Back in April of 2006 I boldly stated in my review of BROKEN that Adam Mason and Simon Boyes “could become a force to reckon with in the future.” The future is here as their second feature film, THE DEVIL’S CHAIR, is set to have it’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Midnight Madness section. So the question remains, are they a force to reckon with? Directed by Adam Mason, CHAIR is an extraordinary piece of work combining classic elements of your favorite ‘80s fantasy and horror films.

Co-written by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, with a pocketful of drugs, Nick West (Andrew Howard) takes out his girlfriend Sammy (Polly Brown), for a shag and a good time. When they explore an abandoned asylum, the discovery of a bizarre device - a cross between an electric chair and sadistic fetish machine - transforms drugged-out bliss into agony and despair. After Sammy is brutally assaulted and murdered by unseen forces, Nick becomes the number-one suspect and is institutionalized. After four years he is released and joins Dr. Willard (David Gant) to confront his demons where the supposed murders occurred. Things don’t go as planned… or do they?

THE DEVIL’S CHAIR is both Mason and Boyes love letter to Clive Barker’s HELLRAISER. The homage could easily be called a “reverse-HELLRAISER” as instead of demons coming out of a mattress, people are pulled into a chair where the demons await. The screenplay is written in a unique manner as it’s a blend between fantasy and horror using the lead (Andrew Howard) as a narrator throughout the entire film. Even though most of the film appears to be lined in reality, it’s obvious that we are in fact watching a fantasy, which of course means no rules apply. Without any solid rules, the duo bends the genre just enough to create something very unique and original.

Just like the duo did with BROKEN, CHAIR displays strong production value giving a low budget indie film the look and feel of a major motion picture. The DP work and cinematography are outstanding, along with the sound design and score (both of which are a rarity in an indie pic). The location and set design added a lot to the experience as the scope of the film felt immense for such small space used.

The tone of the film is extremely unnerving and quite creepy. The way some sequences are shot will make your skin crawl. In some sequences the film is also bloody and violent as all hell. What’s so impressive in these scenes are how impactful they are without even showing some of the actual gore – sometimes what you imagine is much worse. Most impressive were the character designs and special FX work. The demons were straight out of an H.P. Lovecraft novel and just enough of them were shown to give you the heebie-jeebies.

One of the few faults in the film was the use of the full narration, which in a weird way worked. Even though it did work for the film, it almost felt like a cop out at times using it to cancel out any objections I had with the film, such as the over-acting of Dr. Willard (David Gant). Calling the acting in your own film over-the-top and hammy before the viewer can do so is like calling yourself fat before someone else can – it destroys the value in it. Doing so makes it quite difficult to review the film because any objections I might have had, are implicated as purposely done for effect. Thankfully the film is tremendous and the good heavily outweighs the bad, thus making this argument almost null.

Mason and Boyes have truly proven they are forces to reckon with as THE DEVIL’S CHAIR is more a work of art than an actual film. The pic shows these two are the real deal and have really given something special to fans of the genre. Don’t expect a bloodbath - instead prepare yourself for something different, unique and mind-bending… something that will become part of you when you leave the theater.

Now that you're officially pumped for the film, you can check out Adam Mason and Simon Boye's official blog, which also features three podcasts that are now all LIVE!