Movie Review: Bedeviled (2016)

Bedeviled (2016) is about a demonic app that terrorizes a group of friends. The app (called, if you hadn't guessed, Bedeviled) which the five teens receive invites to from their recently deceased (and the app's previous victim), Nikki, takes each one out in turn by using their worst fears against them - whether that fear be of their mentally ill grandmothers or even "white people."

Luckily for them, one is a technological whizz kid and manages to create an uninstall program for the app - but only when all but he and one other have already given in to their fears. Speaking of fear...

My husband likes to amuse himself by counting the number of times a film makes me jump. Apparently, the record is 11. Bedviled came so close to beating that record, matching it at 11.


The videography used in the making of Bedeviled was outstanding. Unlike so many horror movies, the lighting was clear and the film was clearly good quality. Even in the darker portions, the use of light & shadow was handled masterfully. You rarely see a horror film that's lit as well as this one.

Space was also cleverly manipulated in the filming of Bedeviled. No space on screen is wasted, either adding to the atmosphere or foreshadowing what's to come. And, yes, the foreshadowing in Bedeviled was done well, not giving too much away too soon. It was done so well that I didn't even see the twist coming - though that might have been because I was covering my eyes... 😉

Bedeviled has just enough humor to keep scaredy cats like myself from dying of fright like the app's victims. Most of that humor is provided by Mitchell Edwards's Cody, the tech master that saves Alice but who's too clever to save himself. Cody knows that he's the, pardon the phrase, "token black guy" and even cracks a joke at one point about how he's still alive. (There might also be a little victory dance involved...)

While all of the actors are good in their roles, Edwards is the one who carries the movie. His portrayal of the world-wise, cynical teen is spot on. It can be difficult to manage a larger cast, like this one, but the creators of Bedeviled did a great job. The characters are believable and, for the most part, likeable.

Bedeviled was 100% a winner here at Castle Vanian. Definitely one of the best films we've seen this year. It's so good that I can't figure out why I hadn't heard of it before now. Everyone should be talking about this film. If you haven't already, go and give it a watch!