Movie Review: The Devil Below (2021) Netflix

The Devil Below
(Streaming): Mar 5, 2021
Director: Bradley Parker
Producer: Alejandro De Leon, Diego Hallivis, Julio Hallivis, Andres Rosende
Writer: Stefan Jaworski, Eric Scherbarth

Cast: Adan Canto, Will Patton, Alicia Sanz, Jonathan Sadowski, Chinaza Uche, Zach Avery

Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller

Runtime: 1 h 28 min

There is an abandoned place nestled deep in Appalachian country where underground coal mines have been ablaze for decades. When a team of researchers try to find out how the fires started, they soon discover something more startling than the mystery that sent them there: they're not alone.

Okay, Rotten Tomatoes didn't even give this a rating...and the audience score is 13%. And if you are comparing it blockbuster movies then that would be fair. But this isn't that kind of movie. I don't know if it was supposed to be like a low-budget movie or if it actually was one, but it should be judged on a different scale.

Whether by choice or not, it has a 70/80s creature feature vibe. Instead of CGI, they went old school with two guys in monster suits (the credits showed two people as monsters 1 and 2). And using fuzzy camera shots, night vision, suspense music/sound effects, and some cheap video tricks, they still managed to build a lot of suspense. The acting wasn't terrible.

My biggest complaint was the conveniently stupid decision on where to cut the rope...

Here is the situation. 

Where do you cut the rope? You cut it between last guy and the monster, right? No! He cuts it between him and the last girl to sacrifice himself to save her because that makes her backstory revalent.

If you enjoy B-movie horror/monster movies with little special effects, then give this one a look. Make sure to watch it with someone so you can riff on it.

3 "creepy" Sheep

SharonS