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Film: Where the Devil Roams
Year: 2023
Director: John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poser
Writer: John Adams, Zelda Adams and Toby Poster
Starring: Toby Poser, Zelda Adams and John Adams
Review:
This was a movie that I was excited to check out since it was making its festival rounds. My friends over at Eternal Darkness of a Not So Spotless Mind were high on this one. When I saw it was playing at the Gateway Film Center, I made it a point to see it before it left. Outside of just knowing that the Adams family was behind this, I went blind. I did love the title though.
Synopsis: traces a family of murderous sideshow performers as it travels around the world on the dying carnival circuit.
We start this off by seeing a stage and an audience. This is filmed in black and white. The master of ceremonies, Justin Julio, comes out and recites a poem. This contains the title of the movie. It is from there we shift to Eve (Zelda Adams) as she walks along the road. She goes into a local store and steals an apple. While there, Mr. Tipps (Sam Rodd) comes in to buy a pair of scissors. He also seems to know what she did.
Mr. Tipps works at the same carnival that Eve does. He has the most popular act of the sideshow. Eve does hers with her mother and father, Maggie (Toby Poser) and Seven (John Adams). We also met Nezumi Onna (Hitomi Nakamura) and the other performers.
I've already said that Mr. Tipps is the biggest draw in this carnival. The reason is that he cuts off his fingers while preaching to the audience. He can reattach his fingers after each performance. Eve watches to see that he's made a deal with the devil, having a heart that he brings his needle and thread through. Now that Eve knows his secret, he demands that she keep it a secret and not try to steal his magic.
There are scenes of violence and this family that we follow aren't always on the straight and narrow. Eve wants to get her act into the Buffalo Horror Show and it seems like she will do this at any cost. That includes stealing and murder.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now I do need to make a confession. I absolutely must rewatch this movie before making my end of year show. Part of is that I went to see this while I was too tired. I dozed off. This is not a reflection on the movie, but more of me being too warm and just being exhausted that day. If anyone who was in this or helped made this sees this comment, it isn't a reflection on anything you did. This does interesting things and I'm mad at myself. I will make up with a second watch to fill in gaps.
Now that I've said that I love that this is a period piece. Something I haven't said yet is that Seven is a World War I veteran. What he did and experienced during the war has scarred him. The sight of blood causes him to lock up. This gets interesting with the changes that are made to their act. There is something ironic about their act in that Eve dresses like an angel for it. Her name is also the name of the first woman according to the bible. She is the one that tried the forbidden fruit due to the goading of Satan as a serpent. Since this movie is about making Faustian deals with the devil, I'm sure these were done intentionally. I found that creative.
Circling back to what I was saying with this being set when it is. I think part of this is done since sideshows are no longer a thing. Carnivals themselves are drastically different. This family could also get away with things like they do since they're transient people. There have been serial killers that were like this whether it was carnies or truck drivers. Police work wasn't like it was today and these people wouldn't be around long enough to be caught.
The last bit of the story to include here is that we have this ritual, but it is a minor part of the story. It is extremely important so what I mean here is that we see Mr. Tipps doing this. From there, we know that Eve takes the magic. We don't delve too much into the ins and outs there though. We just know that it works and is the catalyst to where things go from the first act. It feels to me that the Adams family knows enough and that suffices for me.
Where I'll then go would be the acting. I thought that Poser and Zelda Adams carried this film. That's not to say that John Adams isn't good though. His character is just so rocked by what happened to him during the war that it broke him. Poser and Zelda have a strong relationship and the former is doing what she can to help develop her daughter. The problem there though is that we have a dark coming of age tale for Zelda. She fits this role so well and she's such a solid actress that just keeps getting better to me with each performance. I also thought that Rodd was solid in his role. He is that one that dangles the 'forbidden fruit' in front of Eve. I'd also say that Nakamura, Robert Lund, Stephen O'Donnell, Julio, Nathaniel Meek, Lulu Adams and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed. They have minor roles but are still important for the development of what we get here.
All that is left then is filmmaking. The cinematography here is good. It does well to capture the time it is set. I'd also say that the framing was good as well. They strategically use close shots to hide things. The effects we got looked good. There is a creepy atmosphere that this built so I appreciated that. Something else that worked was the soundtrack. Interestingly, the music used was created by this family. The selections fit here so well, even if it isn't necessarily from the era. It isn't in the world of the movie so that makes it work for me.
In conclusion, this is a solid movie. I enjoyed their last one of Hellbender and we are seeing this family get even better. Part of that could be a bigger budget as well. Regardless we have an interesting period piece. I love the allegories that are hidden here with religion. The acting is good. Poser and Zelda Adams lead the way there. The rest push their characters to where they end up. This is well-made. The cinematography, effects and soundtrack being the strong points there. I rather enjoyed this and am excited now for that rewatch. This lived up to the hype of what others were saying in my opinion as well.
My Rating: 8 out of 10