ghosts and demons, this is the film for you.
Directed by Emily Hagins, we review the Shudder horror comedy film Sorry About the Demon (2023), which does not contain spoilers.
Relatively new to the streaming market, Shudder is slowly building a name as a content producer, and Sorry About the Demon is a recently released original production written and directed by Emily Hagins. The indie horror comedy is Hagins’s second full feature, and it first premiered last summer at the Fright Fest Festival in the UK before finding its way to the streaming platform.
Sorry About the Demon Review and Plot Summary
Sorry About the Demon starts with the Seller’s family youngest, Grace (Presley Allard), becoming possessed by Deomonous (voiced by Tony Vespe), the home’s resident demon. Real estate agent Ken (Dave Peniuk) and his wife, Tammy (Sarah Cleveland) aren’t too keen on the prospect of moving out of their new and expensive home. Instead, they offer Deomonous a human sacrifice in exchange for their daughter’s soul and, more importantly, the house back.
We then meet the main character, Matt (Jon Michael Simpson). He’s in his late 20s, works from home as a customer service agent (for a toothpaste company, no less), and has little to no direction in life. After he refuses to attend a celebratory dinner in honor of his girlfriend Amy’s (Paige Evans) promotion, she decides she’s had enough of him and kicks him to the curb. It does seem that Matt lands on his feet when he manages to rent the Sellars’ beautiful house for a fraction of the market rate. Unfortunately for Matt, the property is also home to a couple of ghosts and the evil Deomonous. Now Matt isn’t just dealing with Amy’s rejection, he soon learns that even the demon has no interest in taking his soul and tries scaring him away. Instead of running in fright, Matt decides to try making this bizarre roommate situation work.
READ: Best Horror Movies on Shudder in 2023
I found the narrative and the writing in this indie flick thoroughly enjoyable. The film takes a relatable character who’s already going through a hard time and throws him into a haunted house. While the horror elements are the opposite of scary, and the jumpscares are laughable, the movie works well as a comedy. The scenes where Matt refuses to leave the house despite the ghost’s best efforts are hilarious, and I would have liked to see more build-up on that particular dynamic. And the character development portrayed is surprisingly poignant.
One drawback to Sorry About the Demon is the terrible acting. Aside from Sarah Cleveland and Jon Michael Simpson, all performances were unconvincing, and even the demon didn’t seem to be trying too hard. However, for most cast members this was their first appearance in a full feature. And neither the acting, the bad make-up, nor the ridiculous plot managed to hinder my enjoyment of the film. This Shudder original is a campy low-budget indie horror that’s more than capable of entertaining fans of the genre.
Is Sorry About the Demon good?
Emily Hagins’s feature is marketed as a horror comedy. There’s very little horror to a lot of comedy, and even the supposedly spooky parts fail at being scary. But if you’re willing to forgo the horror and enjoy a campy little flick with ghosts and demons, this is the film for you.
What did you think of the Shudder horror comedy film Sorry About the Demon (2023)? Comment below.
