'Satan's Little Helper' is a fun but very low budget straight to DVD slasher flick from the early 00's that does show some potential with its interesting premise, decent performances and a clever script that balances the horror and comedy elements quite well, although it does tend to lean more towards the latter than the former.
The plot = A nine-year-old boy named Douglas (Alexander Brickel) becomes fascinated by a video game called "Satan's Little Helper" and then comes across a serial killer wearing a costume and unknowingly helps him on his murderous rampage, while thinking it's all a game.
I did like the movie's playful nature and the dark and twisted sense of humour, plus what helps is the effective pacing and the engaging narrative, but the frustrating elements mainly comes from at just how stupid the young boy is which feels way too unbelievable, despite how detached from reality he is. The production value is very lacking, which is probably down to the low budget, but the direction from John Lieberman is quite solid and provides some nice cinematography and decent visuals, especially during the death scenes which are well staged and provides just enough carnage to keep horror fans satisfied.
Performances are pretty good here with Alexander Brickell providing a strong performance as a child whose very detached from the real world, he was very convincing in his role. Amanda Plummer gives a hilarious and memorable turn as the mother, a firm standout in her role. Katheryn Winnick also gives a solid turn as the sister and then finally Joshua Annex as the masked killer Satan, he provides enough menace and mystery in his silent role and emotes very well despite never seeing him without his mask.
Overall 'Satan's Little Helper' is a fun time even if it does rely more on comedy than horror, but everything is executed quite well and you will have a fun time watching this film.
The plot = A nine-year-old boy named Douglas (Alexander Brickel) becomes fascinated by a video game called "Satan's Little Helper" and then comes across a serial killer wearing a costume and unknowingly helps him on his murderous rampage, while thinking it's all a game.
I did like the movie's playful nature and the dark and twisted sense of humour, plus what helps is the effective pacing and the engaging narrative, but the frustrating elements mainly comes from at just how stupid the young boy is which feels way too unbelievable, despite how detached from reality he is. The production value is very lacking, which is probably down to the low budget, but the direction from John Lieberman is quite solid and provides some nice cinematography and decent visuals, especially during the death scenes which are well staged and provides just enough carnage to keep horror fans satisfied.
Performances are pretty good here with Alexander Brickell providing a strong performance as a child whose very detached from the real world, he was very convincing in his role. Amanda Plummer gives a hilarious and memorable turn as the mother, a firm standout in her role. Katheryn Winnick also gives a solid turn as the sister and then finally Joshua Annex as the masked killer Satan, he provides enough menace and mystery in his silent role and emotes very well despite never seeing him without his mask.
Overall 'Satan's Little Helper' is a fun time even if it does rely more on comedy than horror, but everything is executed quite well and you will have a fun time watching this film.