By David Dent
Nothing is what it seems in Jacob Lees Johnson’s debut feature sci fi drama. Lucy (Alexis Zollicoffer) returns home to darkness, followed by illumination and a surprise birthday party thrown by friends to celebrate her 30th year. Outside a falling comet strikes a note of oddness.
It doesn’t take long for this celebratory scene to go a little weird. Lucy spies a toy elephant from her childhood, mysteriously manifested in a corner of her apartment. Her friend and mother’s carer, Billy (Adam Driver alike Dave Martinez) seems overly attentive and a little off, and there’s a growing sense of unreality about the whole setup; her friends seem nice, possibly with the exception of Lucy’s argumentative boyfriend Ellis (Noah Kershisnik).
As the friends talk, details are revealed, suggesting that all might not be as cosy as initially suggested; interplanetary travel is mentioned, some of Lucy’s friends disappear and appear, and she begins to doubt what she’s witnessing.
Ultimately the truth is revealed; despite the title (which may in fact refer to a creature of deception rather than the traditional ‘demon’) Johnson’s film develops into a rather mournful, dystopian piece. It’s not really possible to write more about the film without including spoilers; it’s an ambitious movie, obviously low budget, but full of ideas that reminded me of the works of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.
I See The Demon screened as part of Grimmfest 2025.
Bloody Flicks 