Today’s offering comes in the form of 2017’s The Devil’s Candy which was directed by Sean Byrne. Byrne also gave us The Loved Ones that I watched and included in the 2017 Countdown to Halloween. Byrne also directed a short titled Advantage Satan which The Devil’s Candy is supposedly adapted from. You couldn’t tell by me however as I’ve seen Advantage Satan and other than it was also directed by Byrne, I don’t see the similarities. But what do I know? Starring in The Devil’s Candy is Ethan Embry (Empire Records and Can’t Hardly Wait) as Jesse, a struggling painter, husband, and father. Starring as his wife Astrid is Shiri Shipley (Havoc and Swimfan). Along with their daughter, the three of them move into their new home which doesn’t have a great past.
Before they lived there, a man named Ray Smilie lived there with his mother. Ray, played by Pruitt Taylor Vince (Constantine and Jacob’s Ladder), hears voices and in order to drown them out he plays his guitar very loudly. His mother tells him to stop and he explains why he does it and she threatens to send him back to the mental institute. Ray kills his mother. Soon, Jesse begins to hear the voice Ray heard. Jesse begins painting while what seems to be in a trance. He paints a picture of an upside down crucifix. As things with Jesse escalate, Ray shows up at their house and tries to make friends with their daughter. Like Ray, she also likes “Flying V” guitars. Jesse doesn’t like seeing Ray around his daughter and chases him away. That’s when things really get weird.
What follows is another take on the classic satanic possession story. This one is a little different in that the person possessed by the demonic spirit is really working on getting Jesse’s daughter as the younger the spirit the sweeter it tastes. Hence the title as to “Him” it tastes like candy. The story is OK, and for the most part average until the last few minutes which is really the best part of the film. What really stands out though is the heavy metal soundtrack that is used for the film. The movie, like the music is harsh, dirty, and comes at a breakneck pace.
The Devil’s Candy is not as good as Byrne’s first film, The Loved One’s as I mentioned earlier. That was exceptional where this was just slightly better than average. If this was Byrne’s first film it would have had as many expectations to live up to. I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love so that means that this a perfect example of three rolls of duct tape out five. You might like this a lot more than I did, lots of people do, so maybe give it a try.
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