Demonic is to be commended for its different approach to the formulaic demon-possession horror sub-genre, yet Neill Blomkamp’s return to feature filmmaking is underwhelming in its approach to world building and scares, resulting in a banal movie experience.

Shot in Canada and featuring a small cast lacking the star power of Blomkamp’s previous films, Demonic proves to be quite the disappointment both as a genre-hybrid and a return project for the once hyped Blomkamp, who after making a huge splash with his 2009 feature District 9 has delivered a succession of projects high in concept yet underwhelming in execution. Demonic proves to be Blomkamp’s worst film yet, which is frustrating since the elements were there for a solid and unique entry into the demonic-possession horror sub-genre.

Demonic stars Carly Pope as Carly, an aimless woman still reeling from the shocking homicidal crimes committed by her mother Angela (Nathalie Boltt), who is now in jail. Determined to start her life again, Carly is thrust back into the horrors of her past when a medical research company ask her to participate in an experiment in which new technology allows Carly to enter her now comatose mothers mind in a bid to find out what drove her homicidal actions. Instead, the experiment unleashes a very real demonic presence that has its eyes set on Carly.

The hook for Demonic is the virtual world that represents Angela’s mind, and it is a simulated reality that is bland in every facet. Lacking the rich visual surreal madness of the similarly themed The Cell, or the visual pop of A Scanner Darkly, this simulated reality comes off like an underdeveloped videogame bereft of soul and character. It is not a coincidence that Blomkamp has gone all in on the world of video game development, and it is a career move that has clearly negatively affected his approach to would building in his filmmaking.

Tech-horror is a hard thing to pull off, with Blomkamp achieving it somewhat with certain scenes in District 9. Yet Demonic see’s the one-time wunderkind in floundering form, unable to conjure scares, save for one moment which is ripped off from the underrated Canadian film Anything for Jackson. Even the films demonic creature is a bust, as if Big Bird starred in a Norwegian black metal video.

While there are some compelling moments story-wise, Demonic is a clear case of undercooked ideas and bad execution of them, and another mark against who many thought would be the next great genre filmmaker.