Don’t Look at the Demon feels like an off-brand installment of The Conjuring series and I mean that as a sincere compliment. Brando Lee apes James Wan’s iconic series with an admirable effort that proves the universality of ghost stories. The story opens on Jules (Fiona Dourif) and her team of paranormal investigators who are following the ebb and flow of spiritual energy through Malaysia to shoot footage for their show. Producer and romantic snag, Matty (Jordan Belfi) heads a team of investigators including Annie (Thao Nhu Phan), Ben (Harris Dickinson) and Wolf (Randy Wayne).

The team lands at an estate in Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia where troubled couple Martha (Malin Crépin) and Ian (William Miller) are suffering strange occurrences. The team of intrepid paranormalists tour the home, listen to the stories from Ian and Martha, and set up every conceivable type of camera throughout the home in hopes of capturing, and what’s more, solving, the mysterious problematic entity that is terrorizing the couple.

Utilizing flashbacks and foreshadowing, we get hints of the issue along the way. Still, writers Lee, Alfie Palermo understand the rigid, symmetrical format set forth by other successful paranormal investigation films. We are treated to a series of entertaining supernatural encounters that provoke the home’s inhabitants to levitate, slam their heads against walls, and direct demolition in search of further discovery. To the credit of Lee and Palermo, the script is dotted with enough tentpole moments to keep the film interesting despite the rather generic trappings. Yes, it’s Malaysia, but we have Jules, a talented paranormalist as the secret sauce for a reality show who is going through it. What’s new is the folding in of very local superstitions and lore to localize the horror. To be clear, Don’t Look at the Demon is nothing groundbreaking. In fact, it doesn’t attempt to be. What it does is take a successful horror model and apply it to another country and culture. Lee and Palermo lean into the disturbing lore of Malaysia to explore the universal fear of the unknown.

Technically speaking there are props and notes. The sound mix is shatteringly bass-heavy. Most notably during the more dramatic scenes in which composer Vincent Gillioz’s score jumps in to emphasize action. It’s fine work from Gillioz that gets dinged simply for a bad mix. Despite that, Brando Lee does a journeyman’s job carrying the mantle of an elevated ghost story. Shot in a wide aspect ratio, the film has the look and polish of a Blumhouse movie. We also need to give praise to Dourif‘s performance as Jules. She is a ragged force of nature that rises above the pedestrian material to assist us in giving in.

As stated at the outset, Don’t Look at the Demon, isn’t anything new, but it aptly captures what made its inspiration work so well. We want to see Brando Lee work on something entirely new. We know he can do it.

6 Out Of 10

Don’t Look at the Demon will be released on VOD November, 22