I Trapped the Devil

Released Apr 26, 2019

1 hr. 22 min.

Holiday

Horror

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List

73%

37 Reviews

Tomatometer

43%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Hoping for a joyful family reunion, Matt and his wife pay a surprise visit to the home of his estranged brother, Steve, to celebrate Christmas. To their shock, they soon learn that Steve has a hostage in his basement -- a man he claims is the devil.

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Critics Consensus

A slow-burning horror story that takes spine-tingling advantage of its setting and cast, I Trapped the Devil marks an auspicious debut for writer-director Josh Lobo.

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Craig B

Quite creepy, but it is pretty loony and inconsistent in parts. Strong performances by the cast and I think you will guess the ending. Give it a shot…if you're not into it by the first 30 minutes, you can always opt out and save yourself some time.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/20/24

Full Review

Christian T

An absolute gem of a low-fi slow burner, the score and atmospheric settings are off the charts. It grips you from the beginning and signs off with a 3rd act of pure paranoia and stretched loyalties

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/24

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Alec B

An interesting series of ideas that never fully take shape. There's the shared familial trauma, Christmas, and of course the titular devil locked in a basement. Each of these threads inherently have tension and meaning but they just aren't ever connected in a satisfying way.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

Full Review

Raphael G

I was searching for a hidden gem and i found one! Very good movie, the budget might not be there but the execution is.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/02/24

Full Review

Patricia D

Surprisingly good. It's a slow burn, but so satisfying. Check it out if you haven't yet. It's not on my list of favorite holiday movies, but I've seen it more than once.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/23/23

Full Review

Wayne K

A slow-burn, theme heavy horror film isn't an appealing prospect to a lot of moviegoers, who'll write such projects off as pretentious, boring nonsense. I myself have avoided some such movies in the past, but I Trapped The Devil is one that I'm glad I decided to watch. With a single location and a tiny cast, it uses a haunting score and pervasive claustrophobia to unsettle its audience and keep them on their toes, in lieu of trying to make them jump every 5 minutes to keep them from losing interest. It examines the nature of evil, its place in society and how it steers our fates, and because the lead being a conspiracy theorist is an easy way to make the audience distrust them, it also looks at patterns of evil and how tragic events are connected. It's a very ambitious concept to cram into a film that run less than 90 minutes with credits included, and while it doesn't fully flesh the ideas out, there's definitely enough presented to spark a conversation. It's smart enough not to go into the climax too early, and doesn't fall into the trap of having its build up lead to nothing more than a blowout action sequence, preferring instead to keep things underplayed and subtle. For many it'll be just another slow horror movie with insufficient scares, but if you like more than slamming doors and flickering lights in your horror movie, then I think its worth giving it a watch.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

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Josh Lobo

Director

AJ Bowen

Matt

Jocelin Donahue

Sarah

Scott Poythress

Steve

Susan Burke

Karen

Chris Sullivan

Actor

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I Trapped the Devil: Trailer 1

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

I Trapped the Devil is an austere shocker worth checking out.

Rated: 3/4

May 4, 2019

Full Review

Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

A horror film more interested in sustained dread than easy answers. Scott Poythress gives a memorably unhinged performance.

Rated: B-

May 2, 2019

Full Review

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

A promising debut despite its flaws.

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 26, 2019

Full Review

Glenn Garvin

Reason Online

If you think of it as a film, you will scream for the sweet, blissful release of an axe buried in your head. But if you view it as a video version of the book The Idiot's Guide To 8mm Filmmakin, there are a number of useful lessons.

Jul 23, 2021

Full Review

Alix Turner

Filmotomy

There's something to appreciate in this seemingly simple little film for any horror fan.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 4, 2021

Full Review

Shikhar Verma

High on Films

Lobo has an interesting eye for visual aesthetics but there's not really anything else that I'd recommend here.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 25, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Hoping for a joyful family reunion, Matt and his wife pay a surprise visit to the home of his estranged brother, Steve, to celebrate Christmas. To their shock, they soon learn that Steve has a hostage in his basement -- a man he claims is the devil.

Director: Josh Lobo
Executive Producer: Peter Kibbee, Aurora Lobo
Screenwriter: Josh Lobo
Distributor: IFC Midnight
Genre: Holiday, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 26, 2019

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