A very good 1st half is followed by a sudden drop (once the big reveal occurs) in the flawed, unconvincing 2nd half. The sense of mystery gone, the movie proceeds to resolve things in a somewhat clumsy way.
Hazel's escape from the demon goes against all logic and odds. Nevertheless, it was predictable all along despite not being plausible in the slightest, because it was so obvious that she was the central figure who might survive the carnage. (Why many horror movies make this so obvious, I do not know.) The demon had her caught on several occasions, yet somehow let her slip away. Inexplicably, the three demons wasted minutes flailing about with their tongues as if unsure what to do next, or as if drunk. It's not even clear how she escapes in the van scene: because they WAITED for her to finally reach her gun so she can shoot them? Laughable writing.
Then suddenly the ghost of Hazel's mother comes to the rescue, which goes against all the unwritten "ghost rules". Nor do we understand how a mere human ghost is so much more powerful than two demon-possessed humans. But OK, that's not a major point. Considering that the demon "increases his power greatly with every additional soul", he should have easily defeated Hazel (an understatement), by which point he'd gone from one soul to three - and he was mighty powerful with just the one to begin with. An incompetent demon isn't a scary demon.
The self-sacrificing nature of these low-life kidnappers is another issue. Not one but THREE of these four people sacrifice themselves for the others, or try to, throughout the chaos. Hazel even at one point actually WORRIES about demonic Katherine, despite the fact that she'd just seen the tapes of how she slaughtered 4 people with ease. Later on, the technician-guy offered his life to save Hazel and her boyfriend - despite the fact that he'd agreed to sell them to the demon in exchange for seeing his dead daughter just a few minutes earlier. And then, the boyfriend sacrificed himself to the demon so that Hazel could leave, in what was a very unconvincing, absurd scene. "Only one can leave" he stupidly says while shutting the hatch behind her. Huh? Why just one? Where was this rule written and by whom? At no point did the demon ever suggest that ANYONE could leave, let alone gave a number. Hence he could have easily joined her. It's not as if he bought her any extra time by killing himself either, considering that she stayed there the whole time; she started running only after he was dead, which made his sacrifice completely unnecessary. Silly writing.
Hazel not shooting at the demon earlier on was also a ridiculous moment. Her hesitation makes zero sense, in light of everything that had occurred before. This is not some mild-mannered housewife forced to shoot at a demon, but a criminal.
This notion of a kidnapper-with-the-heart-of-gold and this "honour among thieves" BS really sinks the 2nd half, making it unrealistic. The characterization is off. If the writer actually expects us to root for the kidnappers then he must be rather confused about not just characterization, but also morality in general. The fact that the gang is lead by a skinny fashion model also rings about as true as a shark saving a toddler on the beach instead of attacking it.
Hazel's escape from the demon goes against all logic and odds. Nevertheless, it was predictable all along despite not being plausible in the slightest, because it was so obvious that she was the central figure who might survive the carnage. (Why many horror movies make this so obvious, I do not know.) The demon had her caught on several occasions, yet somehow let her slip away. Inexplicably, the three demons wasted minutes flailing about with their tongues as if unsure what to do next, or as if drunk. It's not even clear how she escapes in the van scene: because they WAITED for her to finally reach her gun so she can shoot them? Laughable writing.
Then suddenly the ghost of Hazel's mother comes to the rescue, which goes against all the unwritten "ghost rules". Nor do we understand how a mere human ghost is so much more powerful than two demon-possessed humans. But OK, that's not a major point. Considering that the demon "increases his power greatly with every additional soul", he should have easily defeated Hazel (an understatement), by which point he'd gone from one soul to three - and he was mighty powerful with just the one to begin with. An incompetent demon isn't a scary demon.
The self-sacrificing nature of these low-life kidnappers is another issue. Not one but THREE of these four people sacrifice themselves for the others, or try to, throughout the chaos. Hazel even at one point actually WORRIES about demonic Katherine, despite the fact that she'd just seen the tapes of how she slaughtered 4 people with ease. Later on, the technician-guy offered his life to save Hazel and her boyfriend - despite the fact that he'd agreed to sell them to the demon in exchange for seeing his dead daughter just a few minutes earlier. And then, the boyfriend sacrificed himself to the demon so that Hazel could leave, in what was a very unconvincing, absurd scene. "Only one can leave" he stupidly says while shutting the hatch behind her. Huh? Why just one? Where was this rule written and by whom? At no point did the demon ever suggest that ANYONE could leave, let alone gave a number. Hence he could have easily joined her. It's not as if he bought her any extra time by killing himself either, considering that she stayed there the whole time; she started running only after he was dead, which made his sacrifice completely unnecessary. Silly writing.
Hazel not shooting at the demon earlier on was also a ridiculous moment. Her hesitation makes zero sense, in light of everything that had occurred before. This is not some mild-mannered housewife forced to shoot at a demon, but a criminal.
This notion of a kidnapper-with-the-heart-of-gold and this "honour among thieves" BS really sinks the 2nd half, making it unrealistic. The characterization is off. If the writer actually expects us to root for the kidnappers then he must be rather confused about not just characterization, but also morality in general. The fact that the gang is lead by a skinny fashion model also rings about as true as a shark saving a toddler on the beach instead of attacking it.