Audience Member
Devoured is not a horror film, but rather, a psychological thriller with macabre overtones. Marta Milans is very good as a young mother with some, uh, issues. You can see the twist from the halfway mark, but you do care about her outcome, so it is a worthwhile affair. A fine example of what can be accomplished on a low budget, aided by a solid script, acting and a tale that borrows from its contemporaries, yet still seems fresh.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/23
Full Review
jesse o
If you've seen more than five suspense/horror movies in your lifetime, then you will be able to predict the twist in this film. And you would be able to do it quite easily, I might add. But the rampant predictability shouldn't dissuade you from giving this film a shot because, honestly, I thought this was quite a good little movie. On top of being a predictable movie, it's also one that borrows from other movies to create its own story. Thankfully, though, it's not one of those movies that shamelessly steals without adding anything of its own. It's a movie that does manage to stand on its own and it tells an interesting story about a mother who will do just about anything to earn money to send back home for her son's operation. In Donald Trump's America this woman, from El Salvador, is a pariah. But now's not the time to get into my political leanings. I liked this movie and, again, it's certainly predictable. But I definitely liked how the story was developed and how everything was paced. And Marta Milans does turn in a great performance here and she really does sell the desperation of a woman who really is living on paycheck to paycheck, gathering up whatever money she can, any way that she can, in order to send back home for her son's operation. Of course, things start to get complicated once there are...spirits start haunting the restaurant she works in. Again, you'll be able to figure it out fairly easily. And, realistically speaking, the movie isn't really about the spirits haunting the restaurant. It's more about Lourdes and everything that she's going through that led to the things that happened the way they did. I suppose I should stop beating around the bush and just spoil it all. Lourdes' son died during the events of the movie and that just drove Lourdes over the edge mentally. And it's not like she was really that healthy to begin with, what with having to worry about making enough money and worrying about her son's health. She's a woman who's under a lot of stress. She lives all alone and, outside of Frankie, she has no friends to depend on in New York. So a combination of all of that really did a number on her and she ended up going on a rampage. Though, honestly, having Lourdes kill SIX people is a bit much. This woman was, essentially, a serial killer. I thought that was a bit much to get to the point they wanted to make. You can sort of justify the first two, maybe even the third one, as this was just a woman who went over the edge and somehow lost control of all her sense. Six victims implies that she enjoyed killing. Lourdes loses some of that sympathy that you had felt for her leading to the reveal of what actually happened. Maybe it's just me, but I felt it was a bit much. It detracted from the character and the overall theme the film is trying to get across. With that said, I still liked this movie a bit. I liked the story and Marta Milans is excellent in her role. There's obvious flaws here, but I thought it was a largely enjoyable flick. One that tries to make an effort to build up a strong character. They don't always succeed, but it works for the most part. Pretty good movie here.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Another example of what you're seeing isn't actually what's happening.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/12/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Lourdes (Marta Milans) is made to suffer through a slow grind to a brilliant payoff.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/10/23
Full Review
Audience Member
6.9/10
Very good little independent movie, that even though it wasn't complete horror but more like psychological thriller. Also, the story was very well developed, and even if it was a tad slow or depressing, it had its emotional moments and a very effective twist in the end. Marta Milans also delivered a good performance that really made her character one to care for. Overall, it was better than most indie thrillers, with a better than average story and lead performance, it was a real surprise of a movie.
~January 17, 2015~
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
While the ending is a tad unexpected and certainly visceral in comparison to what was shown before, Devoured is an excercise in psycological horror that fails to bring any true emotion or importance to the situation it presents, as it is strangely paced and poorly balanced, the characters are all dull and mostly poorly acted, and the horror is clichéd, predictable, and ultimately, boring.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
Full Review
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