The Son Of The Devil — The Son Of The Devil (DVD)

The Son Of The Devil is an extremely low-budget Indian film which brings together elements of serial killer thriller, bloody slicing ‘n’ dripping horror, and awkward drama. It’s fair to say that this film is very much at the lo-fi, strange, at points down-right-deranged end-of-budget filmmaking. Firstly it features overloud overly dramatic music, next it features a smattering of English dialogue which is really badly delivered/placed, and lastly- but most importantly the film runs at two hours and forty-eight minutes!....so this is most certainly for a very select audience. Here from SRS Cinema is a region-free DVD of the film, with the only extra being a very piecemeal and at times bizarre commentary track.

The Son Of The Devil was rather fittingly first released on Halloween night 2018. It was written, directed, and featured in its lead killer role Gora Chand Saha. This was his first director’s credit, though his second film The Shadow of Death is presently in pre-production. Otherwise, he has apparently twenty-three acting credits to his name- these start with a credit as a ‘running man’ in Dog Day- a 1984 film featuring Lee Marvin, as an on-the-run fugitive.

The film's opening credits, featuring blood, being poured over skulls, while a man rages about the devil and killing rather brought to mind a bargain basement take on the type of thing Coffin Joe did. As we get into the film we see a wild-eyed, ragged-haired, and moustached man( Saha.) stalking another man around an overpass bridge- this stalking goes on for several minutes, and then he pulls off the man's shirt- slices him several times, with lingering shots of the cuts. Two children see the murder, and rush off to stop their detective uncle who just happens to be passing on the above road. And from here we get very awkward clearly not in a police station interview, with badly cut in English dialogue over the (I presume) Indian original language track.

As the remaining two-and-a-half-hour films plays out- we move from more painfully slow stalking’s and killings by Saha, these are often finished off with him using a syringe to drain blood from the dead victim. The police detectives/ officers turn up just after the killer has gone. And flashbacks to killers past- where he had a girlfriend, then they split up.

Saha certainly gives his all with his wild-eyed, deranged, and at points, creepy take on the killer- and this with his slow stalking/ killing, gives the film an almost lo-fi arthouse vibe. As we move through the film, we have more than a few rather prolonged and bizarre scenes- most notably of these being what feels like a ten-minute awkward/cringe-induced dance-off between the killer & his girlfriend to tiny low-grade disco music. As the film progresses we move from the straight slashing killings to the killer(lengthy)  playing with victims inside. All of the victims are male, and at points, I do get a rather unsettling homoerotic feel to the film.

I can’t lie I did find The Son Of The Devil very trying to get through- to start with the overloud music and slow stilted action is really trying, then after this, the killings seemed a tad repetitive. Yet through it all I kept watching, as the whole thing does have a bumbling-to-bizarre pull to it….though it could easily have been half its length, and still had an impact- though I guess the length really does pull the film into more deranged and lo-fi arthouse waters.

The only extra here is a commentary track from Saha- and this again is suitable bizarre. He drops in & out throughout the track, with at points creepy sound effects/ wonky music being heard. He talks about how he only had $40.00 to make the film with to begin with, how some of his collaborators let him down, accidents on set, talking about some of the film's actors, oh and several times he discusses how he nearly got run over by a train when filming.  

So, in conclusion, The Son Of The Devil is a low-budget genre film making at its most lo-fi, wonky, and strange. You really have to have both patience and time to get through the film. But if you are looking for the ultimate in the odd/ bizarre serial killer/ horror film, then The Son Of The Devil may well be for you.