MovieChat Forums > The Devil's Tomb (2009) Discussion > Santa Monica Screening

Santa Monica Screening

posted 15 years ago by conlee
9 replies | jump to latest

We had a public 35mm screening of The Devil's Tomb in Santa Monica last night. It was a de-facto cast and crew screening, but there were a fair number of folks there who weren't involved in the film as well. I'd say there were 50 or 60 people there.

Granted, it was a friendly audience, but the response was very good. Folks definitely laughed where they should (perhaps once or twice where they shouldn't, but hey...), and people definitely bought into the creeping dread aspect of the story with many folks telling me afterward that it was very suspenseful. The boo scares worked as well; it was fun seeing a whole room of people jump in unison.

The print looked and sounded great. Can't wait for the movie to actually come out on DVD later this month so people can see it the way it was supposed to look and sound, instead of all pixelated, washed out, and with crappy sound on the illegal pirated internet version. If you've got 5.1 surround, you should definitely listen to it that way; Private Island Trax in Hollywood did a GREAT job with the mix.

I know that a bunch of the losers who've watched the pirated version have felt compelled to come on this message forum and slam the movie, but based on last night's response, I feel confident the movie is good. We have received a few positive reviews from bona-fide internet horror fan sites. Not glowing, but definitely better than average...

http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-devils-tomb-aka-ice-44-2009-movie-r eview/

http://www3.webng.com/horrormoviesandstuff/TheDevilsTombReview.html

6 out of 10, and 3 out of 4 respectively. Your mileage might vary, but that's the name of the game when it comes to entertainment I suppose. Looking forward to more people's feedback in the weeks to come. Enjoy!

Chris

[–] antpostguy 15 years ago

I was at the Santa Monica screening. There were over 150 people in the audience. The film looked and sounded great! I think there were some great intense moments were the audience was truly engrossed (no pun intended) in the film. Too bad the film won't get a domestic theatrical release, I think it is a great "popcorn and soda night at the movies" kind of a movie. The DVD will be released May 26th.

[–] conlee 15 years ago

Over a 150? Well I guess that proves my remedial math skills are lacking. Anyway, it was a good crowd and the response was great. I also wish we could have gotten a domestic theatrical release. It's going theatrical overseas somewhere, correct?

[–] terrencepatrix 15 years ago

way to try and hype up a pile of dog crap. the leaked screener was quite complete, the sound was good, and the video quality wasn't the least bit pixelated. without upconverting to hd it was a finished product.

i understand you had a part in editing this movie (pretty sure i gleaned that somewhere), i'm sorry that everyone that caught it hated it so far. don't blame pirating for that, blame the writing and direction. oh and the special effects and the acting. this simply doesn't cut it for a theatrical release, i mean honestly this movie is just bad. everyone isn't hating on it because it was a "pirated" copy...they're hating on it because they all didn't like it. illegal downloading doesn't somehow drop the quality of the movie...if it had been awesome, and this site had been flooded with popular reviews you'd all be grinning your asses off. fact is people DON'T LIKE IT. get over it.

don't take it so personally. the movie sucked, no one's saying YOU suck. although you kinda do.

[–] conlee 15 years ago

Actually Terrence, the only people we can conclusively say don't like the film are the people who specifically take the time to post that they don't like it. Follow me?

That makes about 10 people, so far. And given that people are far more likely to express dissatisfaction than satisfaction, by a ratio of about 10 to 1 (number one rule of customer service, btw), we'll have to wait until more legitimate viewers have seen the movie before a quantifiable assessment of it's entertainment value can be gleaned.

Nobody's blaming you for your opinion of the movie. In fact your analysis of it's failings in another thread was quite complete and well argued. I do wish, as has been stated numerous times so I don't know why I bother to do it again (sigh), that some a'hole hadn't stolen the movie and plastered it all over the internet.

That's my only issue.

Really.

And for that I suck?

Of course not everybody is going to like this film. The 'official' reviews we've gotten so far are in line with my expectations for a film of this budget and in this genre: 3/4 and 6/10. Not too bad. Definitely better than a bunch of the hooey that the big studios put out which relies on nothing BUT special effects, with no attempt at story whatsoever.

And with regards to your statement that we're trying to 'hype up a pile of dog crap' I have only this to say: The big studios hype their piles of dog crap with multi-million dollar advertising campaigns on every channel and billboard. Excuse us for having a measly little screening in Santa Monica and reporting back our feelings about it for the fans who are still patiently waiting for the official release.

What do you do for a living, Terrence? Do you make something that you try to sell? Perform a service of some sort that you try to sell? Heaven forbid that you should try and market whatever it is you do.

Chris

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] terrencepatrix 15 years ago

Fair enough for the most part, except the shot at my personal life. Well and that this movie hasn't gotten any advertisement anywhere that I've seen (I live in CA).

Think of it this way, chances are if people come to IMDB to learn about this movie before they purchase, be it DVD or netflix, would you rather have it be a blank slate of only glorifying comments? Or people arguing over it. This is free buzz for your movie anyway.

When I pick a movie to watch I'll watch the one with questionable reviews over over-hyped 10 star rating, obviously planted, reviews anyday. So you should thank the leaked copy, were it not for it I'd have never heard of this movie. And that's the case for literally thousands who watched it already.

[–] conlee 15 years ago

Fair enough for the most part, except the shot at my personal life. Well and that this movie hasn't gotten any advertisement anywhere that I've seen (I live in CA).

Terrence, I'm sorry if it was perceived that I was taking a shot at you personally, because I wasn't. I was simply making reference to the fact that every endeavor needs to be marketed if it's to be successful. I was being quite sincere in the belief that whatever you do needs to be marketed in some way too. No judgment intended.

You're absolutely correct that this is the ONLY marketing the movie has, to the best of my knowledge. That's also my point. We had a screening in Santa Monica, and we ARE talking it up here, as a means of getting word out to the fans who are waiting for it's arrival on store shelves.

Chris

[–] dag2120 13 years ago

Hi,

It was a terrible movie, even judging it by B-movie standards.

Poor Cuba.

[–] 13 years ago

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