VOD Review: Bedeviled (2017)

"It might not have anything new to say, but it sure says it well."

Anyone who has a smart phone knows that installing new apps can be a dicey game sometimes. Bloatware, malware, huge drains on the battery, and hours wasted trying to get the high score on games like "Where Did Grandma Hide that Zucchini?" are all very real things, and can be terrifying in their own right.

So just imagine an app that loads a haunted virus on your phone that learns your deepest, darkest fears, and then uses them to scare you, and kill you to death.

That's what Bedeviled is all about.

Mr. Bedevil is a Siri-like app for the ages. It will make witty comments, turn on lights for you, and help you organize your life is a fun and efficient manner. It will also kill you, because it's haunted. I mean, doesn't the name kind of give you the impression that it's creepy right away? Why would you even install it when it randomly shows up on your phone? Ever hear of spyware?

YOU'RE CUTE, BABY, BUT YOU AIN'T VERY BRIGHT.

After young QT Nikki falls victim to Mr. Bedevil's haunted shenanigans, her friends are reeling, so much so, that they have to stop texting and tweeting for 5 minutes to grieve... which they have no idea how to do, because all they do is text and tweet, and they have no emotions.

HANGING WITH FRIENDS IN 2017 IS SO MUCH FUN.

They all receive invites to download Mr. Bedevil, which they do, because you should always install any app that mysteriously makes its way onto your phone without you actually downloading it. The app instantly starts messing with them, turning their deepest darkest fears into reality... which if it was truly evil, all it would need to do would be to cut them off from Internet connectivity for life, and watch them die slow, agonizing deaths.

IF ONLY HE WERE ALLOWED TO BROWSE REDDIT, HE'D STILL BE ALIVE.

One by one, the friends are killed off by Mr. Bedevil, and it becomes a race against time for those left to figure out how to uninstall him from their phones so that they can live, and live-stream the VMA's which are tomorrow night!

Scary smart phone stuff ensues.

LIKE SHE COULD EVEN HACK THE MATRIX!

Movies like Chain Letter (review HERE), Unfriended (review HERE), and #Horror (review HERE) have all tried to capitalize on the current state of teenagers and their tech-obsessions, but they sucked. Bedeviled isn't all that great either, but at least it's well-made, the cast is able enough, and it offers up an interesting villain in Mr. Bedevil, even if the story he's stuck in is silly at times.

Here's the problem with most Teen Terror flicks like this: everyone is model-level gorgeous; they all live in beautiful homes that make us wonder what do their parents do to afford all of that; and those same parents never seem to be around much as their kids are being terrorized and brutally killed. I also never understand how in these movies when someone dies, their closest friends mourn them for like a minute, and then it's back to laughter and normalcy, or they dive into some intense investigation. Real emotions don't work like that, at least not with human beings they don't.

I guess what I'm saying is that most of them exist to show some pretty people in scary situations, and there isn't much depth or realism to most of them. Just like Bedeviled.

THOSE DEAD EYES...

For an R-rated movie, there sure isn't very much gore to be found here.

BUT THERE IS A HAUNTED DANCE-OFF. THAT WAS COOL.

Again, an R-rating with no R-rated action.

YEAH, US TOO.

Bedeviled is a decent enough movie in its way. It's well-made, has an interesting villain, and it looks pretty. It's also overly-familiar, tame, and not very scary. If you can live with those drawbacks, then give it a go and enjoy the pretty sights.

I'm probably being generously giving it a C, but we actually didn't hate watching it. Rent with caution though.

C

Bedeviled is available on VOD now.

Bedeviled's eye candy game was on point though. There's no disputing that.