Lo (2009)

Number Rolled: 4

Movie Name/Year: Lo (2009)

Genre: Horror

Length: 80 minutes

Rating: NR

Director: Travis Betz

Writer: Travis Betz

Actors: Jeremiah Birkett, Sarah Lassez, Ward Roberts, Devin Barry, Aaron Gaffey, Sarah Larissa Deckert, John Karyus, Liz Loza

Justin has lost the love of his life. Not to another man or even to death (not really anyway). Instead, he’s lost his love, April, to a demonic abduction. In the hopes of getting her back, he uses a book she gave him to summon a powerful demon. Negotiations with the demon, Lo, then begin. Lo continuously tries to get Justin to leave the safety of his circle while Justin continues to try to order him to bring April to him.

The struggle for power is the backbone of this story. Justin is the master. He’s lost his girlfriend and will do anything to get her back. Meanwhile, Lo is trying to show Justin just how little power he has in the situation. Distracting him with visions, illusions, and lies; even using the truth against him.

This is not your typical movie. It’s filmed like a play being shown on stage. Curtains, some basic music numbers, minor scenery, etc. The first time I saw the movie I was a little thrown by how minimalistic and almost parody-ish it was. I still believe the word ‘horror’ fits for its genre, but it also has a great many comedic and romantic moments.

I thought the costumes were spectacular. The demon Lo was the best. He might be the best looking demon I’ve ever seen in any movie, let alone one with a low-budget. Lo is so terrifying because he looks like a warped human. With scars that make you wonder what caused them, excess hair and a crushed lower half. He’s not red and he doesn’t have horns sticking out of his head. He looks like what I expect a human would look like after a lot of time in hell.

The director paid a great deal of attention to the story and the way the story was told, enough so that acting was sacrificed a bit. I’m not so sure I blame the actors for what was lacking, though. I think this was meant to have a parody-ish feel to it and the actors simply owned that fact.

In short, it’s a low-budget film with a high-budget rating. In fact, it was this movie that made me want to watch all the other low-budget films Netflix has to offer alongside their blockbusters. It’s worth the mere 80 minutes of your time.

I can certainly understand why this movie is noted as a cult classic.

Overall Opinion – 4/5