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Worst INXS song ever.

Kim Hollis: The Devil Inside shocked everyone in the industry with a $34.7 million debut, quadrupling the studio's opening tracking estimate for the film. How did this happen?

Tim Briody: Audiences were ready for a new sensation, but with its F CinemaScore, The Devil Inside gave the box office a kick for one weekend, but as a long term solution for Hollywood's woes, it's not what you need.

Matthew Huntley: I don't think we can explain The Devil Inside's performances with any clear logic, but my theory would be that it's because audiences haven't been dished a horror movie for quite some time (The Darkest Hour doesn't really count since it was released amidst much more high-profile [and far superior] Christmas movies) and this one had a catchy trailer, at least catchy in the sense it suggested it could be creepy and entertaining, which turned out NOT to be the case. In any event, this is the first box-office anomaly of 2012 and although I'd be happier if the movie was good (it's not), at least ticket sales were up 30% from last year, so we're off to a promising start. Now if only the quality of movies was up just as much, then we'd be golden.

Brett Beach: (Note: There will be a spoiler towards the end of the third paragraph.) Exorcism movies in general, and now crossed for a second time in recent years (after The Last Exorcism) with the found footage/documentary format, continue to strike a chord. I can't profess to understand the chord, but I have read audience breakdowns that this and Last Exorcism attracted a higher percentage of Hispanic audiences than most horror movies, so perhaps the Catholicism drapings are a draw.

I will admit that I too found the lone trailer I saw (in front of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) to be well-presented and creepy, if filled with all the standard hallmarks of the genre established 40 years ago (female possession, contorted limbs, crawling on walls, etc), so perhaps it's time for a 28 Days Later revamp of the rules.

Having read about the howls of outrage of some audiences and the reason for said outrage, I would be pissed too if I plunked down $10 and the film ended by SPOILER directing me to a website. Umm, that's the exact inverse of what The Blair Witch Project employed to great effect in 1999 and I deem it a ridiculously cynical move, especially since the website apparently has nothing to offer. SPOILER END** Still, this is a Paranormal Activity size win for Paramount again, even if it makes audiences wary of the genre in the future, and I deem it the I Know What You Did Last Summer to Paranormal Activity's Scream.

Shalimar Sahota: It's like someone thought, "I know, let's mix The Last Exorcism with The Rite. We don't have to make it very well, so long as we got people screaming and stuff flying around, audiences will pay for it." Clearly, I don't think anyone expected *that* many people would go out of their way to pay for what looks like a cliché ridden horror movie. So long as it looks like it's going to make them jump more than the price of oil, and they don't have to think too much, I guess audiences just love their cheap scares. However, I'd prefer it if someone took the exorcism idea to the next level and deliver us a film where a demon is possesed by an angel.

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