For some strange reason, humans love the threat of something evil lurking on Earth. People wait outside in cold temperatures just to catch the opening night of films such as The Evil Dead (1981) and spend an insane amount of money on movie bundles for films like The Exorcist (1973). So, what is it about the evilness that attracts us to go beyond our comfort zone and enter a place of damnation? You would think that with all the insane craze over demons, a new film would strike a note with a certain crowd. However, not all films about demons live up to expectations.
With that in mind, The Demoness – starring Angelina Pahomova (Gold Diggers 2023, Mama 2024), Polina Davydova (III: The Ritual 2015, Sleepless Beauty 2020), and Pierre Bourel (The Duelist 2016, Catherine The Great series) – might not be at the top of your list to see in theaters. Although debuting digitally on February 11, 2025, through Well Go USA, it might possibly be a good one to waste a bit of time too…that is…if you are into softcore porn, demons disguising themselves as beautiful people…and, of course, cults.
Directed by Serik Beyseu (Project Gemini 2022, Whisper of The Witch 2024) and written by Dmitriy Zhigalov (Abigail 2019, Project Gemini 2022), The Demoness (formerly titled Succubus) is about a group of couples that travel to an island to rekindle their relationships. Though one of the females has other intentions of finding her twin sister, the group begins to experience strange and horrifying events that may be related to a cult of demon worshippers…the Succubus demon in particular.
Judging it fairly, what stands out about The Demoness is the story and the camera work. The camera work is spot on and does a good job telling the story. However, it is the story that grabs your interest… and the nude scenes. Considering those aspects, it is good, dark, thrilling, and very sensual. The idea of a couple escaping to an island to work things out only to find they have been picked off one by one by a succubus demon makes for a thrill one would talk about for days. The moral of the story? In the end, they are all nothing but cheaters and sex-crazed bodies.
With the positives explained, what goes wrong with The Demoness is that if you view the film in dubbed English, something might be lost in translation. Filmed in Russian, it would probably make more sense to the audience and not look like the scenes were dubbed over by the actors in a sound booth. That being said, the English version is passable.
Most who know a little bit about demons also know that a succubus is a demon assuming a female form and has sexual intercourse with men while they sleep. In The Demoness, whether it is due to the translation from Russian to English or just bad research, the succubus is referred to by a ‘he or him,’ which would be an incubus instead of a succubus…that being said, this will throw the viewer off in a heartbeat. Lastly, some of the acting is a bit much, but for the most part, the cast seems to get along well and mesh well with one another.
All in all, watch the original Russian version because it can be a fun and sexy movie. This considered… Cryptic Rock gives the English dubbed edition of The Demoness 3 out of 5 stars.
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