"Hell is empty and all the devils are here" - William Shakespeare 

This opening quote raised my low expectations, and I found myself pleasantly surprised by this story about a deformed female demon who becomes a succubus, determined to torment humanity forever with her sinister intentions. It may sound like a “been there, done that” narrative, but it has its ups. And some downs, unfortunately. Let’s get into it…

Jack and Sarah are a couple facing stress, unhappiness, and ongoing difficulties in their relationship. He is an A/C salesman, a job he finds mentally exhausting and unrewarding. Sarah, a young Englishwoman, is struggling to find stable work, may be pregnant, and feels hopeless. This partnership is troubled, fueled by ongoing complaints without efforts to improve their situation. One night, The Demoness appears before Jack, forever changing the course of their short lives.

What he perceives as a strange and somewhat twisted dream, turns out to be a debaucherous night of sex, and Sarah is provided with the truth direct from the spawn’s mouth herself. She plots, plans and executes the torturous death of her once beloved, before succumbing to her own demise at the hands of this evil spirit. The special effects demonstrate the limitations typical of a low-budget independent film. However, a more significant concern was the way both Jack and Sarah responded upon encountering the demoness, as their reactions lacked authenticity. Neither was particularly outraged or terrified by this monstrous being taking advantage and control of their minds and bodies. It felt more of a burden to endure while they each justified their awful choices in rectifying the wrongs in their relationship.  

Bear in mind at this point, we are now past what I have determined to be a rather long and drawn-out introduction to The Demoness. NOW, we watch as she interacts with her leader, Lucifer, requesting to take human form and continue her menacing ways of terrorizing people for all eternity. Emerging in nothing but a cape and red face paint, the devil isn’t as compelling as I had hoped. The makeup fails to convey a clear intent, resulting in ambiguity as the character is depicted in a conventional manner while being directed to transform a disfigured demon into a striking succubus, even though his own appearance remains distinctly human. No horns? No fire? No brimstone?

Disappointing, but we can move on.

Newly born siren Charlotte is now allowed to raise hell (pun intended!) in the world, with a special caveat. A quota, in fact. Destroy 10 individuals each month or be condemned to a lifetime of boredom. I felt inclined to chuckle, but the momentary laugh seemed as insincere as the relationship between Jack and Sarah. Nonetheless, the deliciously diabolical fun begins with handsome clubgoer, Steve, who is instantly stricken by Charlotte’s beauty. While he claims to want a compassionate, kind and moral woman, she strikes back with sexual innuendos and female theories that all girls are shallow, searching for wealth and materialism. Consequently, the drugged drink administered to Steve renders him unconscious, resulting in an outcome similar to that experienced by Jack.  

Through additional interactions with others such as psychotic neighbors, and concerned colleagues trying to locate Steve, Charlotte’s wicked ways continue without remorse, humility or empathy. I mean she is, after all, a spawn of Satan, right? Who would want a shy and solemn demoness in their life? Who would want ANY type of creature from the underworld in their life? Maybe Virgil, but I suspect that’s reaching and my time has been taken up by The Demoness in this instance.