Devil’s Due

Symptoms of demonic pregnancy may include fatigue, stomach-bursting, high blood pressure, mood swings, murderous rage, night terrors, death, meat craving and Polanski homage. The condition has long proved fecund territory for body horror and for the prologue sections of Omen-y, problem-child flicks.

Devil's Due, an aggressively promoted, found-footage variation on the subgenre, generates a little fun from the complications of carrying Satanic spawn before sinking into a quagmire of blurry visuals and same-old, same-old.

A perfunctory overture introduces gormless groom Zach (Zach Gilford) and his gushing American bride Samantha (Allison Miller) as they get hitched and head off on honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Before one can clap and shout "xenophobia!", Samantha is impregnated with the antichrist.

They ought to have read the brochure.

What follows is so by-the-numbers it seems only fair that we respond in kind. The second found footage general release of 2014 (a genre that peaked half a decade ago) ranks down alongside The Devil Inside and Chernobyl Diaries in terms of implausible reportage. Who's holding the camera? More importantly, what on earth is going on? The film contains one priest having a funny turn, several unexplained nosebleeds and many agents of the Dark Lord.

The final act, a wobbly journey through darkened rooms dabbed with unconvincing Satanic symbols, is practically impossible to decipher. It's less than we might have anticipated from debuting directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett of V/H/S and Chad, Matt & Rob fame.

Unhappily, the scares are far fewer than even the lightweight 15A rating would suggest. Can we get a retrospective abortion here?

Accursed. And not in a good way.