Trailer Mash

The Devil Inside is what happens when a director believes that despite ample evidence to the contrary there is another genuinely scary movie to be made about satanic possession almost a half-century after The Exorcist. It's what you might call an act of faith. A couple of years ago The Last Exorcism offered up the same prayer before it descended into a parody, possibly witting, of '70s schlocker The Devil's Rain. This, too, looks well enough on a first glance, though the hackneyed nursery-rhyme device and hints of hit-and-miss performances don't do it any favors.