I wanted this movie to be good. It got better than 6.0 at IMDB, and that's why I gave it a chance. Look, it had Joel McHale, who I think has quite a bit of talent, Olivia Munn, who is similarly talented, and Eric Bana has been in some good movies - Troy, Munich, Lone Survivor, Black Hawk Down, Closed Circuit, and Deadfall. Yes, he was in that crapfest of a CG-enhanced Hulk movie, but we're going to ignore that for now.
This movie wasn't terrible. Eric is a cop - he's a super special cop - and his buddy is also a cop - another super special cop - played by Joel McHale. It's unclear where these guys learned their skills, but they clearly hold their own against seasoned soldiers, so they have to be pretty good, but it would have been nice to get more of their back story. I wish I could say why they are supposed to be so good, why they get their choice of assignments, or why Joel's character is obsessed with knives.
Olivia is Eric's wife, and she doesn't really have a whole lot to to do. She whines a bit, complains a bit, and makes out with him, but she is a general non-entity. She exists long enough to get kidnapped, and it is really confusing as to why she would be kidnapped at all, as it seems incongruous with the events up to that point. In fact, it doesn't seem to fit with everything after that point.
So, this movie delves liberally in the occult. The mystery is what exactly is happening and how will Eric hit it hard enough or Joel stab it deep enough to make the devil go back to hell. Well, in comes Édgar RamÃrez with his Latino charm and ability to overcome atheism with his rock hard abs and casual commentary on abortions and priests having sex. Of course, it's easier to convince people of magic when they are being actively pursued by demons.
The problem with this movie is that it comes across as an Also Ran. I've seen these supernatural horror movies before, and the others have been better efforts. This movie was just kind of a muddled mess of angst and random anger for no particular reason. It never really stood a chance.
Acting was good
Direction was mediocre
Effects were pretty good
Story was weak
Dialogue was meh
1.75/5