Movie Review: THE BLACK DEMON

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: May 2nd, 2023 / 11:24 PM

Rating: R
Stars: Josh Lucas, Fernanda Urrejola, Venus Ariel, Carlos Solórzano, Julio César Cedillo, Jorge Jiménez, Omar Chaparro
Writer: Boise Esquerra, story, Carlos Cisco
Director: Adrian Grünberg
Distributor: The Atlantic
Release Date: April 28, 2023

THE BLACK DEMON is ostensibly about a megalodon shark terrorizing an American oil drilling station in Mexican waters. It also finds reasonable (given its parameters) ways to tie this to an eco myth about the Aztec rain god Tlaloc.

At the start, we get titles plus narration about “El Demonio Negro” (i.e., the Black Demon), and we’re told, “Legend says it only comes when summoned.”

After a prologue that establishes there is something very unfriendly in this part of the ocean, we meet the Sturges family. American dad Paul (Josh Lucas) works for Nixon Oil. Mom Ines (Fernanda Urrejola) is originally from Puerta Vallarta. Fifteen-year-old Audrey (Venus Ariel) naturally would rather be anywhere else, and little Tommy (Carlos Solórzano) loves pirates and mythology.

Theoretically, the Sturges have come to this theoretically picturesque seaside town in Mexico (THE BLACK DEMON was actually shot in the Dominican Republic) on vacation. Paul has to check out one of Nixon Oil’s drilling platforms, but it should only take an afternoon.

However, a lot has changed since Paul and Ines last visited. Almost everything in town has closed, including the hotel. There are little shrines everywhere to Tlaloc, “for protection,” as one of the locals explains. Tommy takes this seriously, though his parents and sister think it’s just local superstition.

Paul finds that his company has still arranged for a motorboat to take him to the rig. He leaves Ines and the kids at a cantina until he can come back and they can drive to a town that’s actually habitable.

The cantina, alas, proves so unsafe that Ines has to persuade and bribe another motorboat owner to ferry her and the children over to the rig as well.

The drilling platform is in much worse shape than Paul expected. And then, well, we do know this is a giant shark movie, so …

THE BLACK DEMON gets points for setting up a mythologically resonant cause for a giant shark to be persistently marauding in these specific waters. The screenplay by Boise Esquerra, from a story by Carlos Cisco, also presents a credible rationale for getting the whole family onto the decrepit drilling station. The filmmakers also deserve credit for making local oil rig worker Chato, charismatically played by Julio Cesar Cedillo, a major character in his own right, instead of just flanking the outsiders.

The dialogue is mostly decent, though there’s at least one actual lift from JAWS that’s noticeable, as well as a musical score that comes as close to John Williams as the filmmakers dare.

Director Adrian Grünberg stages the action on and around the platform well, in addition to an unnerving chase through the streets of the town. He also gets good performances from leads Lucas, Urrejola, Ariel, and Solórzano.

Shark aficionados may notice that the supposed megalodon just looks like a super-sized Great White. Also, since the Black Demon is big enough to swallow a motorboat, we wind up wondering at what precise angle it does (or even can) bite people to produce floating body parts. For some, this kind of geek trivia just makes things more fun to discuss, but others may prefer onscreen answers.

There are also a few story inconsistencies that come to light late in the running, which involves who knew what when, and their reaction to subsequent developments.

It’s hard to develop jump scares with something as big as the Black Demon, but the movie still generates a fair amount of suspense. It also has its heart, and Tlaloc, in the right place.

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