Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
Devil’s Path is a thriller about two men being hunted in a gay cruising area.
Noah (Stephen Twardokus) and Patrick (JD Scalzo) meet in a park popular with gay men. They have a casual conversation, then take a walk on one of the paths in the woods. It all feels very innocent until they reach a roped off section of the trail where some men went missing. Despite being told not to go beyond the roped off area by the park police, they do.
When Patrick makes it clear he came to the park for sex, Noah goes into the woods to urinate and asks Patrick to wait until he comes back. Soon a man with bloody hands runs out of the woods, so Patrick goes in search of Noah.
Patrick finds Noah on the ground and bleeding from his scalp. Noah explains that someone came out of the woods and hit him with a rock. Soon the man Patrick saw with blood on his hands is with another man, and they get chased deeper into the park.
As Patrick and Noah flee from the men, it soon becomes evident that their meeting may not have been as arbitrary as it seems.
Some Thoughts:
As Noah and Patrick flee, they make casual conversation. They stop and look around, listen for sounds in the distance, but never see the men they’re running from. Instead of trying to head back to the path and out of the park, they decide to go deeper into the woods. The decision doesn’t make sense, especially since the men chasing them don’t seem to be around.
For two people trying to hide from murders, they often stop in plain sight to have long conversations. Since they don’t act as if their lives are in danger, it’s difficult to care.
Devil’s Path tries to build tension by talking about Noah’s past. We find out that Noah has a brother who went missing in the park and that Patrick knew him. This would make a good twist if it didn’t involve several conversations about Noah’s abusive uncle and a murder, which makes the twist feel convoluted and kills the surprise.
There’s a second plot twist that happens closer to the end of Devil’s Path. It’s handled better than the first one, but the only joy derived from it is knowing that the film is about to end. And once the film has a definitive and interesting ending, the credits don’t roll. Instead, we get a second conclusion that contradicts what just happened. The second end is confusing and ruins the only good portion of the film.
The Final Verdict:
Devil’s Path could have been a suspenseful film with some fun surprises, but the awful script and poor direction turn it into a dull mess.
