Stars: Itay Tiran, Agnieszka Zulewska, Andrzej Grabowski
Storyline
A bridegroom is possessed by an unquiet spirit in the midst of his own wedding celebration, in this clever take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk.
Writers: Pawel Maslona, Marcin Wrona, Itay Tiran, Agnieszka Zulewska, Andrzej Grabowski, Itay Tiran, Agnieszka Zulewska, Andrzej Grabowski, Tomasz Schuchardt, Katarzyna Herman, Adam Woronowicz, Wlodzimierz Press, Tomasz Zietek, Cezary Kosinski, Katarzyna Gniewkowska, Maja Barelkowska, Anna Smolowik, Maria Debska, Piotr Domalewski, Filip Plawiak, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Itay Tiran -
Piotr 'Pyton'
Agnieszka Zulewska -
Zaneta
Andrzej Grabowski -
Father of Zaneta
Tomasz Schuchardt -
'Jasny'
Katarzyna Herman -
Gabryjelska
Adam Woronowicz -
Doctor
Wlodzimierz Press -
Teacher
Tomasz Zietek -
Ronaldo
Cezary Kosinski -
Priest
Katarzyna Gniewkowska -
Zofia
Maja Barelkowska -
Aunt
Anna Smolowik -
Bridesmaid
Maria Debska -
Hana
Piotr Domalewski -
Dance Leader
Filip Plawiak -
Cousine
Trivia:
Director Marcin Wrona committed suicide in his hotel room on September 19, 2015, during Gdynia Polish Film Festival, where Demon (2015)was shown in competition. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 7/10
Every couple has their own expectations and fantasies for their wedding
day. It's usually filled with flowers, rings, songs, and tons of
drinks, hugs, and kisses. Every goes home, snuggles with their loved
one, and almost always lives happily ever after. Most people say that
your wedding day is one of the best days, if not the best day of your
life, but that's not the case with Marcin Wrona's 'Demon', which is
more or less an odd tale about the Jewish myth of the dybbuk.
First off, this film is beautifully shot. Wrona's eye for such a
haunting atmosphere such as this setting is unlike anything I've ever
seen. Even though the film takes place over the course of someone's
wedding day, the mood and setting is extremely uneasy, as you'd expect
something very sinister to pop out at any moment. There is a very
Kubrick-ian feel to the movie as well, letting shots linger to build
suspense and tension. The follows Piotr and his soon-to-be bride as
they cross a river to a family plot of land to exchange their vows and
dance the night away at their reception.
Soon enough, Piotr hears some strange noises, inspects these sounds
outside and falls into a pit of mud. Next thing you know, he's cleaned
off and about to marry his beautiful bride, but he starts showing some
very strange behavior in the form of having seizures, speaking
different languages, and seeing things in the distance. The wedding
party, mostly his brother-in-law and father-in-law begin to think the
worst and try to calm the guests from having a meltdown, which was
strange, because most all the guests at the party are either drinking
heavily, having sex, or dancing with a mixture of all three at certain
points.
It was a bit of comic relief for sure, but the one person who might
know what's happening with poor Piotr is a Jewish professor, who does
indeed believe Piotr is possessed by something on his wedding day.
Things eventually play out fairly slowly in a very 'Shining-esque' way,
which is also similar to Kubrick here, which was nice to see. I
wouldn't say 'Demon' will scare the socks off of you, but it builds
some fairly good suspense throughout until its reveal, which will have
you thinking back to the very beginning of the film and everything
you've seen up until then.
It's a shame and very sad that director Marcin Wrona suddenly passed
away less than a week ago from writing this review, because if this
film 'Demon' is any pre- cursor for what he could have done behind the
camera, we would have seen greatness.
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