Fantasia International Film Festival 2023 – Somehow, the Adams Family managed to outdo their 2021 breakout hit Hellbender in terms of experimentation, weirdness, and visual nightmares. Where the Devil Roams is a bewitching feast, a 90-minute circus act where the devil comes to collect his due. It goes even further than the family’s last film in taking bigger swings. Though a few of the ideas falter in their execution, the family deserves credit for pushing the genre’s boundaries.

Directed and written by parents Toby Poser and John Adams and their daughter Zelda Adams, the film occurs after WWI and follows a family of circus performers who travel to one show after the next, killing people along the way. John stars as patriarch Seven, scarred by what he saw and committed during WWI. Toby plays matriarch Maggie, who’s a little quicker to murder than her hubby, and Zelda stars as the mute (except for song) Eve. The first half focuses on the circus shows and the murders, but it takes another turn after Eve steals a bleeding heart/pincushion from fellow performer Mr. Tipps (Sam Rodd). He draws a crowd by cutting off his fingers and then harnessing the power of the devil (maybe) and the pincushion to sew on fingers after the show. Without spoiling too much, let’s just say Eve wants to try a similar trick with her family, but when she attempts it, the family’s luck starts to rot.

This film is visually rich and engrossing, to the point its visuals mostly make up for a few befuddling narrative threads. The make-up and circus performers are awe-striking, especially when shown in black and white. Parts feel like German Expressionist movies, or early Universal Monster films, which borrowed heavily from the likes of Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Plenty of scenes resemble pre-Hays Code horror movies. Even the gore has an artistic flair, and there are some nasty kills here, including plenty of severed limbs. There’s also a dash of dark humor, specifically from Poser’s character, that matches the wit of Flannery O’Connor’s fiction. The religious overtones warrant that comparison, too. Mr. Tipps, and a few of the false prophets looking for a buck, feel like they could have walked out of one of O’Connor’s stories.

The family has a metal band together, also named Hellbender, and their music features prominently. The sludgy riffs draw a viewer into winter in the Catskills, but there are sequences that feel like music videos. At times, it dilutes the narrative and resembles music videos that would have played on MTV’s 120 Minutes or Headbangers Ball.  These are the only moments when the music distracts from the feature rather than enhances it.

Overall, this family of musicians/filmmakers again prove they’re willing to push the genre into some bold new territory. Where the Devil Roams doesn’t always hit every beat, but it’s a hypnotic film with jaw-dropping visuals and a bone cold atmosphere.

8 Out of 10