Starring: Carly Pope, Nathalie Boltt

Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Signature Entertainment, UK Cinemas, Premium Digital 27th August and Blu-ray & DVD 25th October

Frightfest 2021

A young woman unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed.

It pains me to say that Neill Blomkamp’s (District 9, Elysium) first feature since 2015’s Chappie is a major disappointment. His low budget entry into the horror field lacks any of the inventiveness of his previous work, and worst of all, is dull. One hoped that Blomkamp’s take on the demonic possession genre, free from the studio interference that a large budget would have commanded, would be a thrilling new angle on this well-trodden path. And while he does offer up a variation, it just doesn’t impress.

Carly (Carly Pope, Elysium) is estranged from her mother Angela (Nathalie Boltt, District 9) who is currently in prison for arson and poisoning. She has no intention in seeing her again until she’s told that her mother is in a coma, suffering from Locked-in Syndrome. The only way to talk to her is by entering her sub-conscious into the realm of The Simulation, a virtual landscape that resembles an open world environment like The Sims.

Once inside her mother’s mind, Carly takes the opportunity to tell her how much she hates her, only to discover that her mother is being controlled by a bird-like demon, which scratches her, with the wound also manifesting itself in the real world. Take your pick from A Nightmare on Elm Street to Dreamscape to any number of VR movies – this is not an original concept, and it’s hobbled by an unconvincing demon, not to mention clunky expositional dialogue between characters that already know what’s being explained to one another.

The effect of The Simulation is a positive, frequently employing the overhead looking-down effect typical of these game environments, glitching at times to convince us that this is a virtual world. But once you move onto the exorcist priests with their cyber-weapons you’ll likely be rolling your eyes and wondering how a horror movie can be so devoid of jumps, scares or the smallest amount of tension.

Verdict: Dull, derivative and daft, this VR occult flick is a major misstep from an innovative genre director. 5/10

Nick Joy