Monday, January 9, 2012

"Why Everybody Hates The Ending Of THE DEVIL INSIDE"




I started to compose a post about the reason why this ending is so stupid, but then I found that Devin Faraci from had already beaten me to it.









  1. I agree, but it's not surprising. Looking at the financials, this film is a success even with such bad reviews. The marketing, which in itself a version of transmedia, worked brilliantly. Will be an equally bad sequel? Sure. Who can resist such an ROI?

    Instead of booing the screen, we theater-goers need to read and trust the reviews, and send these films to the hell they deserve.

  2. Regarding there being an audience for a sequel, as someone once said, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice.... won't get fooled again."

  3. I dislike web based transmedia as I don't feel it's fair. Not everyone is on the internet and as I well know from working in the library, other than people who just don't understand how to use a computer, some people flat out refuse to.

    Not to mention are they really going to keep that website up years from now? Changing it as technology changes? Making sure that all the links work? Look out people are still fans of movies long after everyone in them has died. Like Tod Browning's Freaks or Dracula. Even awful movies have their followings. Are you really telling me someone is going to be employed to keep The Blair Witch Project's website up and running one hundred, even two hundred years from now?

    They need to think more long term as well as think of people who don't use/understand computers. Or don't own one. Just like I'm getting annoyed because my favorite authors are releasing more and more parts of their series as e-books, even just the short stories, and I don't own, nor want to own, an e-reader, so too must movie companies stop assuming everyone has a computer, knows how to use a computer, or even wants to know.

    I won't get started on the comic books as I enjoy comic books and even collect them. I will state though that I know some people who hate them and some who don't actually understand how to read them. Again, something I know from library work as Dean Koontz is releasing prequels to his Odd Thomas series as graphic novels.

  4. Ug. I meant "Look HOW people" not "Look OUT people" - I think I was probably thinking of the words "Looking out for" - I really need to learn to proof read.

  5. That's what I get for trying to comment early in the AM, apparently I didn't hit the ever important "publish" button.

    My point was pretty simple. I'm not crazy about transmedia, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.

    As you noted, Cloverfield did it in a way that left you feeling like your initial movie viewing experience was incomplete. That's bad transmedia.

    For an example of good transmedia, one has to look no further than the Harry Potter franchise. Additional content found in related texts or on web communities was designed to offer fans more to enjoy, not the last part of the initial experience. The films stand on their own as a complete experience, otherwise I imagine someone would have taken to a blog and ranted about how they felt cheated.

    The reason I think transmedia won't go away anytime soon is simple: $$$.

    You sell a bunch of tickets, DVD's, television rights, and some merchandise. But the product grows old when there's not another film or book to look forward to. Transmedia creates vibrant online content and communities that keep it fresh and keep the dollars rolling in (whether through ads, merchandise, book sales, etc.). If it's really good, it's free evangelization for your product for many, many years to come.

  6. I think it could have worked potencially in TV series (with a DVR one can stop the show grab a smartphone and continue the narrative online).

    Two reasons for booing:
    1) 100% agree with an idea that many people choose not to do transmedia - not only because of differences in media consumption, but also because there are only 24 hours in a day and when considering work, kids, groceries etc.etc. there is not much incentive/time to follow the rabbit hole for some Lost-type mystery.
    2) I think marketers and Hollywood folks should go back to more seductive way of encouraging viewers to do transmedia.

    Slapping a title card would be equivalent to Star Wars or Harry Potter ending with a list of merchendise you can purchase online.

    I WILL buy a guide to The Inception because the movie made me hungry for more (esp. forums that could explain it all).

    But ending a movie with a SEE MORE ONLINE is nothing but a cheap GoDaddy commercial during the Super Bowl.

  7. Not everyone has a smartphone, Madison. I don't. I have a very basic cellphone. I don't even WANT a smartphone. I barely like using a phone to make phone calls. Why the heck would I spend extra to have features I'd never use?

    No, I stand by my "Transmedia isn't fair" statement. Not everyone can afford a computer. Not everyone wants a smartphone. Not everyone can understand comic books. Everything should be made to stand alone and transmedia should only be extras no one needs.

  8. I feel like I'm the only person who actually liked this movie. I admit the ending kind of pissed me off, and I'm not even referring to the website part, I would have been okay with that if not for the ending. They all died, every single person in the movie that actually cared about "the rossi file" dies in the end, so why would I believe there was an ongoing investigation? Maybe if they ended it a little differently I would have gone on the website(for shits and giggles)
    But the number one thing that pissed me off about this movie(and every other one like it) is the fact that they try to play it off like real footage(which it obviously isn't. C'mon people aren't that stupid are they?