Trying to prepare for his next film, a sketchy producer who's taken over a film studio but can't find the necessary ingredients necessary for them to perform a special spell that will allow them to control a ravenous demon that was summoned by accident and are in the process of trying to control.
This was a fun if somewhat problematic genre effort. One of the better elements here is the lighthearted tone and atmosphere that makes the goofy setup feel intriguing. The initial back-and-forth conversations that take place come together quite nicely to make this intriguing enough to stay on board with where the vagueness of their antics starts to signal the direction of the film heading. With a lot of the questions being answered by the flashback to the disastrous film shoot that reveals the predicament they're in and how they're handling it with the current conversations that lead into the fun finale where they finally confront the creature, this is all quite likable. That said, there are some issues with this one being really obvious. That's the overall dreadfully dull and lifeless pace that takes place during all these conversations as the back-and-forth sniping that occurs isn't all that interesting. While the film makes for a great showcase of the chemistry they all have with each other since the snappy dialog and one-liners do bring up some comedic value at points, this is all done at the expense of action with the low-budget roots being exposed rather obviously. Seeing the couple arguing over anything from food preparations to their lack of success with the film shoot and the general downward spiral of their life makes for a dull time that makes this hard to get into. As well, there's also the convoluted and twisting story that never really makes sense. With the whole point of the demonic summoning getting revealed nearly an hour into and far too much time spent trying to play up this light-hearted atmosphere with the put-upon director, his headstrong wife, and the sane niece trying to be secretive about the creature's presence in their midst and how to stop it, it never generates a strong ability to care about it with these issues all preventing that connection. The low-budget charm that runs through this does manage to overcome a few of these factors but not enough to make this one somewhat of a disappointment.
Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.
