Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Devil Complex’

Written by Scott Edwards

It is always hard to know what you will find when looking for the truth. With all of the research in the world at your fingertips, until you are witness to something that you and many others do not believe, you will never believe it to be true. Being open minded is the only way to go into a research project since it could take several different turns throughout, especially when you are trying to prove or disprove a myth. Just remember that if you follow the breadcrumbs that are left for you, you may experience the same fate that others did, even with all the technology at your fingertips.
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Traveling to Transylvania to investigate the Hoia-Baciu Forest and the strange stories surrounding it, Rachel and her cameraman Joe and sound man Tom stop in the local town to get some opinions on the haunted woods. While some of the people interviewed believe that there is something strange going on in the forest, there are others that think that it is just normal myths with nothing to back them up. Needing to come up with their own conclusions about what the forest is really about, the group has a tour set up with a local who believes that the stories are true but will take them in, nonetheless. 

Meeting up with Mr. Dogaru and his epic beard, the group starts their trek into the Hoia-Baciu Forest.  Not seeing much along the way except for more snow falling, which covers up their footprints, the group comes to a standstill when they spot something out of place; a teddy bear and a child’s shoe that seems to appear out of nowhere. Not knowing how to explain this, the group moves deeper into the forest looking for the Devil’s Circle where it is said that nothing will grow in that particular area. Asking their guide how much longer it should take to arrive at the circle, Mr. Dogaru delivers the unsettling message that it moves from place to place, so it will be a little longer.

The trek continues until Mr. Dogaru stops and seems to have a conversation with someone in the woods. Not knowing what exactly what the bearded man is saying, Rachel and her team are shocked when the sound of an owl spooks the old man, causing him to run off into the wilderness. Not being able to stop him, the group finds themselves alone in the woods and following what appears to be tracks left by a shoeless child. Coming across Mr. Dogaru and finding him dead, the group decides to follow the tracks for a little longer, but when the tracks vanish, the group has no idea where to head to next. Wandering around in the forest and finding strange markings around them, they have no idea what they mean, much less who is messing with them. While they slowly start to understand that their pasts will come back to haunt them, they find an abandoned tent in the forest and decide to rest up, only to find that they are not alone.

I will admit that I really liked the premise of the movie in that you cannot escape your past mistakes. With two people officially guilty of killing someone, and one that was not able to save a life, it seems like the forest will punish you for what you regret, not what you did. Really, the only thing that kept me intrigued throughout the movie was the relationship between Tom and Joe who were best friends, but outside of that, the walking got a little old and I got more upset with the group every time they mentioned not having a map. With some haunted woods, an ill-conceived hike, snow, more snow, even more snow, attitudes being adjusted, no map, no compass, strange sounds in the woods and an unseen beast that lives to feed on the fears of the guilty, I was kept entertained most of the time, but the story does take a while to make its way to the screen, so if you don’t mind a slow burn in the snow, you may enjoy this just as much as I did. Stay Scared.

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