The Demon's Rook

2013

Adventure / Fantasy / Horror

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 64% · 2 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 64%
IMDb Rating 5.2/10 10 501 501

magic portal demon

Plot summary

A young boy named Roscoe finds a portal to another world where he is taught magic by an elder demon known as Dimwos. Dimwos raises the boy into manhood, revealing to him many secrets.

Director

James Sizemore Photo
James Sizemore

Top cast

Jacqueline Marie Zwick Photo
Jacqueline Marie Zwick as Little Roscoe's Mom
J. Colby Doler Photo
J. Colby Doler as Dead Body
Stephen M. Phillips Photo
Stephen M. Phillips as Zombie
Ashleigh Jo Sizemore Photo
Ashleigh Jo Sizemore as Eva
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
949.17 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   de  
24 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds ...
1.72 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   de  
24 fps
1 hr 43 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by lathe-of-heaven 5 / 10

Great effort, Nice cinematography, but unfortunately the story doesn't have enough substance to carry the movie or engage the audience...

At first, I got a really strong 'Phantasm' vibe in the style and camerawork, which is a good thing. I really loved the beautiful cinematography, it was truly stunning.I see now that the fellow involved specializes in makeup and toy designs. That makes total sense because the creature designs are quite good!I also really liked the somewhat Dreamy, Phantasm-like atmosphere where it had that low budget (like early Raimi) feel which also can be a good thing.I do like how throughout the first act there really isn't very much dialog and you get most of the feeling and mood from the visuals, which again are quite well done.Very nice photography, really dug the Bava-esque Red/Blue lighting, it looked really sharp.However, what suffers here is the narrative, or what there is of it. Sadly, the story is not very cohesive and is somewhat disjointed. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love well made films that have a dreamy, non necessarily linear storyline. If... and very importantly, If it is done well and the direction and script are strong enough to carry it. Unfortunately, in this case I didn't really feel that that was done in an effective way. It's like we went from cool looking set pieces, and sharp looking creatures, to others, but without a very compelling narrative tying them together or really engaging us in a strong enough story.Shame too, because the visuals and camerawork are excellent, and there is some talent in the mood and atmosphere, but a Much stronger script and story are very badly needed here.I gave it a '5' for the sharp visuals and nice atmosphere. But, sadly, there wasn't enough storytelling substance to carry the film.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Just a note as to how I do my reviews... I usually don't repeat the basic plot since almost everyone else does that. And, you can get the synopsis from a bunch of other places. To me that is just a waste of your time, and I feel honestly doesn't really tell you anything that helpful. So, what I concentrate on in my reviews is hopefully putting across whether I think it is a Good film, or if I think that it is an Entertaining movie and what I feel it's strengths and weaknesses are in the way it is made.That way, Hopefully it will be of more benefit and actual be of some help to others as to whether I feel the movie is worth watching (and also perhaps what 'Type' of film it is and what type of people may enjoy it)My Particular Way of Rating:5 - Flawed, but perhaps with a little entertainment value here and there for some.6. A decently passable story maybe worth a watch.7. A solid film, well made, effective, and entertaining.And, obviously, you can probably figure out what above and below these would mean... : )
Reviewed by paul_haakonsen 5 / 10

Watchable...

Stumbling upon the 2013 movie "The Demon's Rook" by random luck here in 2024, of course I opted to sit down and watch it. First of all, I had never heard about the movie. Secondly, it seemed to be a horror movie, and thus of course I had to check it out.Writers James Sizemore and Akom Tidwell put together a sort of mediocre script and storyline. Yeah, this wasn't exactly Award-winning writing, but it made for an adequate enough viewing experience for a single viewing, I suppose. The movie was a bit all over the place, as if the writers were arguing between themselves whether to write a zombie movie or demon movie.I wasn't familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list, and that is something I actually do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie; with it being all unfamiliar faces and new talents to experience for the first time.The special effects and make-up in the movie was surprisingly good. In fact, it was so good that it actually helped to keep the movie afloat, despite of its mediocre script and storyline. I was genuinely surprised by the special effects in the movie. And there was enough gore and mayhem to keep an old gorehoud like myself happy.My rating of director James Sizemore's 2013 movie "The Demon's Rook" lands on a five out of ten stars. I wanted to give the movie a six star rating, but the monotonous narrative and semi-dull storyline kept the movie back. It was definitely the gore and special effects that kept the movie interesting.
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