Imagine this: you’re taking a nice walk outside when you start to see dark figures and terrifying shadows coming for you from every angle. The rumors must have been true, and every disappearance in that area links to a darker force that there is no escape from. Enter Demu, a short horror film that tells that exact story with low budget visuals but tons of tenacity.
Issac and Ben, two college friends that were supposed to be at their spring break party with the rest of the college friends, but little by little they are about to encounter something dark and terrible that causes them to see and hear things from the dark.
Demu, Fawesome TV
As Issac walks through a local park, he is set down upon by dark figures and shadowy insects, prompting him to reach out to his friend, Ben. As Ben arrives, they discuss the recent disappearances and the possibility of some dark cult activity being the cause. But there is no time to talk as the shadows begin their reign of terror once more. Now transported into a dark dimension filled with disembodied growls and an unseen demonic presence, the two seek help from paranormal “Agents” to finally free them from this experience at the park.
I’m going to get this out of the way first and say that we’re looking at the lower end of indie budgets with this one. Demu does have some quite noticeable traits like obvious dubbing, nighttime filters, jerky camera pans, static images of shadow figures, and sounds and effects possibly from the standard catalogue of whatever editing program they used. It is not an entirely polished watch — but it is not unwatchable at all. Going in knowing that Demu puts the “indie” in indie film should put you in the right headspace to leave all those cons behind.
In a world where four-legged spiders and shadow people appear out of nowhere, Demu is a wild ride. Though this is technically daytime horror, this 25-minute short packs in as much as it can with paranormal scares. A few times did shadows fly out from behind characters in a way that was actually surprising (not quite jumpscare-level, but inching toward it!). The transportation scenes between dimensions were pretty cool as well, using a circular portal that characters phase in and out of. And did I mention laser dagger fights?! Sure, they look kind of funny, but I can guarantee you’ll have as much fun watching it as they likely did making it.
Demu‘s Big Bad does turn out to be some type of dark magic-wielding cultish force. Clad in all black with blackened eyes to match, they provide the main scare factor. Now, did I find this personally scary? No. But think about it this way: if you’re walking along in a park and all of a sudden you’re fighting literal forces of darkness, ending with a transformation you weren’t hoping for. I’d imagine this would be a very fast-paced event that gives you no time to think, only time to suffer. So on the surface, Demu may seem like a funny movie a bunch of friends made — and it is — but it’s still horror… Horror with room for a second installment, I might add.
Demu is exactly what I like about indie horror; you can have cheap-looking visuals, but as long as the story is good, it ends up making the movie so much more enjoyable. It really gave the feeling that these filmmakers put a lot of effort into the movie despite lack of resources and/or technical knowledge. And that’s totally cool! It’s movies like Demu that make me so excited to watch indie horror because I know the people behind the movie are true fans and do it for the love of the game. Demu is definitely low budget, but its heart is priceless.
Demu is streaming now on Fawesome TV. Want more? Check them out on Instagram and play the online game!
