this is such a bizarre movie. it's equal parts demonic horror and, of all things... rom-com. what's even more shocking is how well made most of it is. it had my head spinning in disbelief. if todd mcfarlane was a filmmaker, this feels like the kind of low budget nonsense he'd have been putting out in the 90's. there's legitimate glimpses of artful direction and accomplished style. for example, the movie opens on a disturbing and visceral vision of hell. it's a scene that seems like it was ripped from a ken russell film. but the movie wastes no time becoming a fish-out-of-water tale for escaped (from hell) demon, veronica, and the hapless guy max- who she "convinces" to let her stay with him. max might be a kind soul and a doctor, but he's got the common sense of a plank of wood. his acting isn't bad, per se, but his character ends up coming off as... kinda just, dense. he's a meme just waiting to happen. he's letting veronica stay in his house, not thoroughly questioning why. it doesn't help that veronica has been doing some night-time vigilante work- ripping out spines and slashing throats of would-be rapists and muggers. did i mention she talks like a character from ye olden days™? max never puts two-and-two together. he continues to go along with this because veronica is pretty i guess, but you also sense he cares about people in general sort of way. unfortunately, max seems like a soap opera reject. but, like he was just too nice for them. any sane person would eventually freak the hell out at some of the shit that max sees in this movie, but he takes in all in stride more or less. seeming vaguely shocked, but in a gee-gosh kinda way. i know this sounds like bad acting, but it ends up being kind of fascinating. also in the mix are two detectives- looking like budget versions of old harvey keitel and middle-aged ryan reynolds. their sub-plot doesn't go anywhere significant, but they do get some great scenes. here's the kicker though, a good chunk of this movie is legitimately a comedy. fully intentional. even more surprising is that it's not bad comedy. a lot of the gags and jokes are genuinely funny. but it's stunning and bewildering that they managed to balance that kind of tone against a spine-ripping, fires-burning, horns-and-tail, demonic horror movie. don't misunderstand me, the horror and the comedy don't mix in this movie, it's like water and oil. it's not like tucker and dale, where the comedy is part of the horror. it's like someone took a sitcom and smashed it together with a clive barker movie. the tonal shifts are jarring, but somehow, it works. the characters might be kinda dense, but they're mostly well acted. there's a handful of moments where the movie looks genuinely fantastic and visually stunning. i mean, my expectations were tempered from the outset, being that this is a charles band film, but still. veronica looks like the template for bloodrayne, and max is dope- but a nice guy dope. they're likable dammit. the movie is also chock full of gothic fantasy elements and some nifty special effects. some of the plot is just bonkers, and i feel like max should've been freaking out through 90% of the movie, but overall this is a solid effort and a worthy entry into the pantheon of hell-centric horror movies. full disclosure, i saw the first twenty minutes of it years ago on dvd (full screen, no less) and was pretty impressed. what i saw stuck in my head. and now? i have the movie on blu-ray. i never would've guessed this movie would ever have gotten an hd release. apparently the transfer was from scanned from the original 35mm negative. it looks great, considering.