“Devil’s Work” is a great demo reel, not just to showcase the talents of director John Rodas and writer Frank Quaglia, but to show the potential for this short to be stretched to feature length. The concept is limitless, with an abusive ex-husband coming back seven years after his death as a supernatural entity hell-bent on revenge. The compelling twist on this is that, even before his death, he had mysterious telekinetic powers. The obvious comparison would be to “Carrie,” though Blake (Sean Carmichael) is a much more sinister entity. He’s evil incarnate, with the suspense coming from not knowing how and why he has these powers (or how he’s back from the dead).
We know very little about Blake, with our only knowledge coming from off-hand remarks. Two couples, Lexi & Leo (Cat LaCohie & Tony Ramos Wright) and Mary & Michael (Raffaela Perra & Aundra Goodrum) are having dinner and regaling on past failed relationships. Lexi lets it slip about Blake, with the husbands wanting more detail on his peculiar abilities. Lexi and Mary laugh it off, cracking jokes at Blake’s expense. Wrong move! Just as the night is wrapping up, the lights begin to flicker.
From here on out, the rest of the film plays out like a slasher. Blake stalks his victims one by one, though it’s clear his target is Mary. He scares off Lexi in disturbing fashion, with her fleeing from the home in tears. Mary believes it to be a horrible flashback, but she soon realizes such is not the case. Admittedly, with the film being so short, it’s hard to build proper suspense. Just as Blake begins stalking Mary, he’s quick to get to the point. There’s too little time to let him torment her, stunting the anxiety of the situation.
Any criticism I would have for “Devil’s Work” is actually a compliment in disguise. The lack of suspense is due to time, not poor direction. On the contrary, Rodas shows restraint when it comes to the bloodletting, instead opting for atmosphere and mystery to elicit thrills. He even ends the short on a chilling cliffhanger, making the viewer imagine the worst. Rodas is more curious to explore what makes Blake so frightening as opposed to exploiting his powers. Frank Quaglia seems just as curious, as he purposely leaves Blake’s abilities in the dark to develop an aura around him.
“Devil’s Work” leaves you wanting more. This can be seen as a detriment, but I see it as a positive. It shows there’s interest in a longer version of this story, where we possibly see Blake’s past abuse and slowly build towards his demonic return. Not too much should be revealed if this were to be stretched out, as a lot of the tension comes from the mystique. The time should be used to slow down the pace and ratchet up the tension.
Final Verdict: See It