The Devil's Chair

My second foray into Midnight Madness was with “The Devil’s Chair”- a first-time feature from British director Adam Mason. And from the description alone, I knew I was in for a bloody ride.

For a night of fun, Nick West (Andrew Howard) and his girlfriend decide to explore an abandoned mental asylum in the English countryside, do some drugs and have a good time. When his girlfriend sits in the old electric chair- because that is ALWAYS such a good idea- she is brutally killed and her body disappears. Told in flashbacks, we find that Nick is now locked up in a psychiatric facility, traumatized by the events of the night and the electric chair.

When a doctor and his young colleagues decide that the best therapy for Nick is to take him to the scene of the crime and let him wrestle his own demons out in the open. Again, like camping out in a mental asylum with a committed man could ever be a good idea. Mayhem ensues, and not to ruin a somewhat clever film (although it’s never really that good, or that scary, or that smart) the entire thing gets flipped on it’s head after buckets of blood, demons, and other strange occurrences have been witnessed.

The audience seemed to love the film, clapping and cheering along, but at Midnight Madness screenings, you get us weird, and twisted individuals looking for a good time.

There aren’t many true scares- this is definitely a gory B-movie. I will say that the only part that really creeped me out is that one of the female characters is named Rachel, just like me! And when a psycho demon killer covered in blood is running down a hallway screaming your name in a sadistic scratchy voice, you’d be unnerved too.

In a great top 10 recap of the film, check out my friend Shane’s posting on the official Midnight Madness blog and see pictures from the film and Q&A.