FANTASIA 2023: ‘Where the Devil Roams’ Is a Macabre but Imperfect DIY Horror Showcase

John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser, also known as the Adams Family, are back with another astute macabre DIY horror film that indie fans will adore. Having its world premiere at Fantasia Fest 2023, Where the Devil Roams delves into ideas of dark magic and broken societies to explore the fragilities of family dynamics.

Set in Depression-era America, the story follows Maggie, Seven, and Eve (Poser, John, and Zelda Adams respectively), a traveling family of carnival performers. Each of them is broke: Seven fought in World War One, Maggie suffered a traumatic event in her childhood, and Eve was raised surrounded by violence. But even though their singing act isn’t exactly successful, they are a tight-knit family that supports each other on and off stage which includes committing numerous atrocities while on the road.

The carnival is a fascinating and adequate setting to delve into diabolic ideas. Carnies live to deceive, they are always looking to draw the next big crowd, and to do that they need a fresh spectacular act. Just like we saw with Bradley Cooper’s character in Nightmare Alley or Freddie Jones’ evil ringmaster in The Elephant Man, carnies can get desperate and resort to heinous methods. Therefore, by introducing early in the film the possibility of demonic power as a method to improve the family’s act, the Adams set up the film for success. It’s just that they take too much to get to the payoff.

Most of Where the Devil Roams focuses on the family murdering people which is used to establish the social and psychological aspects of the characters. We are looking at broken-down people in a broken America dealing with traumas they don’t really understand, in a grotesque manner. However, the pacing of the movie is flawed and the repetition of ideas ―murder after murder while we patiently wait for the carnival aspect to resurface― can get tedious. 

It’s until the last third of the movie that the story finally takes off. We get a satisfyingly grim reward for our patience as imagery of needles and sewing becomes powerful symbols of familiar relationships. One character does all in her power to keep together everything she knows, but in doing so she brings great misery. Just like in the family’s two previous films, The Deeper You Dig and Hellbender, comeuppance becomes a central theme. 

As per usual, the Adams Family created Where the Devil Roams with a DIY mindset, something impressive considering we are talking about a period piece. Besides directing and starring, John Adams also worked as camera operator, special makeup artist, composer, costume designer, set designer, and visual effects artist. Toby Poser and Zelda Adams share similar credits, and even Lulu Adams, the family’s older sister, made a cameo and worked with the camera and set design departments. This joint effort is felt throughout the film: despite the script and editing flaws, there’s a harmonic vibe in its elements and a clear passion for horror.

With forgotten farms, old houses, and dry trees in the distance, the Catskills region in New York, where the family’s home is, once again proved to be the ideal place to establish the mood of the film. They recycled old wood for the sets, recruited old friends to act, used mostly natural light to shoot, and got help from local high school students to paint the carnival booths. Most importantly, the family’s band, H6LLB6ND6R, performed the awesome soundtrack: one of the highlights of the film. The only big miss is the visual effects. I understand this is a microbudget DIY effort, but every ambitious shot with fire or planes is so unrealistic it takes you out of the film completely.

Where the Devil Roams would be a much stronger film if it had devoted more time and depth to the demonic nature of its last half hour but there’s more than enough heart, gore, and badass songs to paint a twisted smile on your face.

Where the Devil Roams had its world premiere at Fantasia Fest 2023.