Shudder Secrets: The Demon Disorder

With recent films like Hell Hole, Alien: Romulus, and Malignant, there’s been a return to practical effects in the horror genre. I, for one, welcome this, especially considering the debates regarding AI and its use in film and other art forms.

The Demon Disorder, directed by Steven Boyle, is a nasty bit of body horror that also contains elements of possession. Though the Australian film is a little too light on plot, it contains some of the finest practical effects that I’ve seen in any film this year. The influences of films like The Fly, Hellraiser, and The Thing are evident here. The film is also a wildly unique revenge tale, heavy on atmosphere, mood, and tone.

The Demon Disorder and a Troubled Family Tale

The Demon Disorder begins with a rather disturbing scene of dead farm animals. These images reoccur throughout the lean runtime. They’re certainly not easy to look at. We’re then introduced to the three Reilly brothers, including the alcoholic Jake (Dirk Hunter), the youngest Phillip (Charles Cottier), and Graham (Christian Willis). All three brothers have distinct traits. Graham generally attempts to get his life on track as a mechanic. Jake is the screw-up of the bunch, always in search of a drink. Phillip, meanwhile, still maintains some of the optimism that comes with youth.

As much as Graham wants to get his life on track, he can’t. He’s visited by Jake, who comes with a dire warning and tells him that he needs to return home. Though Graham hesitates, he eventually heeds Jake’s words. They’re reunited with Phillip, who has some parasite living inside him that makes him attack and bite Garaham. The film only ramps up the violence and nasty parasite attacks from there.

It can’t be understated just how good the practical effects really look in this film, from the parasite that emerges from Phillip’s body and slithers across the floor, to a transformation scene in the last act that rivals a Cronenberg film. The effects truly wow and impress. They make up for some of the film’s plot holes and too-thin narrative.

The Demon Disorder as an Unconventional Revenge Tale

Though the effects really carry this film, there is a story here regarding the brothers and their dad, George (John Noble). We really only see George in flashbacks. The brothers, for the most part, kept him chained inside a farmhouse bedroom to protect themselves from “the disease” he carries, which Phillip later harbors. The old man frequently attempted to murder his sons, so it’s understandable.

What’s too unclear, however, and where the film falters is in its explanation of “the disease.” Did it come from the farm animals? Is that why so many of them constantly die? How exactly does it spread? How did Phillip catch it? Was that the father’s punishment, unleashed upon his sons? Yet, there’s something chilling about the way the brothers treat their father once he’s ill, which we see more and more through the flashbacks. The more his condition worsens, the more they treat him as less than human, perhaps due to their own fears of mortality and death.

There’s one scene, rather late in the film, where the father talks about the disease and how monstrous he looks and feels. It’s a powerful moment, one of the strongest in the film. It elevates the film and treats the disease as a metaphor for anything that alters and changes the body, such as cancer. I only wish that the film played up this metaphor more. it would have made the transformation scene that precedes that sequence all the more powerful.

Though The Demon Disorder has some narrative flaws, it truly contains some eye-popping practical effects, while striking just the right bleak tone. For anyone who enjoys a Cronenberg film or the work of Clive Barker, check this out. The Demon Disorder slithers onto Shudder on Sept. 6.

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