Ten-year-old Roscoe draws a demon named Dimwos that comes alive in his backyard and summons him to the netherworld. After years of dark arts training, Roscoe (James Sizemore) emerges from the ground a grown man. Unfortunately, a group of evil demons is now after him. I picked this indie horror film up a few years back after someone on my feed recommended it; the big draw being that it used all practical special effects. The Demon's Rook is probably one of the most impressive and surreal indie horror flicks I've seen in ages. A lot of the praise can be laid at the feet of leading man Sizemore, who might just be rural Georgia's answer to Peter Jackson as he seems to do everything on this film from acting to music to special effects. He designed and made the demons himself and they are great. There is also tons of gore thrown around and he loves to get crazy with the lighting. As with most indie flicks, the acting is spotty at points. There are also some pacing issues (it is way too long at 1 hour and 44 minutes) and too many "zombies attack random folks" bits. But all of that can be forgiven given the ambitious nature of the project and Sizemore's ability to make something really out there. One of my favorite indie horror views in a long time and I can't wait to see what he does next.
Review of The Demon's Rook
