drhall-672-138129 Shame (The Devil) ... this movie had limited release, limited good reviews, and wayyy better script, acting and photography than the "competition" so highly regarded by other reviews. The premise of telling the truth or dying opens an incredible venue of potential and I see nothing this effort fails on! The individuals targeted to Tell The Truth or Die, expose our everyday routine of moral, social and mental weaknesses, failures and consequences often never realized ... until now. The Devil? Hell'va good flick. Again, great photography, directing and acting.

Nigel P 'The truth will set you free. Shame the devil'.A disembodied, distorted voice ingeniously fits various torture devices to its victims and then encourages them to tell the truth and 'shame the devil'. If they tell a lie, something messy happens to them. This is most successfully employed at the very beginning of the film, when a hapless grocery store manager manages to scrape through the test unscathed by admitting to an affair. When his wife arrives on the scene and finds him strapped to chair with a rifle pointing at his face, and a lie detector strapped to it, she vows to get help. "I love you," she says. "I love you," he replies. BANG! The store manager no longer has a face. It's a gruesome and darkly hilarious moment. It's also the most horrific scene in the film – something Director and Writer Paul Tanter seems aware of, as there are interminable flashbacks to that scene throughout.The rest of the film is more of a detective thriller, with London Detective James (Simon Phillips) intrigued by the case, and then obsessed by it, as events seem to be trailing him around, eventually ending up in New York and the lovely Sarah (Juliette Bennett).This is a decent film, which could have done with some more gruesome moments. It starts off very much as a 'Saw' type of film, and then becomes something less horrific, but still interesting, with a good twist at the end. It is interesting in a film concerned with making people tell the truth, how the finale sees James defeated by a lie.

stemal-1 Paul Tanter hasn't got a great CV. In fact it reads like a list of crimes against British Cinema.So it pains me to say that Shame The Devil isn't truly terrible. Its ideas aren't original, but to condemn it as Saw-lite is unfair. The influence of Saw and Seven is clear, not that there's anything wrong with that. I'd be surprised if anyone could point me towards an original serial killer movie made in the last 10 years. There are many ridiculous moments. A favourite was when a character hands over a note he has received from the killer - 'I think he could be sending us a message.' Another was when the cop from London is in the presumably yet-to-have-internet-access city of New York, and he phones his partner in London to ask him to google something for him. Then there's the pointless Transatlantic commuting.And the end. Because my fast forward doesn't work, I had to watch 40 minutes again to find out who the hell Victor was!Yes, it wasn't original, I laughed in the wrong places and the end made me want to kick the cat. But it kept me watching, and I didn't look once to see how long was left. I'd have gone 5 if it hadn't been for the lazy way the mystery was wrapped up.

Mama Kin The film starts out with the main gore and pulls you in with a familiar "Let's play a game..."-type unseen villain. The rest of the film proceeds more like a psychological thriller. The story does have some plot holes and moments that a lot of viewers will spot and not be able to get around. Also, some scenes seemed to have extraneous dialogue slowing the pace of film, which may have been trimmed in a more high-end production. Introduction/explanation of some characters may also come across a little sloppy unless you are really paying attention. Nice use of locations. Decent performances by actors. Of note, Juliette Bennett pulls off the requisite balance of smart and sexy in her role. While not exactly treading new territory in the genre, it probably has enough to keep a casual viewer interested.